The life of a shepherdess isn’t an easy one, especially as Tessa Bustance combines breeding pedigree Texel sheep with working as an auctioneer’s clerk at Melton Mowbray market.
That’s her Tuesday job, which entails a 4.15am alarm call to be at the market in time to book in the lambs to be sold, penning them in, keeping sales records and making sure the lambs go into the right lorry at the end of the day.
The rest of her week is spent doing sheep feeding and other jobs for both her own and Andrew’s flocks, looking after the accounts at the family’s farm shop, Wimberley Hall Farm, where she is also responsible for stock taking and ordering and helping out at the coffee shop at busy times.
Tessa sometimes helps her brother Josh, who keeps British Blue cattle locally, and who has just started his own pedigree Blue Texel flock of sheep. He shows his cattle, inspiring Tessa to go into showing her sheep.
However, like any 20-year-old, Tessa has time for socialising with friends from Spalding & District Young Farmers as well as former agricultural college friends.