Cousins Chloe Plowman and Corey Evans have done their family, region and state proud.
Chloe is the 2022 National Young Beef Parader champion, while Corey is the 2022 ALPA Young Auctioneers national runner-up.
The pair of agricultural show stars both represented Queensland, Kingaroy and their workplace Aussie Land and Livestock when they competed at the Sydney Royal Easter Show on 8 April.
Nation’s Young Beef Parader Champion
Choe Plowman joined the “exclusive club” when she was named the 2022 National Young Beef Parader champion.
The 18-year-old Kingaroy woman competed in the nationals final at the Sydney Royal Easter Show on 8 April, representing Queensland.
As there is only one national winner every year which is open to 16 to 25-year-olds, only an elite few have ever claimed the national parader title.
“Not many people do it at 18, they usually wait [until their early 20s],” Chloe said.
Chloe, who was the South Burnett Show Society representative, won the QCAS Stud Beef Young Paraders Queensland Final at the Proston Show on 5 March, 2022. This earned her a spot in the national finals at Sydney on the 8 April.
Sydney’s Royal Easter Show was a much bigger stage for Chloe as she worked in the ring in the rain alongside the six other finalists from across the country.
“The nationals experience was really good, everything I’ve learned I showed it off, I kept the animal calm,” she said.
She had just an hour to work with the animal assigned to her, in order to show her “true ability” working with animals.
“I got a really good animal and people to work with,” Chloe said.
The young paraders then swapped animals towards the end of the competition.
“My animal was a bit challenging and then I got an animal that was a bit more challenging,” she said.
“It’s all about showing how you can control the animal and keep it calm.”
The judges told Chloe she managed to keep her animal calm.
“When I swapped animals I showed the animal to the best of my ability,” Chloe was told by the judge.
“I also knew the information about my animal.
“The judge said she’d be happy for me to show her animals.”
Chloe said the best part of the competition was the animal she got to work with, Cooper Enia, whose owner was from America. Cooper Enia went on to win the junior championship at the show.
Chloe’s family, along with James and Kathy Bredhauer from Chloe’s workplace, Aussie Land and Livestock, were proud Queensland supporters amongst the New South Wales crowd.
Chloe was proudly sponsored by Canard Hats who provided her with a new hat for the competition.
One catch with becoming the National Young Beef Parader champion is that Chloe can no longer compete in the young parader competitions.
However, she plans to continue to show cattle at the upcoming Kingaroy, Blackbutt and Cooyar Shows as well as the Brisbane Ekka.
Stewarding and judging the young parader competitions could be on the cards for Chloe in a few years time when she gains some more experience.
Australia’s second best young auctioneer
Kingaroy’s Corey Evans was shocked to learn he was named runner up in the ALPA Young Auctioneers National Championships at the Sydney Royal Easter Show.
“I went down there just for the experience -I had no expectations,” he said.
“To come home with a ribbon is really rewarding and really exciting.”
He went up against eight competitors from across Australia in the Australian Livestock and Property Agents Association Ltd Young Auctioneers national final on 8 April 2022 after winning the Queensland final in Roma on 12 October, 2021.
Corey said the Sydney stadium was a lot bigger with a lot more people watching.
“It was probably a lot different to what we’re used to in Queensland,” he said.
“I’ve never sold in anything like that before, it was a totally different experience.
“I’m very pleased I got the opportunity.”
Corey was pretty happy with his performance at the nationals competition.
“I went into it with an attitude that I had nothing to lose and it was an honour to be there, I tried to be as calm as I could… and it paid off,” he said.
His family came along to support him alongside his mentors Aussie Land and Livestock’s Midge Thompson and James Bredhauer.
He competed alongside fellow Queenslander Simon Kinbacher, an auctioneer who had grown up in Biggenden and was representing Elders Rural Services Rockhampton.
“We travelled down and got to catch up -it was really good,” Corey said.
The national Young Auctioneers winner for 2022 was William Claridge from C.L. Squires & Co at Inverell.
ALPA CEO Peter Baldwin announced the winners of the young auctioneers final and congratulated all of the “fine young gentlemen” who had competed in front of the “biggest crowd they ever had”.
“You sold your hearts out, you did your states proud, you did your families proud, you did your employers proud,“ Peter said.
“You sold impeccably and we at ALPA are very proud of you.”
Competing at the Young Auctioneers National Championships was a dream come true for Corey.
“It’s something I always dreamt of growing up, just to get to the nationals was something,” he said.
“It’s a pretty unreal feeling when I was down there and got the opportunity, it was really exciting.”