Long-time vendors make the national a focal point over 60 years of attending

There have been some familiar faces returning year in and year out throughout the Herefords Australia National Show and Sale's 60-year history at Wodonga, Vic.

One of those families is Arthur and Dot Jones, Beggan Hill Herefords, Harden, who formed their Hereford stud in 1952.

From the 1960s, the family started holding on-property sales, as well as selling bulls in the Sydney Royal Easter Show sale and attended the first national show and sale in 1965.

After stepping into the show ring in 1962, it didn't take long for the stud to win their first champion ribbon the following year with their bull, Beggan Hill Hero.

It was the first of many broadribbons for the operation.

Beggan Hill's foundation herd began with 18 heifers from the Mona Vale and Gobarralong studs.

It has now grown to run 104 registered females, alongside a commercial sheep and cattle operation.

Although there were a few years of not attending the event, the Jones family has been one of the main Hereford exhibitors to feature in the catalogue, alongside the Bush family, Cootamundra, and Pam Shelley, Cooma.

In the 1990s, two of Arthur and Dot's sons, Harvey, alongside his brother, Murray, continued to offer bulls at the sale.

Now run by Harvey with his wife Linda, along with their son Andrew, the stud has been in the family for four generations. Andrew said the family targeted the bull sale and aimed to put forward the best in the drop.

"We generally aim to bring a team of five down each year," Mr Jones said.

"We bought as many as eight the first year Andrew and I brought a team down.

"When we first started it was just a strictly straight Hereford sale."

The introduction of polled bulls had changed the offering, Mr Jones said. This year, 36 of 108 bulls were horned.

The family's next generation is already keen to get involved.

Andrew's eight-year-old son, Artie, is working on a heifer to take to the Hereford Youth Show, to be held in Canberra.

"They're [Artie and Andrew's daughter Tilly] usually go down there giving the bulls a once over," Andrew said. "And they usually come down and feed them too."