2011 was an amazing year for YDP with some fantastic workshops ld with some of the breed’s finest stockmen and women taking part in the training – you really are learning from the best this industry has to offer. So why not fill in the form and you too could be learning some real tricks of the trade and you could be one of those taking part in the National Final which will be held later in the year.

Hannah Slowen with vice president Angus Stovold at the East of England Smithfield Festival

Hannah is a regular show goer and can often be spotted in the ring on the summer and winter with both Aberdeen-Angus and commercial beef cattle.

The event, which moves around the UK and Ireland each year, was held last weekend at The Paddocks Equestrian Centre, Midleton, Co Cork, in the Republic of Ireland, and saw participants who have been scored highly by their trainers at workshops throughout the summer, compete in stock judging, cattle dressing and ring craft competitions, with points awarded throughout each section of competition.

Describing the judging process, YDP co-ordinator Gayle Bersey said: “All the participants on the 2011 programme had carried out various tasks throughout the year including working on a farm, showing for pedigree Aberdeen-Angus breeders and attending a workshop organised by the YDP. For all those participants over 14 years of age this hard work can result in a Certificate in Animal Care which is an NVQ equivalent award.

“Workshops are run by experienced stockmen who assess the attendees and those which show the most skill and enthusiasm get selected to attend the final where they have the chance to win cash prizes and the older ones can win a study trip abroad.”

Finalists were split in to three age categories, with the senior finalists also having to undertake a panel interview in front of chief exec Ron McHattie, Council member Alastair McLaren and Society President Albert De Cogan.

Judge Pete Bodily preparing his notes on the finalists

Leading the way in the senior section this year under judge and noted cattle stockman Pete Bodily, was 23 year old Philip Strathdee, Huntly, Aberdeenshire, who along with his family run the Retanach herd. Commenting on his win, Philip said: “The competition this year was so high and there were some amazing intermediate participants coming through, so I’m glad I won this year.”

Senior winner Philip Strathdee with Irish minister Simon Coveney

Coming out on top in the intermediate category was Sean McEnroe, Co Cavan, while winning the junior section was Sam Matchett, Co Armagh, with Irish Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney on hand to present prizes to individual class winners during the day.

Intermediate winner Sean McEnroe

Junior winner Sam Matchett

Judge Pete Bodily added: “It was an honour to judge this year’s YDP final and I’m amazed at the talent of these young cattle handlers and the enthusiasm they have for the industry, the programme is a credit to the Society and those involved.”

Aberdeen-Angus Chief Exec Ron McHattie added: “This year’s final has been phenomenal. Those that have qualified here should be incredibly proud of themselves. The programme has grown dramatically over the last couple of years and has seen some amazing young cattle enthusiasts rise up through.

More pictures will follow shorlty in a gallery….

FULL CLASS RESULTS:

JUNIORS:

Stock judging:

1^st – Sam Matchett, Co Armagh

2^nd – James Rea, Co Antrim

3^rd – Sarah Matchett, Co Armagh

4^th – David Rea, Co Antrim

Cattle Dressing:

1^st – James Rea, Co Antrim

2^nd – Jack Goulding, Co Kerry

3^rd – Neal McEnroe, Co Cavan

4^th – Sam Matchett, Co Armagh

Ring craft:

1^st – Ailisa McEnroe, Co Cavan

2^nd – Sam Matchett, Co Armagh

3^rd – Cameron Hillhouse, Worcestershire

4^th – Jack Goulding, Co Kerry

Overall Junior winner: Sam Matchett

INTERMEDIATES:

Stock judging:

1^st – Jack Smyth, Co Tyrone

2^nd – Sean McEnroe, Co Meath

3^rd – Joe Burnett, Herefordshire

4^th – Jack Yates, Worcestershire

Cattle Dressing:

1^st – Sean McEnroe, Co Meath

2^nd – Hannah Slowen, East Yorkshire

3^rd – Jack Yates, Worcestershire

4^th – Joe Burnett, Herefordshire

Ring craft:

