It capped off a successful show for Mr and Mrs Thomson who were also third in the open section of the Glammies - the 2012 Beef and Lamb New Zealand Golden Lamb Awards.
The very large but very placid Ted was also named supreme Royal event exhibit at the Otago-Taieri A and P Show in January.
Ted was sired by a bull called Trewint Henry, from the Trewint South Devon stud in England, from where Mr Thomson obtained semen.
Since the sire was called Henry, he decided to call the bull Ted, given that was the nickname of former All Black coach Sir Graham Henry.
Ted had always been placid and easy-going, from when he was a calf. Prior to this year's Otago-Taieri show, he had not been tied up for three years.
The bull now had his own calves on the ground, with a heifer calf going to the Queen of Hearts show and sale at the Beef Expo in Feilding in May.
Originating from the southwest of England, South Devons were known worldwide as the gentle giants. The breed was introduced to New Zealand in 1969.
Mr Thomson established his stud in 1988, having previously only farmed commercial cattle, although they had been using South Devon bulls across their commercial cows.
He was impressed with the breed's docility, marbling and ability to cross with other cattle.
Mr Thomson is third-generation on the farm and runs 80 cattle, including 40 stud breeding cows, and 1450 breeding ewes.
He is the president of the South Devon Cattle Society of New Zealand and vice-president of the World South Devon Associationand has attended the last three world conferences, in Australia, England and Canada, which provided an opportunity to see the breed in other environments.
That was another feature of South Devons that he was impressed with - their adaptability. He had seen them housed in England and farmed in the cold climate of Canada, the dry conditions of Australia, and then in New Zealand.
At the moment, there were 29 stud breeders of South Devons in New Zealand and they were "a lovely bunch of people".
Mr Thomson, who aimed to breed good structurally sound cattle, usually exhibited at five A and P shows each year - Canterbury, Wyndham, Otago-Taieri, Gore and Upper Clutha.
"If you don't enter, you can't win.
"There's no point saying you've got good stock unless you put it out in front of people," he said.
It was also an opportunity to meet like-minded people and other exhibitors, discuss "what's good about the farming world" and explain about the breed.
His ultimate aim, like many stud cattle breeders, was to win the Meat and Wool Cup at the Canterbury A and P Show, which was awarded to the supreme champion beef animal of the show.
The Thomsons sold bulls from Invercargill to North Otago, up the West Coast and also around the local area.