We have a small beef farm with Herefords and some Angus and Simmentals. We also have some cross-bred calves. It is farmed by my granddad and dad and I help out when I can.

My favourite part of farming is rearing the calves and getting them ready for the shows. I have three cows and I showed all three as calves at the summer shows. I started showing when I was six. The calf was only three weeks old at her first show and was shown with her mother. I really just followed Dad around the ring!

My favourite animal is “Beamer”, she was my favourite as she was very calm and easy to train. I was also very lucky with her as she won many prizes as a calf in 2019. The biggest highlight was at the calf show when she was awarded reserve overall female champion. It was also great because I beat Dad’s heifer in the class!

Shows are a big part of our summers. I missed preparing the calves on show day and getting to show the calves in the ring and also see all the other animals last summer with COVID-19, I also missed getting chips and ice cream and the pocket money helped.

With the lockdowns we got more time to train calves, and get them used to the halter and walking. It would be great to get back out with some of them again this year so hopefully there might be some shows at the end of the year.

I would encourage all young people to get involved, it is a great experience and you learn a lot about preparing your animal and how best to show them. You also get to see the different types of animals at the show and get to look around at all the stalls. It also teaches you that you can’t always win.

In the future, I can see myself as a part-time farmer and hopefully carry on the family tradition of having Herefords.