1^st – Bryan O Halloran, Co Cork

2^nd – Sean McEnroe, Co Meath

3^rd – Hannah Slowen, East Yorkshire

4^th – Jack Yates, Worcestershire

Overall Intermediate winner: Sean McEnroe

SENIORS:

Stock judging:

1^st – Ian Dowlman, Herefordshire

2^nd – Jessica Weeks, Kent

3^rd – Ruby Wright, Norfolk

4^th – Thomas Slowen, East Yorkshire

Cattle Dressing:

1^st – Philip Strathdee, Aberdeenshire

2^nd – Thomas Slowen, East Yorkshire

3^rd – Ian Dowlman, Herefordshire

4^th – Hayley Dent, Kent

Ring craft:

1^st – Hayley Dent, Kent

2^nd – Philip Strathdee, Aberdeenshire

3^rd – Thomas Slowen, East Yorkshire

4^th – Ian Dowlman, Herefordshire

Panel Interview:

1^st – Philip Strathdee, Aberdeenshire

2^nd – Thomas Slowen, East Yorkshire

3^rd – Ruby Wright, Norfolk

4^th – Thomas Blackburn, Co Tyrone

Overall Senior winner Philip Strathdee

After the success of the event last year, the YDP has had the go ahead to do it all again this year. It had already been decided to move it around to different locations every year to give everyone a chance of having it relatively close to them at some point. Ireland was decided upon this year as the Society President, Albert De Cogan is from there and his Club area put forward a great venue and some excellent ideas for 2011, so we’re off to Midelton on the 30^th Sept – 2^nd Oct.

The venue for this year is the Paddocks Equestrian Centre in Midleton, Co Cork. (www.thepaddocksarena.ie) It has a fabulous sand school which is going to be great for our activities and it also has some lovely cottages which means we can keep everything under one roof so to speak. The Munster Club are working hard to make it a good event for participants and spectators and have invited some stands to work as an added attraction.

The event will follow a similar format to last year where we have a meet and greet BBQ on Friday night for participants to get to know each other a little better. Saturday morning will be full of the educational workshops where we have the likes of Weatherby’s on board to give an insight into DNA testing and a few others too.

The morning will also be when the Seniors will have their interview with a panel consisting of Ron McHattie, Albert De Cogan and Alistair McLaren. As the seniors win a study trip abroad it is really important that we pick a well rounded ambassador to represent the Angus breed on a worldwide level.

The afternoon will see the final really kick into action with the seniors preparing an animal from scratch and the intermediates and juniors dressing an animal for the show ring. They will all be judged on ring craft and stockjudging. The overall winners of each age group will have accumulated the most points throughout the day and will be presented with their trophies at the dinner in the evening. Sunday morning will be filled with some fun activities, so it’s doubtful the participants will go home with any energy.

Judge for the showing and ring craft skills will be well known commercial stock man Pete Bodily. Pete hails from Milton Keynes and worked for many years with Ridge Dean British Blues and now works for Judy and Richard Fountaine turning out their commercial cattle.

Stock judging trainer and Master Judge will be Clive Davies from Herefordshire. Clive keeps Hereford cattle and has trained the County stock judging team for many years.

Speaking about the weekend, co-ordinator Gayle Bersey said: “I would encourage anyone who can to come and join us on Saturday as the enthusiasm and talent of these young people is something worth seeing. The finalists will have worked hard to get there, beating off strong competition from 190 youngsters that entered the programme this year. It’s nice for them to have people to turn up and be interested in what they are doing and remember their names as these are the stars of the future.”

Keep an eye out on the Society website and the YDP facebook page for more on the event over the coming weeks.

It was suggested that perhaps a more central location in this area would encourage more participants to get involved, the North East of England is a big Limousin area and I think we are just getting through to the young people how much they can learn and how much fun we have in the Angus breed.

