The Middlemarch 17-year-old spent much of his childhood playing with a litter of pups, feeding pet lambs and calves, and later, at his dad's side, mustering and working in the stock yards.
By the time he was 9, he had his own flock of coloured merino sheep, which he has built up and with which he has won many A and P shows.
In the past two years, he has won the champion and supreme champion black and coloured ewe, reserve champion fleece, and the junior New Zealand Beef Breeders Youth Show at the 2008 Christchurch Royal Show, and the supreme champion coloured sheep at the 2009 Christchurch Royal Show.
So it is no surprise Will is making a name for himself in judging circles. He has ''the eye'' for quality stock, partly bred by a long family history of farming, and experience.
Will won the New Zealand Merino Junior Judging Competition at the Christchurch A and P Show - and is believed to be the first secondary school pupil to have won the prize for under 25-year-olds in its 21-year history.
Now, he will represent New Zealand in the junior judging competition at the Adelaide Royal Show in September next year.
''This was the second time I have entered the Christchurch show. I didn't get a place last year.
''So I was pretty stoked when I won this year.''
Will said each competitor was assessed on how they handled and rated the same four sheep, and how confidently they explained their decisions to the judges and the public.
''When I'm judging, something usually takes my eye. If it stands out to me, it has some sort of award-winning quality.
''It's got to have good fleece and good confirmation [good body structure].
And if you can justify your judgement, you get a lot of points in this type of competition.''
While Will has ambitions to own his own farm one day, and would dearly love to get into the profession next year, he said his education was more important at this stage of his life.
He still has one more year of secondary education at John McGlashan College in Dunedin, and is planning on completing a bachelor of commerce in agriculture degree at Lincoln University.
He said the great thing about his farming background was he did not have to worry about the cost of his future education.
In recent years, the wool from his flock of coloured merinos has been sold to Jane Henry Merino Ltd, a Christchurch clothing store which made high-end clothing accessories.
''It makes a very handy income.''
