An early childhood educator from Warwick who learnt everything she knows about meat sheep during her high schooling has been named the country's best young judges.
Kate Worth, 24, was named the winner of the National Meat Breeds Sheep Young Judges Championship at Tasmania on Thursday, ahead of Cody Jones from South Australia in second and Michelle Fairall from NSW in third.
It was Ms Worth's third attempt at the national crown, having previously placed third in Tasmania in 2016 and been a finalist last year in Sydney.
While she claimed the win on her own merit, she credited her mentors, like her high school ag teacher Nigel Grant, for giving her the skills and knowledge.
"I started in the sheep industry through a school program at SCOTS PGC College where I became a member of the sheep team and I kept going with it after I finished school," she said.
"I now show for Silverdale stud at Inglewood and it's just a little hobby that I do on the weekends.
"My family just had a couple of acres out of town so I didn't have sheep or anything growing up but I became involved with the school.
"The sheep community is a real community where everyone helps each other and there are young kids coming through and the older people are teaching them too."
When it came to her secret to winning, she said she stuck with what she knew and tried not to doubt herself.
"I wanted to take the knowledge I knew to influence my decision," she said.
"It was very surreal. I'm 24 now so it was nearly my last chance to get there. It takes nothing away from the people who never get there, it's a very lucky opportunity to come this far."
In the future, she hopes to have her own sheep stud and still goes back to SCOTS PGC to help mentor new students.
In the National Merino Sheep Young Judges Championship, James Hillier representing Queensland placed third.
Lucy Kinbacher
Raised on a cattle property at Biggenden, Lucy Kinbacher has spent 10 years working across metropolitan, regional and rural publications in both Queensland and NSW. Lucy has been the editor of the Queensland Country Life and North Queensland Register since 2021.
Raised on a cattle property at Biggenden, Lucy Kinbacher has spent 10 years working across metropolitan, regional and rural publications in both Queensland and NSW. Lucy has been the editor of the Queensland Country Life and North Queensland Register since 2021.