Bryan Ronan and Carole Stephens had been persuaded to hold the workshop at their home alongside the well known Jerusalem herd in Colby, Cumbria. The herd is synonymous with winning major shows and I was pretty interested to have a look around myself. Trainers for the day came from a mixture of breed backgrounds but came together to make a really good team. Mark Phillips is well known in the Limousin breed and has turned out many champions and top price cattle at shows and sales throughout the country and also has done a bit with the Limousin Young Breeders Club, I must be careful not to make him sound old as I’m not sure he likes that!

Joining Mark was well known Angus breeder Adrian Johnson. Adrian’s Yearsley herd has been seen in the headlines a lot over the years and he was previously very involved with the YDP although it was my first time working with him. The third member of the dream team was Duncan McLaren, from the Netherton dynasty in Perthshire, he has worked throughout the country with many breeds and is back with Angus now in North Yorkshire with the Saville herd. The day started for the trainers with a breakfast meeting to discuss a plan of action, the dry Northern sense of humour takes a bit of getting used to, but I could tell it was going to be a good day.

A total of 13 participants joined us at Jerusalem and the day started with Mark and Adrian running through selection and feeding of show cattle and the initial halter breaking. We then went onto the practical side of things which didn’t quite get off to the best start with one young bull managing to step part way out of the clipping crate and then get in a panic when the rest of his body got stuck.

That is the first time it has happened at a workshop I’ve been too and it certainly wasn’t due to the bull being badly behaved, it does however go to show the risks involved with cattle and equipment.  After the initial bit of excitement the workshop got underway again with Mark doing a clipping demo. Adrian and Mark talked through the concept of clipping, where to take hair off and where to leave it and the most important lesson that all animals are different so one clipping plan doesn’t fit all animals.

The participants were then split into groups and while one group washed with Adrian the other group had the opportunity to do some clipping themselves. It was a really cold day at the farm and they all needed to work hard at the washing to keep warm. It did make me laugh to hear Adrian telling them all that they needed to scrub the animals in little circles like they were scrubbing the floor. When the girls looked at him I think he realised that in 2011 we all use mops. Yet again the pressure washer was replaced with good old buckets and hard work. Mark helped everyone to have a go at clipping and I’m not sure whether Bryan and Carole meant for the YDP to clip the show team, but throughout the whole day they remained calm and serene and I’ll wait and see whether they have the YDP back. For those that have never clipped before it can always seem quite daunting, particularly when clipping the head, people are always afraid of hurting them. We can usually persuade everyone to have a go although apparently my camera can be quite annoying when you’re trying to concentrate.

After the washing came the blowing and all the cattle were dried and the finishing touches were made to the clipping. We had a big discussion on clipping ears, I’ve seen it done elsewhere and it improved it but not sure it did here.

We sat down to a much needed hot cup of tea and some wonderful hospitality which Carole had worked hard to get ready, oh and not forgetting a big thank you for the fairy cakes that came from a kind benefactor. The afternoon sessions got underway and this time the youngsters were split into three groups. The first session was halter making with Duncan, he does have tremendous patience for all these participants, some of them having seen it done many a time and still don’t get the hang of it and then there’s the not quite so young ones trying their hand at it too.

The second group did dressing with Mark where the poor two year old show heifer was covered in foam by everyone and had her tail brushed and fluffed several times. Mark took everyone through different ways of dressing different coats and different products that could be used. The third activity was all about tying the quick release knot and changing halters which Adrian took charge of, I tried my best to do the non slip knot that I’d learnt at the Borders but think I ended up just annoying the trainer by trying to do it or suggesting different things. The groups got to swop around and everyone had a go at the old favourite of hands on experience.

The activities finished with the ring craft, Mark and Adrian gave some really good tips on where to stand and walk etc and it’s always good to see people taking on board what’s said. People seem to come into their own when given the halter and it’s great to see the cattle respond to it too.

Another very successful workshop with many thanks to Bryan Ronan, Carol Stephens, Mark Phillips, Adrian Johnson and Duncan McLaren and very special thanks to Mary Hammett who lent me her coat.

