FEATURE | 111
Now drawing to the end of his rugby refereeing career, Nigel Owens is busy developing his own farm in west Wales, with pedigree Hereford cattle at the core of his operation. There are many things Nigel Owens can claim to his name; the record number of rugby test matches refereed, an MBE, being a household name in a profession where few are, patron of many valued charities and now the Mairwen herd of pedigree Herefords he keeps at his holding in the Gwendraeth valley, Carmarthenshire. Despite having an exciting career, taking him all over the world, mixing with rugby greats and officiating some of the most memorable sporting moments, Nigel says his first love has always been farming. When Nigel was small, the family broke-in horses, often with Nigel on their backs on his grandparents' smallholding in Mynyddcerrig near Cross Hands, Carmarthenshire. He says: “I also spent a lot of time helping at Tyrgarn Farm, which was just behind my grandparents’, and grew up with the late Dewi Morgan and his family. This is where I really fell in love with farming.” After working on his uncle’s dairy farm nearby in his teenage years, Nigel went to Gelli Aur College, Llandeilo to study a Youth Training Scheme qualification in agriculture, while also working on local dairy farm, the Wern in Drefach. From the age of 16, he was also progressing in his refereeing at a grass-roots level, although it wasn’t always the