THE Fogden family's Nangaringa stud at Loxton is no stranger to Adelaide Show glory and it was one of their home-bred bulls with an exceptional set of data and a superb temperament to match that collected the Supreme title this year.
With an eye muscle area of 124 square centimetres and measuring 8mm rib and 15mm rump fat, Nangaringa Natheniel outdid a very competitive field to take the top honour.
Judge Tom Wilding-Davies, from Western Australia, described him as a bull sound on his feet, with a huge amount of performance in him.
"He's not the heaviest bull here at 902 kilograms but he doesn't need to be. We are in a beef business today where you have to be able to carry the weight and turn it off with an appropriate amount of cover," he said.
There was never any argument between the three teenage Fogden silbings, Alizah, Thomas and Eleni, about Natheniel being the first pick for this year's show team.
Their parents, Peter and Justine, showed him at Melbourne last year where he won Junior Champion and all agreed he was the 'overall package'.
Eleni got the leading honours because he's so quiet and she's the youngest.
The three teeangers, who have been leading show cattle since they could walk, had a team of seven this year and also collected the junior and grand champion female with Nangaringa Penny and the reserve senior bull with Nangaringa Nobbie.
"Both the bulls were sired by Walmona Wesley and are what I'd call middle-of-the-road frame size, which is what we are aiming for because they don't need the big volumes of feed but still have the genetics to put weight on calves," Peter Fogden said.
With only 50mm of rain for the year at Loxton, Nangaringa is down to just 25 per cent of its normal bull numbers and Mr Fogden believes the future is in breeding animals that address climate change.
Senior champion female went to Burramurra 291, from Mark Bazeley's Burramurra stud at Moama in NSW, which competed under Riverina Wool.
Mr Bazeley bought a team of seven to Adelaide.
He said the cow was a good example of what he was aiming for in his breeding program - "fertility, ease of calving and moderate but not too much so as you still need good yield."
"We're in the wool business so our cattle have to be 'set and forget'," he said.
The junior champion bull, Goolagong P68, from Heath and Jenna Tiller's Warnertown stud had not long returned from a trip to the Brisbane Ekka, where he finished second in his class.
"He's a young AI (artificial insemination) calf we picked out early as having the breed character, good doing ability and softness we want," Mr Tiller said.
Goolagong has been selling into Queensland in recent years where studs and commercial herds producing heavy feeder steers are chasing higher weight-for-age. Two-year-old bulls at 1000kg is typical for Goolagong.
Mr Wilding-Davies admired the young bull's length of body and overall style and said he was very clean underneath.
Santa Gertrudis
Judge: Tom Wilding-Davies
Exhibitors: 4
Entries: 47
Supreme, grand and senior bull: Nangaringa Natheniel, RM&DV Fogden, Loxton
Res senior bull: Nangaringa Nobbie, RM&DV Fogden
Junior champion bull: Goolagong P68, H&J Tiller, Warnertown
Res: Kuloomba 479,Riverina Wool, Moama, NSW
Junior and grand champion female: Nangaringa Penny, RM&DV Fogden
Res junior female: Nangaringa Proper
Senior champion female: Burramura 291, Riverina Wool
Reserve: Walmona Zarla, Walmona Pastoral Co, Truro