Rural women in the ring
• Alice Hall place third in the National Young Judges Beef Final on Monday at the Sydney Royal Easter Show.
By Taylor Clyne,
April 13, 2022
The Sydney Royal Easter Show is arguably the most iconic agricultural event in the country run over 14 days and this year featuring two North-East women.
Waterhouse’s Alice Hall and Tulendeena’s Sally Kershaw have been waiting for two years due to Covid to participate in their chosen fields after both winning spots at the Scottsdale Show in 2019.
Ms Hall said she earnt her place after winning the Junior Beef Judging State Final in 2019 and was thrilled to receive a third place in the National Young Judges Beef Final on Monday.
“I’ve been waiting three years to compete so it’s pretty surreal now that it’s done,” she said.
Ms Hall was one of five competitors with others hailing from Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia.
“We were judged on three classes and spoke on one.
“I judged a group of Hereford bulls, a group of Limousine bulls and a group of Santa Gertrudis heifers.
“I then spoke on the Limousine bulls and described what I like to see in my bulls when judging, like masculinity, good structure and capacity and how that related to the bulls in that class,” she said.
Ms Hall said she hopes to continue judging as opportunities arise given it’s a big passion of hers.
“I’ve been given so much help and encouragement from so many people along the way, so I feel very grateful to have made it to this point.”
Sally Kershaw was Tasmania’s representative in the National Rural Ambassador final after being named the runner up in the state final but the winner unable to attend the Sydney event.
“The idea of the rural ambassador awards is to give young people (20-30) who are passionate about their local shows an opportunity to develop their skills, build relationships and experience what other shows have to offer,” she said.
The competition process involved filling out questionnaires, creating a video on yourself and writing a cover letter followed by a panel interview in Sydney and a trip to Parliament and Government House.
“We toured around the show grounds, talking to the stewards and getting an understanding on how the show works, the behind the scenes and networking,” Ms Kershaw said.
“It was an amazing experience, the scale of the Royal Easer Show blew my mind, seeing the passion of the volunteers and all they have been able to do is inspiring.
“I hope to help develop the Ambassador program in our area more.
“Scottsdale Show will be holding the Show Ambassador Competition this year and I would love to have more people enter,” she concluded.