Top cattle breeder Pine Creek Angus wins coveted beef awards at Sydney Royal Easter Show

April 12, 2022 – ABC Rural

They are the jewel in the crown for Australian cattle breeders, and one Angus stud has taken out two of the most prestigious beef awards at the Sydney Royal Easter Show.

Pine Creek Angus at Cowra is no stranger to receiving prizes in the pavilion, but these accolades have well and truly secured it a reputation as one of the nation’s most successful producers.

Greg Fuller almost had a “clean sweep” this year and back in 2015, making it the second time he has got his hands on both the Hordern and Urquhart trophies, some of the oldest in the show.

“We’ve had a tremendous success,” Mr Fuller said.
Mr Fuller said he was only one of two people who had managed to win both cups at one time.

A born champion

The Hordern is for the best pair from the Grand Champion Male and Female of each cattle breed.
PC Royal Roll R017 was last year’s Junior Angus champion, and has now won the 2022 Hordern.

“From the day he was born he was a real stand-out,” Mr Fuller said. There is no doubt the work of more than 50 years of breeding lines paid off. “You never expect it, you just hope for it,” Mr Fuller said.

“You dream about it.”

The family will hold onto the male because “to find a sire of that calibre, you just can’t find them,” according to Mr Fuller. Pine Creek is the only Angus breeder to win the Hordern trophy eight times.

Pine Creek’s PC Royal’s winning streak did not stop there.

Mr Fuller also won the Supreme Interbreed Champion Bull and the Urquhart, which is for champion Beef Exhibit from both Grand Champion Males and Females in all beef breeds.

Shift away from prize profits

The days where Sydney Royal Easter Show prizes equated to a premium for livestock may be numbered.

Mr Fuller blamed technology and online auctions for the shift away from traditional sales.

“The good old-fashioned days where country people would come to the shows and buy the bulls is just not happening as much as it used to,” Mr Fuller said.

“The young generation can sit down and buy a bull off the internet in their lunch hour without seeing them.”
But for some of the most successful stud operators, seeing the livestock face-to-face is still important.