So that’s it, the 2011 workshops are all done now and it certainly has been a roller coaster of a ride this year. The YDP (and myself) very much appreciate those people who give up their time to come and train, the very generous people who lend us venues and work so hard to get cattle for us to work with. There are also a tremendous amount of people who give their help and support to us in many other ways. Hospitality has been tremendous wherever we’ve been this year and I hope they’ll all have us back in 2012. With 190 enthusiastic participants entered in the programme this year the YDP is going from strength to strength and I think that our Society that has nurtured this programme  making a tremendous commitment to the future of the agricultural industry and our breed.

The hosts everywhere go to incredible lengths to get us the facilities and cattle we need and I have come to appreciate the trainers who I’m sure have busy diaries themselves. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea working with young people (and not everyone is good at it!), personally I find it tremendously rewarding, particularly when you get the ones that are really nervous and don’t want to get involved but by the end they’re leading around a yearling heifer, for me that’s what it’s all about and the craic at the workshops is always good.

The 2011 Northern Ireland workshop was held at Cavanaleck, Fivemiletown, Co Tyrone. Home of the Strule herd founded in the 1950’s by Jim and May Jack. Jim Jack is such an interesting man to talk to and has so many stories of the old herds and stockmen, he doesn’t show very much so the heifers were all halter broken just for the day. Jim was helped by Richard Smyton and what an amazing job he’d done to get these cattle quiet. The trainer for the day was Gordon McWilliam helping us out for third year in a row. I think he felt that we needed someone else this year, but sadly for him I couldn’t find any willing volunteers. Fantastic for the YDP though as he is a fabulous trainer, always willing to tell some top tips.

Some 18 participants attended the day, a really impressive number and lucky we had lots of cattle to work with, although patience was a virtue when starting them off, but the youngsters seemed content to watch and chat. We started the day with clipping, Gordon took them through clipping heads and tails and explained where else you could clip, how far in advance it should be done. All the participants got to have a go with the clippers and then as each heifer went through the participants worked in teams to wash them.

There were two great things about the first hour of the workshop, firstly a very shy young lady didn’t feel she could clip an animal, but with some perseverance she did some clipping by the end. The other was that several participants had come on their own and looked scared to death but after putting them with other people to wash they all soon mixed.

Clipping heads took some time so while Gordon carried on with that we made use of the more experienced participants that have attended the YDP for a few years. These older participants showed the first timers how to use the blowers and comb them up, this made great watching and I have noted the future trainers for a few years time! Everything was clipped, washed and dried in time for lunch, well almost, we did have to ask one or two to miss the first part of lunch to get the heifers dry for after lunch!

While watching one young man wash his heifer and pour the shampoo over the heifers back I asked him why he hadn’t mixed it in a bucket of water as I thought you’d use less (tight Cornish Girl!) He replied when you wash your hair do you mix it first or put it straight on your head? There wasn’t really an answer for that!

The afternoon got underway with the dressing seminar. Gordon took them through how to dress a summer and winter coat on a show animal. The team work returned again when the attendees set about dressing their own beast. The whole workshop was great to watch as the olders ones kept to the roles of showing the new ones what to do and I overheard and took part in some really interesting discussions about dressing and clipping and there’s nothing better than a good debate. The biggest one would have to be about using coloured dressing products!

Tying the quick release knot was pretty entertaining with one parent being encouraged to have a go after her son dropped her in it! I will keep the name of the lady secret as I wouldn’t want to embarrass her but she certainly makes a better Club Secretary than knot tyer!  After every animal was fluffed and shined it was time for the ring craft bit of the workshop. Now I think some people tend to underestimate this part, Gordon gave some great tips but it seemed to pass a few people by! The ones that show on a weekly basis just manage to get the best out of animal’s every time and some are embarrassed to do the noises that get the heifers ears forward but it certainly was eye catching for the lady that did it. I’m sure they all got fed up with me telling them if this was me I’d stand there and not in the corner! Perhaps I do fancy myself as a bit of a trainer after all.

Another great workshop with thanks to Jim and May Jack, Richard Smyton and Gordon McWilliam, Oh and a little help from Brian Anderson too!

