Extended Learning: Cattle Team

Report by Lucy Pennington, Captain – Cattle Team

My name is Lucy Pennington and I am the Cattle Team Captain for 2024!

I would like to share some results of our Pymble Cattle Team from our recent competition at the Upper Hunter Beef Bonanza, held from Thursday 26 October to Monday 30 October 2023. Our Cattle Team members, Annabelle Jones (Year 9), Livia Armstrong (Year 9), Addison Hartog-Smith (Year 9), Anais Vander (Year 9), Elizabeth Graves (Year 11), Lucy Pennington (Year 11), Olivia Burney (Year 11), Eilidh Skelton (Year 9), Hannah Weber (Year 10), Zoe Glendinning (Year 10) and Mia Lorimer (Year 9) competed in a number of events including Junior Judging, Paraders class, Steer class, Meat judging and a saleyard night. Three of our Pymble steers competed alongside us, two purebred Angus steers, Tonka and Turtle, from Knowla Livestock and our Angus x Simmental steer, Tucka, from the Fitzgerald’s Pymble family.

In the Junior Judging, all Cattle Team members competed in judging three classes of heifers, steers and bulls. Eilidh Skelton (Year 9) was selected to orally present her placings and justifications to judges on the heifer class and proudly won a 4th place ribbon in her age group.

The Pymble Meat judging team – Lucy Pennington (Year 11), Olivia Burney (Year 11), Elizabeth Graves (Year 11), Zoe Glendinning (Year 10), Livia Armstrong (Year 9), Eilidh Skelton (Year 9) and Hannah Weber (Year 10) placed 3rd in the beef carcass judging competition.

Lucy Pennington (Year 11) paraded Tucka in the heavyweight steer class, Mia Lorimer paraded Tonka in the heavy middleweight steer class and Annabelle Jones paraded Turtle, also in the middleweight steer class. The steers performed fantastically but didn’t take home a ribbon this year.

At the saleyards, we entered one unled Pymble-Fitzgerald Steer who was selected to be judged in the wider competition and took home 4th place. 

Please see below Pymble students who paraded at the show and had successful results:

Lucy Pennington (Year 11) (17 to 18 years) – Highly Commended

Zoe Glendinning (Year 10) (16 years) – Second Place

Hannah Weber (Year 10) (16 years) – Highly Commended

Eilidh Skelton (Year 9) (15 years) – Fifth Place

Mia Lorimer (Year 9) (14 years) – Fourth Place

Addison Hartog-Smith (Year 9) (14 years) – Fourth Place

I am so proud of our Pymble students for competing this week and working as a team! I would also like to thank our two cattle team coaches, Kit and Jill and Grace Collins, Farmer Dave and Ms Cunningham for committing and training our Cattle Team to prepare us and look after us at this show. Thank you!

Jenny Olsen

Head of Extended Learning