She may only be 13 but as the name of the first bull she’s sold suggests, Emerald State High School student, Chloe Davey is intent on creating an empire in the Droughtmaster industry.
As the last of her parents’ four bulls left the CQLX sale ring last Wednesday, Chloe slipped into the arena to stand beside her father as her 19-month-old sire was offered to buyers on the closing afternoon of the Droughtmaster National sale.
At the conclusion of bidding, Lonemark CD Empire, the polled son of Hamadra Christian out of Hamadra Davina, had sold for $9000 to John Clark’s Basalt Pastoral Co, Rolleston.
It was $3000 more than Chloe’s parents, Mark and Leonie Davey, had received for their top priced bull at the prestigious sale but the young studmaster took her first sale in her stride.
“It was fine this afternoon because I’ve been in front of, and I’ve talked in front of a bigger crowd than that so it didn’t really bother me,” she said. “There’s a lot of people looking down at you but it attracted them to the bull and I smiled at all of them.”
The bigger crowd she spoke of was the grand stage of the Ekka where this year Chloe worked as an associate judge for the breed alongside Tammie Robinson, Glenheart Brangus Stud, Toogoolawah.
She said it had been a good opportunity to learn technical things that would help her improve her own stud breeding
She has had her own stud since 2013, when she was eight years old, but hasn’t had progeny to sell before now.
As a junior she’s allowed 30 breeders and can nominate two bulls for sale, but Chloe has opted to only have 10 breeders.
“If I go to 30, obviously I’m going to have more bulls so that won’t work for me,” she explained.
The self-confident teenager has been parading all over the Central Highlands since 2009, placing regularly at Emerald, Comet, Baralaba and Springsure, to name a few, and said it was something she was just brought up to do.
Droughtmasters Australia CEO, Neil Donaldson, said the breed loved encouraging their young members, describing Chloe as “a really good kid”.
She put up her hand to help at Beef Australia 2018 and in Neil’s words, was “there for hours, always happy, always putting her hand up for work”.
Although Chloe said she expected to continue with a career of breeding quality stud stock, she might jump the fence and end up in front of the camera in a different way, as a media personality.
Declaring she liked speaking in front of people and taking photos, Chloe said being “out there” appealed to her.
In the meantime it was back to school for Chloe this week.