One more workshop to go and then we’ll be all set to announce the finalists . . . . . . . . . . the competition has been phenomenal this year and even if you don’t get through to the final you can still join in the fun, as one young man said ‘line the drinks up we’re coming to Cork!’

It was one of those workshops that numbers looked good on paper but people’s busy lives often get in the way and we ended up with only a third of those that had entered. Trainers for the day were William McLaren Senior and Junior, I’m not sure they need introducing but I will give them a bit of credit! William Senior has just received the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland Sir William Young award which recognises his outstanding contribution to livestock breeding over the years. It was great to have him involved, particularly with the stock judging as I have seen pictures of when he was part of Scotland’s winning stock judging team along with many other big name stock men from back in the day.

William Junior is following in his father’s footsteps and is furthering the Netherton name with their extensive embryo programme. William has always been a big supporter of the YDP particularly when he was President of the Society and it’s interesting to hear his views and we always end up in deep discussions about the way forward for the programme.

The day started with some stock judging. The two Williams ran through the basic points of an animal and then the participants were given two groups of heifers to judge and a group of bulls. Mark Pilcher who happened to be in Scotland and brought his poor son Archie to the workshop on his Birthday, acted as master judge. It was quite amusing to hear William senior and Mark having a discussion about the best animal and both gave their points of view on them.

Central club secretary Clare McGowan was on hand to do the marking and the participants had to give their reasons on the last group of heifers. None of them had done it before and Mark and William were very complimentary about their comments. We just had some time to practise knot tying before lunch and that demonstration was done by me, not sure training is my forte though.

We stopped for lunch and all had great amusement at one young man dunking chocolate in his tea. We started the afternoon of good old hands on experience. First was the washing, I’m sure most participants can wash an animal but it is great for getting them to bond with the animals and the trainers can make their assessments too. We had the use of the Netherton show team so all the cattle were suitably tame. I can see the trainers have been reading the reports as yet again buckets and brushes were used.

Following the washing came the drying and everyone had a go at blowing the cattle. The dressing seminar came next, where William junior showed the attendees how to dress a beast with a summer coat and also with a winter coat. He also gave some great tips for getting animals who look like they have no hair to look like they have a good coat. Fab tips that you can learn on YDP but I couldn’t possibly tell you on here!

There was one wee bull calf that had a really good coat so William took the opportunity to show the participants how and where to clip on a fluffy coat. I still find clipping fascinating to watch and I hope the youngsters did too. While we were working with the show team it was an ideal opportunity to do the ring craft session, although some of the show team had been waiting around a long time and had got fed up.

It is always good to see the participants that can get the best out of animals and luckily we had one pink stick for the only young lady that had come along. Funnily enough William wasn’t too keen on the attendees clipping his show team and I can’t understand why. So we did some heads and tails of the heifers we’d used for stockjudging. Some were more keen to get involved than others – the heifers that is.

All the participants had a go and again they did very well, it’s not easy to get used to the weight of clippers or how to use them, wherever we hold workshops those that haven’t clipped before are afraid of hurting the animals and it takes a while to get used to it all. The day finished off with halter making. William Senior took charge of this and one young man proved to be quite a natural taking half the time of the others.

Another great workshop with thanks going to the McLaren Family and Clare McGowan.

A lady who had brought her grand children to the workshop summed it by saying ‘I hope they realise who they have been taught by today.’ Names and herd names probably don’t mean that much to the really young ones especially if they are not into Angus, but as long as they learn some tips and can get involved hopefully they go home happy.

The day after Netherton I travelled to the Borders, they didn’t have a workshop last year as we didn’t have the numbers but new Borders club secretary Sian Sharp was very keen to have one this year. David and Christine Lucas (Sian’s parents) had been persuaded (I was going to write forced!) to hold the workshop at their farm. Their Cheeklaw Angus herd has had many big awards to their name and they have already been doing really well in 2011 so what a great place for us to go to.

Sian was instrumental in setting up the YDP and I’m always a little nervous as I hope she approves of what we’ve done with it! Helping Sian for the day was James Cameron or Woody as I have always known him. James hails originally from the Borders but has worked with numerous breeds and big named herds throughout the UK but is working in Dundee at the mo. James happened to be in the area and Sian persuaded him to get involved. He actually turned out to be quite good at the training too.

