It is always great to see youngsters of all ages getting involved with our workshops all across the country – it is a great way for youngsters to learn a thing or too whilst getting the opportunity to meet likeminded people and make new friends. This week we speak to Olivia aged 8 years old as she gives us her account of the workshop down in York.
Olivia attended the workshop at the Clarence House Farm in the small village of Yearsley on the 12th of August which was kindly hosted by Adrian and Penny Johnson – a big thank you once again to Adrian and Penny for giving up their time and kindly hosting the workshop. Find below Olivia’s experience at the Yearsley workshop:
“Yesterday we went to York to attend the YDP workshop at the Yearsley herd. The first thing that we did was to get into age order and we made friends with the person we were next to. We began the first activity, Andrew the trainer showed us how to clip. He explained to us the importance of acting cautiously around the animal when you have a set of clippers turned on because the noise from the clippers could scare them and make them jump. He taught us how to clip out a head, what lines to create on the body and how to blend in the clipping.
We moved on to the next activity, this was my favourite, Ben the trainer had us drench the heifer before applying the shampoo. With dandy brushes we scrubbed the muck and grime out of the coat, not forgetting the legs and tail too. After the heifer was sparkling clean, Ben showed us how to do a quick release knot for tying the animals up with.
Adrian started the dressing demonstration by explaining which parts we are trying to make look bigger and better and which parts on the animal we are trying to blend in. To achieve this, we applied black soap all over the body and combed the hair in an upwards direction. We backcombed the tail into a sphere, to fill the gap between the two hind legs. Not forgetting the head, we put oil on it to make it shine.
After lunch we did stock judging with Andrew. He explained what to look for, the longer and wider the animal along with good locomotion the better it is.
Ben showed us ring craft and explained how to show an animal, by keeping its head up, walking properly whilst looking at the judge.
I really enjoyed my day and I learnt lots too. Thank you to everyone that helped me.”
It is always great to see youngsters like Olivia get involved with these workshops and like she says getting to meet new friends whilst also learning new skills which she can take forward with her in the future. We wish Olivia all the best and would like to thank her for taking the time to speak to us!
Other images from the workshop are shown below:
