Fleece award to Misty Hills

Wool, whether it was on the sheep's back, freshly shorn or being worn as a fashion statement, was turning heads at Wagin Woolorama.

On the catwalk, a collection of woollen garments from Australian Wool Innovation attracted plenty of interest.

In the Merino fleece competition, a superfine fleece shorn from a Merino ram was judged the best of the best, but only by the narrowest of margins.

The low micron Misty Hills entry of Kojonup breeders Russell and Heather Meaton scored an exceptional 93 out of 100, with Angenup's 92-point strong wool fleece placing a close second.

The six judges were impressed with the 130 overall entries, particularly the top scorers, according to wool steward Howard Ward.

The judges had the Misty Hills fleece as having just a touch better soundness and evenness.

Ms Meaton said the bulky fleece was shorn last September at the Perth Royal Show and measured 16.8 microns.

"The four-tooth ram was a very big sheep for a superfine," she said.

Angenup's fleece also scored well, with a perfect 16 points for density and 19 out of 20 for style.

In third, with 91 points, a fine wool fleece from Navanvale stud - last year's grand champion winner - was also in contention for an outright win.

To express the quality of the top fleeces, Auburn Valley's medium wool entry, which scored 90 points, was highly praised when it was awarded supreme fleece at the 2013 Perth Royal Show.

The Rintoul family, of Auburn Valley, Williams, were awarded most points of the wool section at Wagin with their nine entries.

Another Williams stud, Tilba Tilba, showed depth of breeding, winning champion pair of fleeces with two superfine entries.

Stuart Rintoul also exhibited the highest point earners in the pair of fine wool fleece class.

In the non-stud section, commercial wool producers Alan and George Hambly, of Brookton, were awarded champion fine and superfine, scoring 90 and 88 points, respectively.

The exporter's award, sponsored by OLAM, was awarded to P Horn, who also won the champion exhibits in the non-stud medium wool and strong wool classes.

At the Woolorama shearing competition, six open shearers did battle on the boards to claim top bragging rights.

While Pingelly shearer Callum O'Brien finished shearing eight sheep in the fastest time of 11 minutes, Tambellup gun shearer Damien Boyle won the event with the least amount of penalty points.

Mr Boyle retained his first place spot for State selection along with Mark Buscumb (second), of Williams, and Todd Wegner (third), of Nungarin.

In the under 21 competition, Scott Mauger had the win, while Luke Harding was best in the intermediate shearing. Shane Buscumb won the senior section.