Page 102 - NZ Hereford Magazine 2023

Australian experience

for kiwi champion

A successful Ella McWilliam competing at the Melbourne Show.
Ella McWilliam was NZ Hereford Youth’s 2021
champion judge and was also champion handler
at Future Beef New Zealand. In this report from
Ella, we read about her busy 2022.

was fortunate enough to compete in the Herefords
Australia Youth Expo, a four-day event in Wodonga.
Thanks to Kierin and Nikki Martin of Kianma Polled
Herefords providing me with a heifer to prepare and
show
I , I became part of Team Kianma.
We had a great young team working together to learn and
prepare the heifers and steers. One of my favourite parts of the
event was getting off the showgrounds and going on a farm
tour of commercial Black Baldie farm Billabong Beef Company
and seeing and learning about how their operation runs.
In the show ring, I was given Highly Commended in the
Paraders Competition. The heifer I showed was also sashed as
Junior Champion Heifer in the cattle competition. Throughout
the event, as one of the older intermediate competitors, I was
paired up with junior Dusty Keeble. She was my little Peewee
buddy and I taught her how to groom and prepare the heifer
we shared. In the Paraders Competition and stock judging I
was there in the ring with Dusty to help show her the ropes.
This was a highlight for me. In the stock judging I was really
happy to achieve third place in the intermediate division. Ella with her young charge at the Herefords Australia Youth Expo.

100 HEREFORD MAGAZINE Year 2023