Juniors to shine at Rangiora

Rangiora High School cattle show team members Abbie Walls (14, left), Ryan Ashworth (12), Alexis Miller (17) and Grace Rhodes (12) practice parading with new season calves at Woolstone Park. Photos: David Hill
Rangiora High School cattle show team members Abbie Walls (14, left), Ryan Ashworth (12), Alexis Miller (17) and Grace Rhodes (12) practice parading with new season calves at Woolstone Park. Photos: David Hill
The absence of cattle classes at next month's Rangiora show means young people will take centre-stage, showing their handling and stock judging skills.

The Northern (Rangiora) A&P Association has decided to cancel its cattle classes for the annual show at the Rangiora Showgrounds on Saturday, October 20, following the Mycoplasma bovis outbreak.

However, junior handling and stock judging classes will proceed.

With the show just a month away, members of the Rangiora High School cattle show team have been breaking in and training calves at the Woolstone Park Lowline cattle stud at Fernside, near Rangiora, under the watchful eyes of Philip and Kay Worthington.

The stud will provide the cattle, yearling Lowline Angus calves, for the junior competitions.

Grace Rhodes (12, left) and Timothy Croucher (13) feed the calves at Woolstone Park.
Grace Rhodes (12, left) and Timothy Croucher (13) feed the calves at Woolstone Park.
While the high school cattle show team members will be competing, the Worthingtons said they were happy for other young people to compete on the day, provided they had some stock-handling experience.

''There is the opportunity for others to get involved, but it needs to be young people who are familiar with animals,'' Mrs Worthington said.

''For most of our animals it will be their first show, so it's the sort of thing you can't short-cut.''

The 13-strong cattle show team has been meeting since mid-August, on Wednesdays after school and on Sunday afternoons, to learn about stock-handling, parading and becoming familiar with the animals.

''The pride they take when they are performing and enjoying themselves is great to watch,'' Mr Worthington said.

''And I think it's a good growing thing, having the responsibility for an animal in a public place.''

After the Rangiora show, team members will turn their attention to the New Zealand Agricultural Show in Christchurch between November 14 and 16, where they will look after the Woolstone Park team and compete in various classes.

Team captain Caitlin Rhodes (16) will be co-ordinating team members in November, to keep the pens clean and answering inquiries from the public.

A team trophy is up for grabs.

Mr Worthington said several team members had gone on to compete in Australia, including Georgia Rhodes who competed in the Ekka Royal Queensland Show in Brisbane and finished second in the paraders' class at the Royal Canberra Show in February.

Rana Kumeroa also competed in the Beef Australia Expo in Rockhampton in April as part of an exchange with Pittsworth State High School in Queensland, which has its own Lowline cattle stud.

-By David Hill

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