The day started with each very keen and enthusiastic participant being given an animal and being asked to clean and prepare it for show. Woody showed everyone the way he would do it and then everyone was let loose with buckets, aerosol cans and sprayers. All the participants were aged 14 and under and it was interesting to see them left to their own devices.

The ones that had not much experience were helped by Woody and the rest were given advice by Dave and Sian. While all the cattle were from the show team, the humid day meant lots of flies and the participants had their patience tried at times.

Woody took the cattle out one by one and the youngsters marked each of them on the overall presentation. One young man was pretty harsh so I hope I won’t be judged by him in the near future! Next came the quick release knot, Woody showed us his version which was different to anyone I’ve seen and actually was pretty sensible, it didn’t slide up and make the knot tight. Dave showed us his two versions and the youngsters all had a go at all of them. The morning finished with clipping. Dave kindly showed everyone how to clip a head and tail and everyone who wanted a go had a go at the tail.

We stopped for lunch and I couldn’t believe five lads could be so quiet, it didn’t last though. The afternoon was spent stockjudging. The group of bulls that were picked are destined for Perth so it will be interesting to see which one comes out on top in February. The participants were asked to assess the bulls, put them in an order and write down three things about each bull. They may only be 11-14 years old, but it was really great to hear them read out there points and it showed just how much they knew about cattle.

It was really nice to go back to the Borders and a massive thank you to Dave and Christine Lucas, Sian Sharp and James ‘Woody’ Cameron.

Northern Ireland is the next stop and it hasn’t gone quite to plan, but I’m sure it will be a fabulous workshop, even if I have to do the training!!

The location was not a problem as Michael Sheahan had kindly offered to host the workshop at Luddemore, Co Limerick. I had heard of the Luddenmore Angus most recently when their breeding won the male championship at the Highland Show this year. The facilities on offer were superb and the ample quiet cattle were all thanks to farm manager George Doyle and stockman Brando Kollat.

Now trainers were a different story, where do you find top class stockmen at a moment’s notice? They also had a hard act to follow after Leo McEnroe had been doing the training for the last few years. Highly recommended by Leo was John Lynch who fortunately lives just down the road from Luddenmore and helps them from time to time with their show cattle. John won the senior section of the YDP last year and is trying to decide where he wants to take his study trip.

Another young man in the wrong place at the wrong time was Dermot Lynch, he’d lent a hand at the Central Ireland workshop the week before and I managed to persuade him to come along again. Dermot has been long standing secretary of the Connaught and Leinster Angus Club and loves everything cattle.

We had 17 participants along for the day and most of this was down to Micheal Sheahan’s hard work. I think he must have contacted everyone within Co Limerick!

The day started with John explaining how to start to halter cattle, two heifers were put through the race and everyone had a go at putting the halters on and off, a fact most of us show people take for granted, but if you’re just starting it is quite easy to get it wrong. The quick release knot again is something we take for granted, but it is remarkable how many people can’t do it.

Once all the basics of haltering and tying had been covered it was on with the washing. George and Brando had set up the pressure washers, but the trainers were men after my own heart and got the participants to wash the cattle with a hose and buckets. The morning session finished with drying the animals off and John explained what he would put in the coats to get the hair to stand up and then everyone had the chance of blowing the cattle as dry as possible.

Now I have been trying not to mention too much about food in my reports recently, but I really do have to mention it at Luddenmore, not only were we all greeted with breakfast on arrival, but at lunchtime we were all transported to the canteen of The Sheahan’s other business ‘Mr Binman’ (which I think is self explanatory) where we were force fed food again, to tell you the truth I didn’t take much forcing to have another piece of strawberry cheesecake!

In the afternoon the participants were split into three groups, one group had halter making demo with Marie Louise Ryan, a well known local Charolais breeder who was going to take part in the YDP but ended up being part of the staff. Mary Louise made halters very differently to how I have seen it done before and I think Brando may need another lesson before he cracks it.

