THE Makeham family, North South Border Leicesters, took a 14-hour drive from Young, NSW, to support the feature breed showing.
For Simon and Justine Makeham, and Simon’s parents Jeff and Julia, it was their first showing at the Royal Adelaide Show.
Despite experiencing what Simon described as a “green drought”, with enough rain to keep the landscape from looking dried out but being in desperate need of more rain very soon, the family were still keen to travel across the border to showcase their top genetics.
The trip across was well worth it, as the North South stud took home a range of first, second and third place ribbons, as well as taking out the Pethick Family Trophy and the Rabobank Prize for the ram, any age, with the best head.
“Our MN3 status meant we were able to come over and we’d certainly consider coming back again,” Simon said.
“We’ve been competitive in the judging, so we’re very happy.”
Jeff started breeding Border Leicesters in 1957 and the stud’s clients often perform well at the Forbes, NSW, first-cross sale.
“But most of our clients sell privately, because as breeders of first-cross ewes, they already have a following and people seeking them out,” Simon said.
Simon said the stud had a major focus on using Australian Sheep Breeding Values to drive their genetics forward.
“We’ve also heard it said that our wool is something a lot of Border Leicester breeders would love to have,” he said.
