Mr Brice and partner Heather Henderson claimed the coveted champion all breeds ram lamb prize as well as champion all breeds ewe with their South Suffolk sheep at the 108th annual Banks Peninsula A&P Show at the Awa-iti Domain at Little River.
While the couple won champion all breeds ewe two years ago, it was the first time they had won the ram lamb title after more than 50 years of exhibiting at the show.
‘‘It’s very exciting,’’ Mr Brice said.
‘‘When you are showing, you don’t know until the day how you are going to go as everyone picks different sheep.’’
Mr Brice was originally from Culverden, moving to Little River aged 20 and leasing a small block.
‘‘I used to play a lot of cricket and rugby at the ground [Awa-iti Domain], so this is like home for me.’’
The secret to breeding a top-quality ram lamb was ‘‘luck and perseverance’’, but having good hindquarters was essential.
Mr Brice first competed at the Little River show in 1967 when he won a prize with Romney sheep.
Ms Henderson has also been active in the Banks Peninsula A&P Show, being a past show secretary.
Ben Butterick and his father Dave, of Kaituna, near Little River, won champion sheep of the show for the second year running with a two-tooth Hampshire ram.
After winning the top prize last year with a ram he had bought that same week at the Gore Ram Fair, Ben Butterick was thrilled to win this year with a ram he had bred himself.
Elizabeth Bedford, of Burnham, won champion all breeds ewe lamb.
A semi-retired farmer, Mrs Bedford runs 80 Suffolk ewes in her Dorie stud on a 30ha farm, her son now running the family farm at Dorie, near Ashburton.
Sheep convenor Dave Butterick said more than 200 sheep were entered in the show, which was on par with last year.
He said there were good numbers across most breeds, including 60 Southdown sheep as the feature breed in the show.
-By David Hill
