Bridie Shooter | Cattle Club Captain

On Sunday morning, eight cattle club members, lead by the ‘mother’ of the group, Mrs Goonan and the Cattle Club coordinator, Mr Collet, headed off to Brisbane for the Ekka. Bridie, Harriet, Clay, Lily, Thea, Mia, Josh and Marty jumped off the bus and were thrown into the bustling metropolis of cattle, that is the School Steer Section. For many of them, it was their first time at the Ekka and with some guidance, they were able to find a stall, prepare the animals and have them ready for showing the next day.

Monday saw the commencement of the School Paraders’ Competition. Lily was successful in the Intermediates class coming away with an 8^th place, a huge achievement in a class of over 100 other students. Bridie made the finals in the Senior class but was unable to secure a ribbon.

On Tuesday, the Cattle Judging and the Junior Judging events unfolded. Bridie, Clay and Lily competed in the Team Judging competition, producing a great speech; however, they were not successful in gaining a placing. Mia should be highly commended for her second place in the Junior Judging, which is a major achievement. The school steer, Panda, placed 3^rd in his class.

Taking a break from the cattle work, the students headed out on the town Tuesday night. The youngest of the group, Marty Warboys, could not suppress the excitement on his face as he travelled through Brisbane for what he admitted to being his very first time. Neither one of the team could argue that they weren’t impressed with the size of the cinema screen at Chermside.

Overall, it was a great effort from each of the students and it was awesome to get along with the other schools and students, with particular mention to Coonamble High School and the New England Girls School.