St Helen's Plains producer Matt Hill is a sixth-generation farmer with a long history of merino sheep breeding.

When he was 15 he decided to go out on his own and bought a Hampshire down sheep stud.

"The stud started in 2001 and I bought it in 2008," he said.

Matt is now 27 and his stud, Aurora Park and Burrandool, has grown about 10 times bigger since he took over.

"It's been a huge amount of work and a fair bit of time, but I love it," he said.

The stud produces 40 to 50 rams each year, which are sold throughout Australia.

For Matt, sheep shows are a great way to give his stud exposure.

But he said getting sheep ready for shows could take years.

"Preparation starts before the lambs are even born," he said.

"A lot goes into planning the genetic lines to come together to produce a good lamb. Then once we get a lamb, hopefully it grows to the right stage quick enough.

"I need to make sure it gets the best feed and make sure it stays warm all the time.

"Then, when it's ready I shear it, clean it up and make it look pretty ready for the show."

Matt has been taking his sheep to shows for about six or seven years.

Over that time, he's had a few wins - but his latest trip to the Royal Melbourne Show was his best showing yet.

Matt won 11 of the 12 classes he entered.

Awards included best ram and ewe of the year, which were also awarded champions of the show, along with supreme heritage exhibitor of the show, reserve interbreed ewe, reserve interbreed breeders group, and champion interbreed group of four.

"Overall I won champion male and female for my breed," Matt said.

"I've done reasonably well at sheep shows in the past and I've had some success.

"I won a breed champion award at Melbourne about six years ago, but I've never really gone that well in the interbreed categories before, so this was really exciting.

"I took 10 sheep down to Melbourne and came back with 27 ribbons, which was unbelievable."

Matt said the great thing about sheep shows was the exposure it gave producers to new buyers.

He said he had already had interest from people wanting to buy semen from his male champion.

"I've had interest from people in Argentina, which was quite amazing," he said.

Matt said starting to run his own stud at 15 had its challenges, but he always had help when he needed it.

"Mum and Dad have always been incredibly supportive," he said.

"They came to Melbourne especially to help me out at the show."

Matt said what he loved best about his job was looking at the genetic side of sheep breeding.

"It's like playing matchmaker," he said.

"You have to select who is going to go best with who and it's really interesting to see how it plays out - you are never quite sure how it is going to go.

"Some don't go well but other times, you walk away thinking that was really good."

Matt attended his last sheep show for the year last month, but this one was a lot closer to home.

"I manage the sheep section at the Horsham Show each year," he said.

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