The 10-member group, known as “The Gold Card Club”, last week visited seven bull sales over five days in central and north Canterbury, where they put their well-developed bull-buying skills to the test.
While he couldn’t give too many details, organizer Murray Sheppard said the group visited a different region each year to attend bull sales and relive their “glory days.”
Throughout the week, the farmers hold a sweepstakes where they select up to five bulls from each sale to see who can guess which bulls will get the highest prizes.
“We’ve been doing it for eight years. It’s all very serious. Cocky (Clive Cochrane) won it twice, I won it once and it’s been shared everywhere,” said Mr Sheppard.
The group attended the Mt Possession Angus sale in Mid-Canterbury on Monday, June 13, the Sudeley Angus sale, near Leeston, on Tuesday and the Silverstream Charolais and Hereford sale on Wednesday.
On Thursday the group drove to Culverden for the sale of Kaiwara Angus and Hemingford Charolais on Thursday and then for the sale of Grampians (Culverden) and Red Oak Angus (Waipara) on Friday.
Mr Sheppard said Ken Bain, of West Otago, was “marginally out the front” after Thursday morning’s Kaiwara Angus sale.
“KA (Bain) had a good day (on Silverstream) yesterday, with the top prize of $50,000 and he had a total of about $130,000 that day.”
Mr. Bain extended his lead by selecting lots 2 and 3 at the Kaiwara Angus sale, both of which sold for the top price of $13,000.