The well-respected Armidale merino stud, in the Maniototo, was founded by his great-grandfather George.
After lapsing during World War 2, it was later resurrected by his grandfather Bruce and is now run by Mr Paterson (28) and his father Allan.
This week, the Armidale woolshed was a hive of activity during judging of the Royal Agricultural Society of New Zealand's national Golden Fleece competition.
The Golden Fleece is being hosted by the Maniototo A and P Association at the Maniototo Stadium in Ranfurly today.
The doors open at 2.30pm and there will be wool displays before presentations start from 6pm. There will also be a fashion parade and wearable wool awards.
The association successfully applied to host the event both this year and next year, with the aim of reinvigorating it.
The timing could not have been better, with improved wool returns, and the competition attracted 136 fleeces, well up on last year's 58 entries.
There was "outstanding" quality among the entries in both the fine wool and strong wool sections. Simon and Allan Paterson spent last Sunday selecting their own entries, looking for quality and "something that catches the eye".
The Patersons run 3800 merino ewes, which include a 1000-strong stud flock, and 800 halfbred ewes, as well as trading cattle, on the 2000ha Gimmerburn property.
Simon Paterson, who is chairman of the Young Merino Group, said wool was something he had been brought up with.
Last year, the Patersons won the Otago Merino Clip of the Year award and, in 2008, they won supreme champion animal at the Canterbury A and P Show with a merino ram. They entered this week's Maniototo ewe hogget competition.
Mr Paterson said entering competitions was "just a good measure".
"If you don't enter these sorts of things, you don't really know where you are at."