Dermot took another group through the basics of clipping, everyone had the chance to do heads and the more experienced did the bellies and the clean up bits. Meanwhile “Big John” took his group through dressing which he does before clipping over the body. In Ireland the youngsters are always encouraged to work as teams and there are always someone scratching and calming the animal at every given opportunity. The workshop finished with the ring craft seminar, even the smallest participants took out an animal and everyone always does well at this skill. Competition is always keen and it’s great to watch the youngsters try and get the edge on the others.

Another well supported workshop with tremendous thanks to Michael Sheahan, John Lynch, Dermot Lynch, George Doyle, Brando Kollat and Marie Lousie Ryan.

So the next time I visit this area will be for the weekend event and final. I have two workshops in Scotland this weekend and then just two more after that. With 185 participants entered so far this year the programme is coasting along well and I have to say the competition is pretty strong too.

The workshop for Central Ireland was this year held at Gibbstown, Co Meath, home of the Crerogue herd. Angela Armstrong McFadden’s family have been involved with Angus, Hereford and Charolais cattle for a long time and now with husband Owen are carrying on the Angus herd in fine style, picking up numerous championships throughout the Republic and Northern Ireland.

Trainer for the day was Leo McEnroe who I don’t think needs any introduction. Leo has done the training for the YDP in Ireland for several years now and the reason he gets asked is that not only is he good with cattle, but he is really great with the participants. Time keeping could be improved for next year but it is very difficult to stay annoyed when the kids are having such a great time.

Some 15 participants attended with the day starting with the participants taking turns to practice catching and haltering the cattle and tying the quick release knot ably assisted by Angela McFadden and Niamh McEnroe. Luckily Leo arrived in time to take everyone through how he would start to halter break his cattle. Leo usually likes to demonstrate on some ‘edgy’ calves but all the cattle were extremely well haltered and quiet so he just explained how to work with the cattle not against them.

Washing was the next step, the younger ones teamed up with the more experienced ones and it made my year to see the participants washing cattle with just a bucket and brush. The cattle were taken outside to do some blowing and combing and Leo ran through what everyone should look for in a beef breeding animal, where the best joints of meat are, breed characteristics and good bone structure. To finish off the morning session, Leo showed the youngsters how to get the coat to stand up with some common shaving foam ready for clipping, before giving a demo of how it should be done. He explained how different animals needed to be clipped in different ways, accentuating the good points and masking some not so good points.

We then stopped for some lunch and all sat in the garden enjoying the hospitality and the trampoline. Connaught and Leinster Club secretary Dermot Lynch joined us for the mayhem in the afternoon which started with clipping. All the participants had a go, with the younger ones clipping heads in the crush and the more experienced helping each other to clip their beasts. They came into their own, trimming bellies and tops and tails and this is not a moment for the faint hearted especially as the show team for the next day were among the beasts.

A great job was done by all, it was nice to see the youngsters helping each other out, they are all so keen to get through to the final, but it didn’t stop them working together and enjoying themselves. Changing halters was also completed and Leo didn’t make it easy with the heifers being in the yard but I guess it was similar to the experience you get at a show. The attendees then dressed their animals and the air was filled with a cloud of shining products.

Ring craft was next on the agenda and everyone took something out. There were a couple of animals that had got fed up with standing around all day and were a bit of a handful, but the young handlers had chance to show their skill and they managed to get them all stood up and quiet and we even managed to get a photo with them all. I don’t envy any photographers trying to find different angles to take photos from, particularly when I was perched on top of beer kegs on a show box, of course I was remembering all the while that health and Safety is no accident. The day was rounded off by a demonstration on how to make a halter from Leo.

As ever it was yet another fantastic workshop with thanks to the McFadden Family, Leo McEnroe, Dermot Lynch and Niamh McEnroe.

So that’s workshop number six completed with five left to go. August is set to be a busy month with a workshop or two every weekend, and if the next five workshops are filled with as much enthusiasm as the first six then I’m going to really enjoy the next month.