The shear brilliance of Australia’s young sheep farmers has been confirmed, with two of our finest taking out top places at the World Young Shepherds Competition.
Gabbie Horton achieved second place with fellow Australian, Jack Grundy bringing home fourth place.
Ms Horton and Mr Grundy were handpicked by WoolProducers Australia to represent the nation at the competition, after it was approached by the French embassy.
In collaboration with the Peter Westblade Scholarship and training organisation Hay Inc, the two were identified as ideal representatives of Australia's sheep and wool industry.
The competition, also known as Ovinpiades Mondiales, brought together young people from across the world to compete against one another in a series of tasks to test their sheep husbandry skills and knowledge.
This year's event involved 29 competitors from 15 countries including Argentina, Canada, Chile, Peru, Armenia, Benin, Ivory Coast, Togo, Australia, Belgium, Spain, Ireland, France and the UK.
The challenges included shearing, foot trimming, ewe health assessment and electric fence building across various locations, where competitors demonstrated their techniques of speed and skill.
Mr Gundry is from Padthaway in SA, and is a graduate of the Hay Inc. program and said the competition was a great opportunity for young sheep enthusiasts to come together and compare different sheep farming techniques.
“I learnt a lot about how different the sheep industry is. All the sheep living in barns due to of bears and wolves and the grass was knee-high with no stock in sight,” Mr Grundy said.
“We were on par with a lot of the western countries, the competitors who had grown up with dorper-type sheep had different techniques. We were most similar to the competitors from France who placed first and third" he said.
Mr Gundry believed they had the upper-hand as they knew the off-spring well. The competitive Aussie spirit also pushed green and gold competitors up the ranks.
Ms Horton, a Peter Westblade Scholar who works on a sheep property in Yass, NSW, believed the commercial mindset she and Mr Gundry brought to the competition set them apart from their competitors.
“We had the best grasp of profitable commercial sheep operations and looked at everything from a commercial mindset. We have been fortunate enough to be dealing with bigger flock numbers. However, that probably afforded the other competitors more time to work closer with each animal,” she said.
Ms Horton said the international networking opportunities that the Ovinpiades competition offered facilitated the chance to learn with likeminded people about the sheep industry in a different country.
“The seven days competing has opened my eyes up to the industry on a global scale and I’ve come home with new ideas and new perspective,” Ms Horton said.
The overall positivity surrounding farming in France was a standout for the competitors.
A study in 2023 revealed a French person eats twice as much meat as the world average. However, the clip of wool had ultimately been a bi-product of the industry.
“95% of competitors didn’t know about merino wool,” Ms Horton said.
Ms Horton said the Aussies made the effort to wear Merino wool throughout the event to showcase the Australian product.
Jack Grundy (left) and Gabbie Horton (right) were accompanied by Peter Westblade Scholarship chairman Joe Walden (middle). Pic: Supplied.
A key learning from both competitors was their appreciation for sheep farming practices in Australia.
“Not many people want to get into the industry over there (Europe). The farmers protesting amongst the big cities and communities demonstrates how the increasing taxes and environmental rampage on farming is crippling the industry. Farming sheep over there is pretty non-profitable so they rely heavily on government for support,” Mr Grundy said.
“The red meat industry in Australia is tough, but you are better being in sheep over here than over there. Pretty eye-opening to see that’s where we could end up,” he said.
Ms Horton believes the experience allowed her to gain a deeper level of respect for Australian sheep producers who can maintain profitable operations without government subsidies.
“We have great sheep genetics in Australia, which have persisted through times, it does make you really proud to be in the industry,” she said.
The experience wasn’t all competition, the delegates were able to indulge in the local culture looking at farms.
“The French really champion their farmers and make it a really positive place for young people to join. They’re really proud of their product and their industry and that is something we could learn from as Aussies,” Ms Horton said.
Overall, the opportunity was something the competitors were grateful to be a part of and they expressed their gratitude to WoolProducers Australia for coordinating.
“It’s more than just learning about sheep, its all the conversations you have along the way that make it pretty special” Mr Grundy said.
This year’s Aussie representatives are encouraging everyone to seize opportunities like this and "have a go" when they arise.
