NIOA Texas T08 (AI) (P) won his class (Senior Bull – 22-24 months) at the Brisbane Ekka, capturing the judge’s attention with his “great underline”, “great tropical coat” and “true to breed character”.

An imposing young poll bull described as “one of the best produced” by NIOA Santa Gertrudis stud at Talgai has been labelled a future stud sire star after clinching his first major show ribbon.

The annual Royal Queensland Show’s stud beef competition, which began in 1876, is revered as the biggest of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere, but Texas handled the hype of his first major metropolitan outing like a seasoned showring pro under the expert handling of Sam Falls.

NIOA Santa Gertrudis general manager Shannon Gardner was quietly expecting big things from the aptly-named Texas after his clean sweep at the local Allora Show earlier this year, but he was blown away by the Ekka result.

The son of Rosevale Democrat G268 (P) was in impeccable shape, weighing 892kg with a raw eye muscle area of 144 square centimetres.

It was an emotional win for herdsman Sam Falls who has watched Texas develop over the past 12 months and has been steadfast in the bull’s star potential.

“The judge said he ticks all the boxes – an absolute stud sire prospect,” he said. “There was a great line-up today – five classes of bulls – and there was only a hair splitting him and the eventual Reserve Champion.”

Texas’s triumph capped the best metropolitan show outing for the Allora-based NIOA Santa Gertrudis stud since NIOA Qantas Q3 (ET) (AI) won Grand Champion at the 2021 Royal Sydney Easter Show.

NIOA came third for Best Pair of Bulls – Texas and NIOA Tulsa T02 (PS) – while the stud’s females NIOA Macey and NIOA Helena came third and fifth in the Junior Heifer 12-14 months class.

This article appeared in the Allora Advertiser, 30 August 2023.