Young Breeders Competition
Meet the NZ Herefords Young Breeders Team
(L- R Mark Murphy, Lisa Bonenkamp, Hannah Gibb, Sam Tipping (Absent Niamh Barnett)
Boehringer Ingelheim World Hereford Conference Young Breeder Competiton Report
Wow an event the Young Breeders Competition was! On the 7th of March 2020 36 competitors representing seven country’s arrived in Queenstown to begin the Young Breeders Competition at the World Hereford Conference and what an impression they have left!
From the outset the aim of the competition was to be competitive, informative, fun and possibly most importantly to provide a platform for the next generation of leaders to build a network for the future of the Hereford Breed. I believe we can say we succeeded in our goal.
We showed the teams the best of our beautiful backyard, they stayed lakeside in Te Anau, Queentown and Wanaka. Competitors got a hit of adrenaline on the iconic Shot Over Jet, visited historic Arrowtown and relaxed and lunched at Pisa Moorings.
The competition was taken very seriously by all nine teams and the caliber of all the competitors was far beyond the expectations of the organizing committee and all those involved, they were all fantastic ambassadors for their country’s and the future of the Hereford Breed is in good shape with these young breeders ready to step up and take the lead.
There were 7 days of highly contested competition which saw teams compete in a Module Competition, Quiz Night, Stock Judging, Presentation (speech) Competition, Clipping Competition and Handler Competition. We would like to thank Boehringer Ingelheim, Allfex, Lake Station Herefords, Hereford Prime and all of the YBC event sponsors, the fabulous helping crew, module providers, the judges and everyone who made this event possible, without your support events like this could never happen.
Competitors visited NZ farming operations; with farm tours of Monymusk Poll Herefords and Waiau Herefords. A big thanks to the Douglas and King families for opening up their properties to these young Hereford enthusiasts.
There was integration in to the conference with a visit to Locharburn Herefords to attend a technical session with other conference attendees.
The event culminated with a show competition, which included clipping and handling. Thank you to Duncraigen, Kane Farms, Waiau, Waikaka, Foulden Hill and Lime Hills Herefords Studs for providing heifers for the teams to use and the Wanaka A&P Show for hosting us.
Congratulations to the all the winners of each section; a special mention must go to the Most Valuable Participant winner, Mike Brems, Team Denmark. Herdsperson Winner and Reserve, Kierin Martin and Connor Evans, both from Team Australia Red and of course Champion Team, Team NZ Herefords and Reserve Champion Team, Team Australia Red.
I would like to take the opportunity to thank Colin and Posy and the whole of NZ Herefords for trusting me to put together this competition, which was a first for Herefords anywhere in the world, it has been an honor to be a part of.
Lastly a big congratulations to the competitors for making this such a worthwhile 4 years work, you truly are an amazing bunch!
Becs
Winning Team Photo
