Northern Dawn Texel Stud, established by Sarah Catherwood in 2019, is based in the Waikato, New Zealand. After running a commercial Texel flock, Sarah found the sheep lacked the classic Texel “look”, so she sourced stud Texel genetics from the South Island to strengthen type and quality.
Sarah quickly discovered the challenges of bringing southern sheep up to the Waikato, particularly the need for strong disease resilience and tolerance to Facial Eczema.
Through natural selection, and challenging conditions, Northern Dawn Texel stud has developed a robust type of sheep that travels well on hills, and converts poorer feed into muscle.
Unfortunately, through experience we have identified genetics that perform poorly in Waikato conditions but more importantly, lines that consistently thrive. It has taken time to refine the type of sheep we are aiming for, with our imported genetics playing a significant role in this process. It has not always worked, and there has certainly been a great deal of heartbreak along the way to developing the sheep we have today.
In 2021, Northern Dawn Texel Stud imported purposely bred UK embryos from the renowned UK sire Garngour Craftsman, paired with two carefully selected UK dams, with the objective of producing sheep that could thrive under New Zealand farming conditions and, critically, lamb unshepherded. These genetics have strengthened the flock with additional muscle, bone, and the desired Texel type, and they have adapted well to the Waikato environment. Unfortunately, not all of the UK embryo progeny were suited to Waikato conditions; however, two rams in particular, 26 and 27, have performed exceptionally well.
One of our most successful rams, sired by the UK ram Highcraigs Apex, participated in the SIGC (South Island Genomic Calibration) trial. His IMF and meat-eating quality traits place him in the top percentage nationally, with two of our other leading rams currently entered in the SIGC 2026. One of these rams is our UK embryo ram 27, and the other is a purchased sire, Highgrounds 229/20, selected specifically to cross back over our UK-sired ewes.
A substantial investment has recently been made to undertake DNA and genotype testing across the entire flock, enabling the identification of superior animals and a stronger focus on improving meat quality while concurrently enhancing Facial Eczema tolerance.
Our breeding programme has some exciting progress ahead, and we welcome enquiries from those interested in purchasing a ram and accessing these genetics.
