Winter Fair steer will raise money for hospice
The owners of a crossbred steer which is to be sold at this year’s Royal Welsh Winter Fair are donating half the proceeds of the sale of the animal to charity in memory of Steffan Wynne Thomas of Llangefni, Anglesey, who died a year ago, aged 14, after a lifelong fight against illness.
The money will go to Ty Gobaith, a children’s hospice in Conwy run by the charity Hope House, providing respite care for more than 70 terminally ill children and their families in the North Wales area.
The steer, a Belgian Blue x Limousin, is owned by Dylan and Niamh Jones who farm at Tynlon, near Llangefni. Dylan is a cousin of Steffan’s father Kevin. The steer is the last of their commercial beef cattle. They have now switched to breeding pedigree Herefords with the herd name Hogia Bryn Awel.
“We showed the bullock at last year’s Winter Fair when he came fourth in a very large class and from that moment on we called him Bystach Steffan,” said Mrs Jones. “It was a very sad time for us all. Steffan had just died, so we decided to keep the animal a little longer.
“A year has passed and the anniversary of Steffan’s death is upon us. Now we feel it is time for Bystach Steffan to be sold and we have decided that half the money will go to Ty Gobaith in memory of Steffan.
“Steffan’s father, a butcher who sold his business to help care for his son, and mother, Meiner, have spent years raising money for Ty Gobaith. It is such a good cause and we are hoping the bullock will do really well and that we raise as much as we can in the sale ring for such a great charity.”
The Winter Fair takes place on the Royal Welsh showground at Llanelwedd, Builth Wells, on Monday and Tuesday, December 1 and 2. The sale of livestock is on the second day.