Talented agricultural students compete for prestige

Paige Petts (pictured), from Barton-under-Needwood in Staffordshire, stole the show in the equine section of the event, held at Bishop Burton College in Beverley, with Courier, a horse loaned to the College.

Tyler Sambrook, 16, from Waltham Abbey, Essex, took the top honours, being named overall stockmanship winner for the way in which he presented a flock of sheep.

The teenager took up studying in Beverley after seeing last year’s show featured on the BBC’s Countryfile.

He said: “I spent a lot of time and effort getting my sheep ready for the competition. I was totally shocked and never expected to win.”

Students who took part were allocated an animal from those bred and reared at the College. One of the main challenges is getting the animals to walk on a halter.

Agricultural course manager Helen Martin said: “I was immensely proud of all the students. The standard of competition was very high and the judges deliberated long and hard. It wasn’t an easy decision because of the calibre of the entries.”

The overall reserve champion was Ben Hodgson, from Pickering, North Yorkshire, with a dairy heifer, while the winner of the beef section was Isaac Brown from Kexby, near York, and John Chapman from Bridlington was victorious in the dairy calf competition.