TWO sisters from Castlehaven won national titles at the Ballinrobe Show last Sunday.
Gemma and Zoe Salter claimed the prestigious Senior and Intermediate All-Ireland Young Stockperson titles at the event, bringing a successful showing season to the end for the pair.
Gemma (19) and Zoe (16) have been showing animals since they were youngsters, inspired by their dad Philip who runs a pedigree suckler farm and is a well-known name on the show circuit himself, enjoying considerable success with his Shorthorns.
What made their win in Mayo even more impressive is that they had to borrow the animals, only meeting them that morning. ‘It’s a five hour journey from home to Ballinrobe, so we didn’t think it was fair to bring our own animals with us. Luckily we were able to borrow them instead but that meant we didn’t get to practice in advance with them,’ said Gemma.
Not that the judges would have known. They judged the girls on their Shorthorn’s grooming and presentation and ring craft, and they also had individual interviews with both ladies. The competition was stiff, but the girls had plenty of practice attending local shows all summer.
‘But with animals you just never know how it will go, they have good days and bad days like ourselves. Some days will go against you but you just have to persevere,’ said Gemma, who highlighted the huge amount of work involved.
‘Show day is just what the public see but that’s just one part of it. There’s so much more behind the scenes.’
That includes walking practice, clipping and grooming on the morning with hairspray, and shaving foam flying in a bid to have their pedigrees looking their best!
Gemma is studying Ag Science in Dublin, and it was straight back to college after her win.
Interestingly it’s a 60/40 male/female split in her class, and she’s interested in pursuing a career in the sector.
Meanwhile, her sister Zoe described the win as an ‘amazing experience.’
The 5th year student at Skibbereen Community School is also involved in a Shorthorn Youth Development Programme, and credits her dad with a lot of her success.
‘There has been lots of late nights and early mornings but it was all worth it!’ she said.
Ballinrobe was the final show of the season, and the Salters are next preparing for their two autumn sales where their animals are typically in high demand.
