From the Royal to Hatari: Baie Sterkte met julle Veiling

Written By Networthy .

There are breeders whose names, animals and families become part of the fabric of a Show.

For the Royal, the people behind tomorrow's Hatari Platinum Auction are very much among them.

To Jan and Marius Eksteen and Janita Muller of Hatari Farming; Steyn Steenekamp and Abraham Steyn of Gras Karoo Dormers; Tjaart Steenekamp of 2 Broers Dormers and Twee Seuns Suffolks; and Pieter Jordaan of Buffelsfontein Dormers — we wish you, your families and your teams every success for tomorrow.

The catalogue shows what connects this group: different farms and different breeding programmes, but a shared emphasis on functional animals, performance, sound genetics and sheep that must ultimately add value under practical South African farming conditions.

For us at the Royal, there is another connection.

We know these breeders because they keep making the journey.

Year after year, they travel a very long way to bring some of their best animals to KwaZulu-Natal. That represents a considerable investment of time, money, preparation and effort. Their support has helped sustain the standard, competitiveness and spirit of the Royal sheep section over many years, and it is something we value enormously.

And for buyers studying tomorrow's catalogue, there is a very practical reason the Royal knows these breeding programmes so well: we have watched their genetics prove themselves.

The Dormer story includes some exceptional bloodlines.

Oorlog was bred by 2 Broers and acquired by Hatari Farming after setting a then South African Dormer record price of R350,000. His real legacy, however, has been his progeny. His son Oorlog Jnr HE22-037 became Senior Champion, Grand Champion and Supreme Champion at the 2024 Dormer National before going on to become Supreme Champion Ram on Show and Gold Cup winner at the 2024 Royal Agricultural Exhibition. Another son, Grizzly, later sold for R400,000.

The Payback line brings another Royal connection. Payback son Tyson won his Royal class in both 2023 and 2024, while Dallas, Tyson and their descendants run strongly through the breeding represented in this catalogue.

And one of tomorrow's particularly interesting offerings is Lot 3, Tokkelos DZ23-153. A former Ram Lamb Champion, Tokkelos is no longer simply a promising young ram: he is a proven sire, with 431 recorded progeny across three herds.

But this is not only a Dormer story.

The Twee Seuns Suffolk name carries its own long and distinguished association with the Royal.

Steyn and Tjaart Steenekamp bred the Supreme Champion Ewe on Show in 2016. In 2023, Tjaart's Twee Seuns Suffolk bred the Reserve to the Supreme Champion Ram on Show. Then, at the 2024 Royal Agricultural Exhibition, Hatari Farming produced the Supreme Champion Ram on Show with a Dormer, while Twee Seuns Suffolks produced the Supreme Champion Ewe on Show.

Two breeds. Two Supreme Champions. From the same remarkable farming network.

And the Suffolk connection goes further than the show ring.

Tjaart and the Twee Seuns programme have been testing meat performance at the Royal for years. In 2016, a Twee Seuns Suffolk was First Reserve European Genetics Lamb Carcass. The Suffolk–Dormer crossbreeding programme developed at Lower Orpendale then produced the Royal Super Lamb carcass in both 2017 and 2018.

That matters, because it leads to another part of this group's Royal record that prospective buyers should not overlook.

They have proved themselves on the hook.

At the 2024 Royal Carcass Competition, the breeders represented in tomorrow's Platinum Auction produced an extraordinary set of results.

Tjaart Steenekamp and 2 Broers Dormers produced a 29.68kg Dormer-cross carcass scoring 82.2%, which became both the 2024 Royal Champion Lamb Carcass and European Champion Lamb Carcass. At the Royal Carcass Auction it sold to OJ Trading for R600/kg.

And that was not an isolated winner. 2 Broers also produced the:

  • Royal Reserve Champion Lamb

  • European Reserve Champion Lamb

  • Royal Champion Group of Four Lambs

  • European Champion Group of Four Lambs.

In the heavier classes, Steyn Steenekamp and Gras Karoo Dormers produced the 2024 Royal Champion Super Lamb Carcass — a 32.4kg Dormer-cross scoring 79.5% and selling for R360/kg — as well as the Royal Reserve Champion Super Lamb.

Marius Eksteen and Hatari Farming added still more depth to that performance, taking the Royal Reserve Champion Group of Four Lambs, European Reserve Champion Group of Four Lambs and Royal Second Reserve Champion Group of Four Lambs.

It was an extraordinary demonstration that the genetics these breeders bring to the show ring also translate into the traits that matter after slaughter: muscling, finish, yield, consistency and market value.

Then came 2025.

While there was no Royal Show, the special effort Hatari Farming’s made to participate in our standalone fat stock show made history.

For the first time in the competition's history, the Champion Lamb Carcass title resulted in a tie — and both carcasses belonged to Marius Eksteen's Hatari Farming. The two Dormers each achieved a score of 84.04%.

A third Hatari Dormer took Reserve Champion Lamb Carcass, while Hatari's consistency across the entry was underlined when they also won the Royal Champion Lamb Carcass Group.

That gives tomorrow's sale a story considerably bigger than show ribbons alone.

These are genetics with evidence behind them.

They have won in the breed ring.

They have taken Gold Cup honours.

They have won on the hook.

They have commanded premium prices at the Royal Carcass Auction.

And, most importantly, they have produced the next generation to do it again.

That philosophy comes through strongly in the Hatari Platinum catalogue itself. Hatari speaks of “quality over quantity” and genetics that make a difference; Gras Karoo of genetics that perform under different conditions; 2 Broers of genetics built around performance, profitability and progress; and Buffelsfontein of functional animals that can work in the veld and add value to the commercial farmer.

Tomorrow, buyers have an opportunity to buy into that work.

The Hatari Platinum Auction includes both an extensive Dormer offering and Twee Seuns Suffolks, with the catalogue's Suffolk section beginning at Lot 165. The current SwiftVEE listing confirms 15 SP Suffolk rams and 15 SP Suffolk ewes alongside the Dormer offering.

HATARI PLATINUM AUCTION

To Jan, Marius, Janita, Steyn, Abraham, Tjaart and Pieter — baie sterkte met julle veiling.

Thank you for the kilometres travelled. For the sheep brought to us when it would have been easier and considerably cheaper to stay home. For the quality and competitiveness you have added to the Royal sheep section. For the friendship, fun, spirit and sharp clothing that arrive with you. And, above all, for your loyalty to the Royal over so many years.

We hope the buyers recognise tomorrow what we have had the privilege of seeing in the Royal ring — and on the Royal hook — for years.

May it be an exceptional sale.

Networthy .
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