Nerys Lewis, 26, from Wentwood YFC in Gwent was part of the Wales team that triumphed as overall winners in a recent five nations stockjudging competition.
The competition, which is in its third year, was hosted by England at the Westmorland Show in Cumbria in September.
Unfortunately, only three of the nations were able to compete on the day (England, Wales and Northern Ireland) but the experience was still valuable says Nerys, who shared her experience of the competition.
Nerys: I got picked for it! I was asked to compete for Wales based on the results from previous stockjudging and stockman of the year competitions that we hold at our Field Day. They select a team to go forward from that.
I took part in last year’s competition at the Highland Show as well.
I live on a beef and sheep farm. I’ve been stockjudging for a fair few years now but it’s nice to go to a big competition and do well as a team. It makes a big difference.
Nerys: We judged Jersey dairy cows, Limousin breeding heifers, Rough Fell breeding ewes and some fat lambs.
We didn’t all agree with the judge all the time but it’s not a competition if you do, is it?
Nerys: It was really good, and for both Welsh teams (Intermediates and Seniors) to win as well, just topped it off really. It made it worth the trek up to Cumbria.
England won last year so it was also nice to beat them!
I have a couple of years left competing but it was nice to get a big win ticked off.
Nerys: Definitely. Everyone gets on really well. You all have a chat and get to know different people from different areas.
Every nation does things a bit differently so it’s interesting to see how the competition changes depending on who hosts it.
Just talking amongst people from the other nations, you learn how different areas have different problems in farming and agriculture. And learning about what they do in Young Farmers is quite interesting too.
Nerys: It’s a great opportunity to explore a new area and meet new people. The biggest challenge for us was not knowing exactly what we’d be judging. We had never seen a Rough Fell sheep before, so stockjudging something we hadn’t come across before was completely different for us. But it was a fantastic learning experience and a chance to see something new.
The final results for the competition were:
Senior overall team:
1st: National Federation representing Wales 2nd: National Federation representing England 3rd: YFC Ulster
Senior Individal:
1st: Luned Jones, Carmarthenshire 2nd: Will Rogerson, Cumbria 3rd: Anna Hiley, Yorkshire
Intermediate overall team:
1st: National Federation representing Wales 2nd: National Federation representing England
Intermediate individual:
1st: Lewis Bevan, Radnor 2nd: Sion Roberts, Carmarthenshire 3rd: Manon Roberts, Carmarthenshire
Thank you to everyone who supported the 5 Nations competition.
Ariat gave vouchers for boots to the individual winners of the senior and intermediate competitions. The Westmorland Agricultural Society also kindly provided glass trophies for the individuals and the winning teams, and provided lunch for competitors, stewards and judges.
The competition was made possible thanks to local farmers and exhibitors for loaning stock for the competitors to judge on the day.
