2023 Royal Adelaide Show Steer & Sheep Team wrap up…

After a successful Ag Open Day with over 50 people attending, where the students displayed their show animals with pride, it was show time! This year the school entered 6 steers and 2 pens of 3 wethers in the Royal Adelaide Show, with over 20 students attending. The teams have been training every week for the last 6 months and were keen to put their skills to the test, and have their animals judged.

The sheep team had been working hard all year with several special guests attending trainings to help the team build their skills. Thank you to Amanda Lock, Steph Brooker-Jones and Brad Davies for sharing your knowledge with our students. The wethers presented very well at the show, and we had some promising results from the wool section. During the competition our students also volunteered as stewards in the wool section of the competition and were commended for their work ethic and presentation in the shed. The students also competed the Prime SAMM, Merino Fleece and Merino Sheep junior judging competitions throughout the day on Thursday, with Lucy Lock placing in the top 8 in the Fleece judging. This year, the team consisted of many first time competitors, with many attending the Sheep Expo earlier in the year.  On Friday, students put their learning to the test inspecting sale rams and watching the annual ram auction.
They gained valuable experience during the week whilst at the show and on the bus trip home were already talking about the team for next year and excited to build their skills further. 

This year the steers were a feature of the show, with over 30 schools and 250 steers competing for the championship. The students represented the school with pride, and had great success returning with several ribbons in both the hook and hoof competition. The team also had excellent success as individual with Eliza and James Bull both receiving 4th in their SAYBB handlers classes, and Alex Charlick was selected from over 200 students to compete in the Urrbrae handlers competition. The team also received 2nd in the Most Professional School Award from over 30 schools. All steers were pulled into the front line on judging day, with a 2nd for NHS Time-To-Shine, 3rd for NHS Todays-the-Day, 4th for NHS Top Gun, these then went on to be awarded ribbons in the hook competition also. NHS Top Gus bred by JB Angus was awarded 2nd Best Angus Carcase and NHS Time-To-Shine was part of the winning team for the TFI Cup.

The biggest honour for the steer team was winning the prestigious inaugural Princess Royal Station Prize Premier School Award. This award is based on both the performance of the steers and also how the students performed as a team including display, teamwork, grand parade and attitude. Winning this award is an absolute credit to the team.

Thank you to the breeders of the livestock for your ongoing support of the program. Our cattle breeders were Bottlesford Murray Grey and Angus, Days Whiteface, JB Angus, Limek Limousins, Phillips Cattle Company and Spence’s Show Steers. Our wethers were bred by Greg and Jane Kelock. Thanks to our major sponsors PPHS and Teys Naracoorte, and other sponsors TFI and Castec Naracoorte whose support is essential in helping out students attend the show.

EMMA Phillips
Agriculture Key Teacher