Six of Tasmania’s brightest young livestock judges and paraders are set to represent the state at the Ekka next month.
The 2026 Agricultural Shows Australia National Young Judges and Paraders Championships will run from 6-10 August at the Royal Queensland Show (Ekka).
The prestigious event brings together competitors in young judging for beef and dairy cattle, grain, Merino sheep and fleece, meat breed sheep and poultry, parading competitions for beef and dairy cattle along with the Australian Young Farmers Challenge and National Rural Ambassador Award.
Finalists qualify through success at local, regional and state competitions, with the national championships hosted in a different state each year. This year the event is being run by Queensland Ag Shows during the Ekka.
TAS finalists
Ashtyn Willey, 22, North West Tasmania | Beef Cattle Young Judges
Ashtyn Willey doesn’t come from an agricultural background but it hasn’t stopped her. She found a love of cattle through the farm at Tasman District School.
Now working as an agronomist and field officer, Ashtyn stays connected to the beef industry through shows and competitions. One of her proudest moments came when she won the Tasmanian state finals in Beef Cattle Young Judges, while her younger sister claimed reserve honours.
“These competitions provide so many opportunities, and through people I have met on the show circuit I have been provided opportunities to show on the mainland and overseas,” Ashtyn said.
Ashtyn hopes to buy a small farm of her own one day and continue her career in agriculture.
Ruby Rayner, 16, Sheffield | Beef Cattle Paraders
Ruby Rayner grew up on a beef property at Sheffield and has been showing cattle since watching her older sister compete. She entered her first show in 2020 and is a regular competitor at agricultural shows across northern Tasmania.
Winning the Tasmanian state final in front of her family was a standout moment for the Year 10 Sheffield High School student.
“I’ve always enjoyed showing cattle. It’s hard work at times, but I love it,” Ruby said.
The Ekka has long been on Ruby’s bucket list and will be her first opportunity to compete outside Tasmania.
Megan Bird, 22, Western Creek | Merino Fleece Young Judges
Megan Bird never planned to work in agriculture but life has a way of surprising us.
She’s now built a career around wool, working full-time as a wool handler for the past four years, and is studying an Advanced Diploma of Agribusiness Management and a Certificate IV in Wool Classing at Longerenong College in Victoria. Megan combines her studies with work on a cropping and lamb feedlot operation.
Megan began competing in wool judging competitions at age 18 and has collected several state-level wins and placings along the way. This year marks her first opportunity to compete at national level.
Hayden Archer, 17, Penguin| Dairy Cattle Young Judges
Hayden Archer only discovered the world of agricultural shows in 2025, but it didn’t take long for him to find his place in the ring.
The Year 12 student was introduced to showing and judging while completing a Certificate II in Animal Care. With plenty of encouragement from his teachers and parents, he entered his first competition at the Wynyard Show and hasn’t looked back.
Hayden’s proudest moment so far is taking out the Young Dairy Judges competition at Agfest.
“I won’t forget looking over to my teacher and seeing the smile on her face, knowing my work had paid off,” he said.
Sarah Gardner, 18, Henrietta, Tasmania | Dairy Cattle Paraders
Sarah Gardner has been in the show ring for as long as she can remember, competing with sheep at just eight years old.
She later found her niche in cattle, and recently started her own Hereford stud.
Sarah competed in dairy cattle parading for 10 years with Yolla District School’s stock handling team before qualifying for the national finals at Agfest and landing a place at her ‘dream show’.
“I’ve always dreamed of going to the Ekka, so I cried when I found out I’d earned the chance,” Sarah said.
She’s proud of her success in the show ring, but Sarah says her greatest achievement is mentoring the next generation. After finishing school Sarah created her own team for former Yolla students so they could continue showing cattle and build their confidence in agriculture. Sarah plans to study Agricultural Science at the University of Tasmania.
Charlie Skirving, 19, Sheffield, Tasmania | Merino Sheep Young Judges and Meat Sheep Breeds Young Judges
Charlie Skirving has spent most of his life around livestock, growing up showing cattle at agricultural shows across Australia.
The livestock agent with Elders will represent Tasmania in both the Merino Sheep Young Judges and Meat Sheep Breeds Young Judges competitions at the Ekka, where he’ll have the chance to test his skills against the best young judges from around the country.
Sponsors:
- Beef Cattle Young Judges: Vytelle; The Cattle Shop
- Beef Cattle Young Paraders: Cattle Australia; The Cattle Shop
- Merino Sheep Young Judges: Australian Wool Innovation; National Council of Wool Selling Brokers
- Merino Fleece Young Judges: Australian Wool Innovation; National Council of Wool Selling Brokers
- Grains Young Judges: Lawson Grains