WA College of Agriculture Denmark student Ella Smith won the Junior Paraders title at the recent Beverley Show.

Zoe Skinner was placed third in the category while Travis Freegard, Hayley Keam and Indi Wilkinson performed well, qualifiying to compete at the Perth Royal Show.

Also at the show, the college’s cattle won grand champion bull, reserve champion bull, reserve champion heifer, first in the steer class and was the most successful exhibitor.

In Junior Paraders, students lead heifers, bulls and steers and are judged on their ability to control the animal which can be a 600kg bull.

They are assessed on moving the animal smoothly and their ability to ensure that it stands correctly.

College principal Rebecca Kirkwood said the student must do this while communicating with the judge, using constant eye contact.

“This is no mean feat,” Ms Kirkwood said.

She said Zoe was excellent in the Junior Judging and came a confi dent first.

Phoebe Mottram came second in the section, demonstrating strong public speaking skills.

Junior Judging incorporates visual assessment of livestock and public speaking.

The students are given a clipboard and time (about 10 minutes) in the arena with the livestock – normally four heifers or four bulls.

They rank the animals in order of strongest to weakest based on their features and write notes about this.

Students then speak on a microphone to the crowd, justifying their response.

Ms Kirkwood said the college had a strong breeding program, which was evident in the livestock. Students handled them from a young age, which made them calm and easier to manage.

This article appeared in the Denmark Bulletin, 1 September 2022.