Young judges winners for Ekka 2020 announced

And her passion for judging livestock and the show circuit paid off, with Jacklyn named the Royal Queensland Show's virtual young judge's most successful competitor.

Jacklyn was named the winner of the dairy cows senior class, came second in the senior dairy goats category and tried her hand judging stud sheep for the first time, taking out third spot.

The former Sunshine Coast resident's passion for dairy started when she was a student at Nambour State College, and has grown since she met her now husband Bryan Noakes.

Bryan's parents, Shaun and Kathleen Noakes, own a Eacham Park dairy farm near Wondai, where the couple now reside.

They milk about 70 registered Illawarra's, with production down due to the ongoing drought.

Jacklyn said her involvement in agriculture had increased over the years, going to shows and participating in judging.

"I probably do judging at the majority of the shows and a couple of years back I went to New Zealand for judging," Jacklyn said.

"I'm getting up to the age limit, this is my last year and there's now shows so I thought I'm definitely entering."

Jacklyn said the virtual contest raised its own challenges but was well run.

"We had the pictures and they were taken from all the different angles, so it was easier than having just a picture from one side.

"I'd never done goats or sheep, it was the first time so I thought I'd give it a go.

"I was sort of thinking of them structurally, so no matter what type of animal you want them to have good legs, good rump, that sort of thing.

"For dairy cows you look basically for dairyness - flatness of bone strength over the top, depth of fore and rear rib, you also want the vessel or udder correctly attached at the fore and rear and nicely placed teats."

The Arrow Energy runner-up, Lawrence Sehmish-Lahey, 24, also entered the young judges contest for the final time before he reaches the age limit.

Lawrence, whose family runs a commercial Angus herd at Quamera, north west of Goondiwindi, entered all seven categories this year.

But despite his beef background, he had the greatest success judging horses, where he placed first and poultry, taking out second.

Lawrence is heavily involved with show societies, running the stud beef section and junior judging at the Goondiwindi show, stewarding and announcing at Gatton.

He also stewards at Mudgeeraba and is on their junior committee and he stewards at the Ekka each year in their stud beef section and helps out with junior judging if he's not competing.

Lawrence also shows for Bronwyn Betts, Nindethana Droughtmasters, Camp Mountain and is on the Droughmaster next generation committee.

"I guess I do like to help out QCAS with a lot of junior judging and things and I've always competed when I have the opportunity.

"I was spending a lot of time promoting the Ekka young judges though the committee and thought I'd better get involved as next year, I'll be too old."

Lawrence said the virtual contest had its challenges and he missed the atmosphere of judging in person.

"We were always encouraged at school to do junior judging to get better at public speaking, which is a vital thing for a lot of young people to have.

"When it's an online judging event a lot of people aren't comfortable videoing themselves, so there is that pressure as well."

Lawrence said viewing the animals online also presented some challenges, with only snippets of the animals available when he would have preferred to see some other aspects of the animal.

And while Lawrence said organisers had run a very efficient competition, he hoped physical judging would resume next year.

FULL RESULTS:

STUD SHEEP - Senior

1^st - Teah Keen

2^{nd -} Dakota Kimberly Gough

3^rd - Jacklyn Helena Noakes

STUD SHEEP - Junior

1^st - Jackson Schulze

2^nd - William David Haupt

3^rd - Emma Watkins

STUD BEEF - Senior

1^st - Mackenzie Leeson

2^nd - Sophie Inder

3^rd - Sarah Sutton

STUD BEEF - Junior

1^st - Jak Livingstone

2^nd - Alexandra Olive

3^rd - Ben Carey

LED STEER - Senior

1^st - Freya Weismantel

2^nd - Sophie Inder

3^rd - Stephanie Murphy

LED STEER - Junior

1^st - Ella Saul

2^nd - Thomas Williamson

3^rd - Kaitlyn Rutledge

DAIRY COWS - Senior

1^st - Jacklyn Helena Noakes

2^nd - Mikayla Crouch

3^rd - Olivia Delaforce

DAIRY COWS - Junior

1^st - Emma Haupt

2^nd - Makayla Lawrence

3^rd - Alicia Weick

DAIRY GOATS - Senior

1^st - Jasmine Wilson

2^nd - Jacklyn Helena Noakes

3^rd - Chloe Wilson

DAIRY GOATS - Junior

1^st - Torino Brodie

2^nd - Adam Jordan

3rd- Bradley McKay

HORSES - Senior

1^st - Lawrence Sehmish-Lahey

2^nd - Holly Speers

3^rd - Dakota Kimberly Gough

HORSE- Junior

1^st - Georgia Mulcahy

2^nd - Lori Kasper

3^rd - Ellyse Kruger

POULTRY - Senior

1^st - Makayla Layton

2^nd - Lawrence Sehmish-Lahey

3^rd - Claire Blayney

POULTRY - Junior

1^st - Leo Clarke

2^nd - Kollah Cannon

3^rd - Kaitlyn Rutledge