Australia’s most promising young alpaca judges have been announced by Agricultural Shows Australia as eligible to compete in the national finals of the prestigious annual competition to be judged in October.
The competition brings together the best young judges and paraders aged from 15 to 25 in each state to compete at the national finals. Qualification is via success in competitive regional and state competitions.
One young judge from South Australia, Cody Jones, will be competing in an unprecedented four events; meat sheep breeds, Merino fleece, Merino sheep, and poultry.
The national championships are held in a different location each year. This year, the event is being hosted by Tasmanian Ag Shows and held at the Launceston Royal Show. The National Alpaca Young Judges Championship is sponsored by the Australian Alpaca Association. The winner of each competition will also take home a pair of boots from Blundstone Australia.
New South Wales
Grace Nesbitt, 18, from Illawong will be representing New South Wales in the alpaca young judges competition.
“I’m from the suburbs but I got into alpacas through an ag program at school and I just love everything about it. I’ve done everything from shearing season to becoming the vice president of the NSW Alpaca Youth Group. Luckily, I just talked to the right people at the right time, and my little brother is also very into it now too,” she said.
“The young judges competition gives you a really good opportunity to look at the animals in the industry, see how far we’ve come, and learn from other people. My dream is to one day have my own property and a small alpaca herd of my own.”
South Australia
Victoria Clarke, 22, will be representing South Australia in the alpaca young judges competition.
“I went to Urrbrae Agricultural High School and got involved with everything, learning about any animal I could. I did a lot of work with the alpaca club and the young judges competition now gives me a great opportunity to learn more about the alpaca industry from the judges’ perspective. It’s always interesting to know what you want in an alpaca, especially for the future when hopefully I’ll get my own,” she said.
Tasmania
Genevieve Scrimgeour, 18, from Richmond will be representing Tasmania in the alpaca young judges competition.
“I started working with Toffeemont Alpacas a few months ago and I just have such a passion for alpacas now, they’re beautiful creatures. I’m really looking forward to seeing the quality of alpacas on show and experiencing a nationwide event. Hopefully in the future I’ll be able to breed my own alpacas and keep showing them,” she said.
Western Australia
Mia Hancock, 19, will be representing Western Australia in the in the alpaca young judges competition.
“I got introduced to the world of alpacas about five years ago when we had a rep talk to my class at school. I went to a workshop and next thing you know I’m at everything else. I got thrown into everything; judging, handling, the whole lot. The young judges competition is an incredible chance for me to meet other young people and learn so much to bring back here and keep other young kids involved,” she said.
“I’ve got my own alpacas now and it’s so rewarding to see so many amazing quality animals. My vision is to run my own stud and be a big name in the stud industry.”
Victoria
Allee Yorstan, 16, (pictured below) will be representing Victoria in the alpaca young judges competition.
“My first time being involved with the young judges was at the Bendigo Show and since then I’ve just really enjoyed everything about the experience of being around alpacas,” she said.
The competitions
Overall there are nine categories for judging and parading each year under the Agricultural Shows Australia national competition program: beef cattle, dairy cattle, alpaca, poultry, Merino sheep, meat breed sheep and Merino fleece judging, as well as parading competitions in beef and dairy cattle.
Competitors in the alpaca young judges competition will be judged on their interaction with the animals, handling of the fleeces and their chosen rankings, compared to the findings of an experienced judge.
Dr. Rob Wilson is chairman of Agricultural Shows Australia, the peak body overseeing 572 agricultural shows in Australia which attract six million visitors annually and contribute nearly $1billion to the national economy, and says the competition is designed to recognise the best new talent in livestock judging nationwide.
“It’s an extremely prestigious event and positions at the nationals are keenly contested,” Dr. Wilson explains.
“These young people are the future of agricultural show competitions which are crucial to the continual improvement of Australia’s food and fibre. The national competition is a coveted opportunity to grow personally and professionally by practising skills against the cream of the crop.”
