Abby, Leanne, Patrick and Paddy Davis when Patrick won the NSW title before going on to win the national title.
Patrick Davis has taken out the NSW Merino Junior Judging competitions at the Royal Easter Show and then on the same day taken out the National award, rounding out a huge achievement for the almost 18-year-old young man.
Judging in the competition is objective, while there are characteristics of an animal to look for, what the judges pay close attention to is how clearly competitors express their decision and how they validate it.
A competitor’s appearance is also important and judges can be marked down for poor presentation.
The national championships are held in a different location each year. This year, they were held at the Sydney Royal Easter Show, celebrating its bicentenary. The National judges and paraders competition brings together the best young judges and paraders aged from 15 to 25 in each state to compete at the national finals.
Qualification is via success in competitive regional and state competitions, something Patrick had previously completed.
Patrick who is currently studying at St Gregory’s College in Campbelltown has been eligible to enter the competition for the last two years and this year decided to throw his hat in the ring and compete against some experienced competitors, some of who are up to the age of 25.
Davis comes from a long line of Merino Breeders with his grandfather Bede founding Demondrille Merino Stud west of Harden in 1983 and his father Patrick Senior and uncles all a part of the industry spanning 5 decades. Prior to founding the stud, the Davis Family had been breeding fine wool Merino Sheep since 1942.
Patrick recently spent some time in the sheds at the family property with his uncle Charlie, where he fine-tuned his skills to prepare for the competition. He had to score and grade 4 rams or 4 ewes in two separate sections. One team was a short wool team with 6 months the other a longer wool team with 12 months growth of wool.
On top of this, he had to speak confidently as to why he chose which sheep and where he placed them and was likely sitting in second place going into the final stage of the nationals before he decided to take the road less travelled and discuss the longer wool team over the shorter wool-covered ewes.
With 9 other competitors taking the easier path, it was Patrick’s confidence and his ability to communicate his thoughts to the judges along with his reasoning that won him the national title.
Patricks’s father Paddy said, “He could have gone in it last year but he was a bit younger. He is in year 12 now and he didn’t balk at this year’s competition. They held the 2021 and 2022 competitions together due to Covid and he came out on top. He was very surprised and so were we. In the state final they start at 5th place and work their way down to 1st place. He was up against a much older, experienced competitor and when he wasn’t announced in 2nd place we thought he had lost out until he was announced the winner. Later that afternoon they ran the nationals and he did a great job. He took his time and when it came time to speak about why he chose which sheep and talk about the sheep, he took the harder option. I think the judges knew he had won it when he spoke at the nationals at the end.”
Davis is thought to be one of the youngest competitors to win the national title and he did it at his first attempt.
Paddy said, “Some of the competitors take a few years just to win a title and a few more to win both. It opens some doors for him in the industry now and he will probably get invited to judge at some local shows in the area. He will probably pursue a career in agriculture and we are very proud of him. We have won four supremes ourselves down there and we have probably got a thrill as big or bigger than what we did there. We now have a national champion in the town, it’s a great achievement.”
Patrick said, “It feels pretty good, it’s a big accomplishment for me, I didn’t expect I was going to win. Even in the state one, I didn’t think I would go too far and it gave me confidence for the national one. I was pretty stoked.”
Patrick was very pleased, “Over the moon and in disbelief” when they read his name out on both occasions. He went into the competition with a plan and had it set from the start to focus on the sheep that he did so that he could stand out from the rest of the competitors.
Patrick said that his time spent around sheep with his dad and his uncle were instrumental in his win. He has been helping out at field days and sales on the family property since he was in primary school.
He said, “100 per cent, I definitely wouldn’t have the knowledge of sheep if it wasn’t for my dad and uncle.I have been helping out my whole life where I can. I would like to pursue a degree at uni in ag or go on and work on another farm before I come back home.”
Patrick wanted to thank his father Paddy and Uncle Charlie along with his sister Abby and mother Leanne. The family celebrated with a dinner later that night, however, there was little rest for the student who had to continue working on his ag assessments for his school work.
The Times will be following Patrick and his future successes closely as he no doubt has some very fine prospects in this field and in agriculture in general.
