The group of Year 12 students took home Three first places, two second places and a third place in the stud judging at Nimmitabel Show.

The team’s steer, Bruce, was also named supreme champion in the commercial judging competition. 

The show team consists of agriculture science students Jacob West, Rhiannon Whiteman, Renee Worthington, Ebony Beetson, Kelly Wheatley, Cooper Jennings, Renee Cooper and Kimberly Taylor.

The group took a bull, a steer, a mother and calf and a heifer from Bennooka Park murray grey cattle stud in Bemboka to the Nimmitabel Show for their inaugural event as a show team. 

Although most of the students have been studying agriculture science since Year 9 and many have grown up or worked on cattle properties already, this was their first experience showing and judging cattle.

“In a way we’re building upon what we already know,” Renee Cooper said.

“We know what to look for in cattle, but now we’re learning how to show them professionally and what’s required of us in that professional environment.”

Each Wednesday afternoon, the group visits Bennooka Park to work with stud owner Steven Robertson.

“We head there after school to practice washing and brushing and leading cattle, all the stuff we need to get them looking their best for shows,” Rhiannon Whiteman said. 

“I work with horses more than cattle, so it’s been a bit of an adjustment, I find cows more challenging than horses.”

By joining the Bega High School show team, the students are taking a step in the right direction toward securing a certificate two in the Vocational Education and Training Primary Industries course.

The qualification will help them to pursue veterinary or farm management work in the future.

After their first show, the group looking ahead to the Cobargo Show on Sunday and the Canberra Show over the last weekend of February for a four day excursion.

“I think we’re feeling more confident now, we’ve been learning a lot just by watching other people at the shows,” Kelly Wheatley said. 

“There will be lots of different schools and studs at Canberra so it’s going to be a lot of fun.”

Bega High School agriculture science teacher Mark Hopkins said he was very proud of the work the group had done so far. 

“They’ve done all of this on their own time, they’re a really good bunch,” he said.