*Correction – In our print copy of this article, some results were incorrectly listed*
Results have been corrected in this copy
THE 2022 Sydney Royal Easter Show came to a close last week, and a pair of young Tasmanians came home with the moniker of “Australia’s Best” while plenty of others did the state proud.
Matilda Scott, 22, from Cleveland, took Australia’s top spot in the Agricultural Shows Australia Young Merino Fleece Judging Championship for 2021 and 2022.
Judging is objective, while there are characteristics about an animal to look for, what the judges will be paying close attention to is how clearly competitors express their decision and how they validate it.
A competitor’s appearance is also important, and judges can mark down for poor presentation.
Jaxon Gillam, 22, from Burnie, also took an award home, coming out in top spot for the Agricultural Shows Australia Young Dairy Cattle Parader Championship for 2021 and 2022.
Young paraders are assessed on their presentation, confidence and technique in handling the animal, as well as their knowledge about the animal and use of cattle terminology.
Sym Hood competed in the Merino Sheep Young Judges (2021) and came 3rd while Ashley Meaburn (2022) came 2nd in the same competition.
Sym also represented Tasmania in the National Merino Fleece Young Judges competition (2022).
Shara Perkins and Casey Sulman in the Alpaca Judging Championship,
Tory Hood competed in the Meat Sheep Breed Young judges (2022) while Molly Cornish competed in the 2021 competition and was the runner-up.
Thomas Febey also competed in the National Beef Paraders Championship (2022) along with Demi Bird (2021).
Our poultry judges were Georgia Weavel ( 2021) and Lewis Burke (2022).
Chelsea Rayner (2022) also competed in the National Beef Cattle Young Judges along with Alice Hall ( 2021).
Kyle Barker (2021) also represented Tasmania in the National Dairy Cattle Young Judges Championship along with William Dudfield , who was runner up in the 2022 competition and the National Dairy Parader’s Championship , along with Jaxon Gillam (2022- winner).
Finally, Sally Kershaw was a finalist in the 2021 ASA National Rural Ambassador competition while Matilda Scott was named runner-up in the 2022 competition.
This year the Sydney Royal Easter Show hosted the 2022 national championships including the 2021 finalists who were unable to compete due to Covid cancellations.