Hailing from Kundle Kundle, New South Wales, Australia, nineteen-year-old Mikayla Saunders is attending the Cattlemen’s Congress in Oklahoma City as a guest of the British White Cattle Park Association. Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster Ron Hays visited with her about her experience.
Saunders’s trip to Oklahoma began with an ad on Facebook posted by Shallow Creek Farms of Lexington, Oklahoma, requesting help for the British White Show at Cattlemen’s Congress. Saunders communicated her interest in helping, and within hours, owners Tracy and Vicky Van Horn excitedly accepted her request to come to the U.S. and help them with their cattle. The American British White Park Association and the British White Cattle Association of Australia sponsored her.
“I have followed a lot of the farms, like the Hockermans and Terra Rubra and the Smith Farm on their Facebook pages, so it has been very surreal to have actually met all of these people, and the cattle over here are very, very, very, nice!” she said. “They are definitely a beefier breed over here.”
For the Van Horns, Saunders has been walking and grooming cattle and learning a lot about the way things are done in the U.S. During the event, she exhibited a steer for Smith Farm & Cattle Co., LLC, which she said was a dream come true. During her stay, she also visited the National Stockyards and was taken aback by the size and function of the facility.
Saunders is building her own herd of British Whites in Australia which she started with the purchase of two heifers and a cow with a heifer calf in late 2021. Her herd has grown to eighteen females and two bulls. She helps local kids by letting them show her cattle and teaching them the ropes of the show cattle industry in Australia.
Saunders originally fell in love with the breed-specific markings of British White Cattle – mostly white with black ears, noses, and eyes – and their docile temperaments.
“I have since learned that they eat very well and are well suited for both hot and cold climates, so very adaptable,” she shared.
Even in Australia, British White Cattle are difficult to find. Saunders admitted, “I’ve had to travel as far as 14 hours north and south to get cattle that are suitable to show.”
Her hometown, Kundle Kundle, is a very small, rural community located about four hours north of Sydney. It is comprised mostly of farms housing black cattle, making her British Whites stand out. She has completed her first year of University and is changing her degree program to become a bovine geneticist.
