Finals of the UK and Ireland Aberdeen Angus Cattle Society Youth Development Programme took place in Melton Mowbray Livestock Mart in Leicestershire last weekend.
The finals saw young people from Scotland, Wales, England and Ireland take part in the one-day event at the famous livestock mart. Forty competitors took part across three sections: junior, intermediate and senior level.
Eleven Aberdeen Angus enthusiasts made the trip from Ireland under the guidance of Niall Lynch, the Irish youth development co-ordinator.
The Irish team consisted of Rowan Smith, Liam Farrell and Diarmuid Mullaney on the junior team; William Woods, Caitlin McGartland, Adam Kearney and Sam Ferguson on the intermediate team; and Eoin Robinson, Cliodhna Smith, Matthew Cochrane and Harry Givan on the senior team.
Competitors were put through their paces in a number of areas, including clipping and grooming, where each competitor had to take a washed animal out of a pen and clip and groom the animal in a clipping crate, as if they were preparing the animal for a show. This had to be completed in one hour. Ringcraft ability was also judged, with each competitor assessed on their ability to change a halter on the animal they were showing.
Ring etiquette
Exhibiting an animal to the best of their ability also gained points, not to mention show ring etiquette. This included not getting too close to other people’s cattle, not blocking off other cattle and general awareness of others in the ring.
There was also a stock-judging element to the day, where competitors had to place four animals from first to fourth and then tell William Haire, the master judge, why they placed each animal where they did.
One of the most nerve-wracking tasks for the intermediate and senior competitors was an interview where the finalists had to talk on a topic for five minutes and answer questions from an interview panel on their presentation.
All 40 competitors also attended presentations on nutrition and veterinary issues as part of the finals.
“The weekend was a massive success,” Lynch told the Irish Farmers Journal. “We had more young people involved this year, so places in the final are getting harder and harder to get – but that’s great for everybody. There was a huge amount of effort put in from everybody including a number of English breeders who trained over 40 cattle for the weekend. The finals return to Northern Ireland next year and we are really looking forward to another great weekend of encouraging young people and teaching them new skills.”
It was a clean sweep for the English team in the overall championship with Sophie Tunney taking home first place in the junior section, Jack Heath winning the intermediate section and Ollie Garnett Smith taking top honors in the senior section.
Clare man Adam Kearney took home third overall in the intermediate section, while Westmeath man Eoin Robinson took home third place in the senior section.
The Irish team had a number of individual prize winners, including Liam Farrell who took first prize in the junior clipping section, along with second in the grooming. Third place in the grooming section went to Rowan Smith. First place in the intermediate clipping section went the way of William Woods, along with second in the grooming and second in the panel interview.
Kearney took home first prize in the panel interview, while Sam Ferguson came third in the panel interview. Third place in the senior clipping went to Matthew Cochrane, while first place in the senior ringcraft went to Cliodhna Smith. Cochrane also took home second place in the senior ringcraft section, while Eoin Robinson came out in top spot in the senior panel interview.
Bright future
Speaking at the awards ceremony on Saturday night Matthew Currie, president of the Aberdeen Angus Cattle Society, said that the society’s two most important jobs are to maintain the accuracy of the herdbook and ensure that the youth development programme is strong and healthy.
“Without the youth the breed doesn’t have a future,” he said. “Walking around the mart today you would have to be impressed with the standard and enthusiasm that all the young people demonstrated during the day. The future is bright for breeding Aberdeen Angus cattle.”
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