2025 VAS Ltd Apiam Saddle Horse Championships - Schedule Available

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The 2025 VAS Ltd Apiam Saddle Horse Championships schedule is now available for viewing along with online entries available to enter. Entries close 17th December 2024 11:59pm.

The championships aims to celebrate the Victorian agricultural show season for 2024 and reward those that have competed and supported the many agricultural shows across the state. We do feature 5 state finals at the championships, which are Good Hands, Alabar Hero Series, Off The Track Led Open, Led Show Hunter, Ridden Open, Ridden Show Hunter Series.

Its an event for all enthusiastic country show exhibitors, who have qualified and we are excited for the 2025 championships!

2024 Beef Cattle Parading & Judging State Final Results

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Beef Cattle Parading State Final Results

1st Place - Emily Hann representing Noorat Show

2nd Place - Bronte Bowles representing Bendigo Show

3rd Place - Molly Henderson representing Swan Hill Show

Beef Cattle Judging State Final Results

1st Place - Matilda Sullivan representing Swan Hill Show

2nd Place - Molly Henderson representing Swan Hill Show

3rd Place - Emily Pendlebury representing Berwick Show

We thank Greenham for coming on board this year to support our State Finals and thank you to Brett for coming to present the winners with their sashes.

Proudly Sponsored By

2024 VAS Rural Ambassador State Final Award Results

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On Friday 4th October the Rural Ambassador State Finalists arrived in Melbourne to continue their journey for the State Final, which entailed a tour of the show and lots of great positive and passionate chats as we made our way around the show.

On Saturday each ambassador was interviewed by a panel of three judges, which were Susan Campbell-Wright, Steve Campbell-Wright & Greg Macdonald. We thank them for their time and effort in judging the state final, which they described as a very difficult task to split each ambassador as their contributions are exceptional to the agricultural shows movement. Each ambassador also had the opportunity to be interviewed in the broadcast box, which was on the main arena. Then the afternoon was filled with the Young Farmers Challenge, which 3 of the ambassadors were in teams and the other two were stewards & helpers on the day. It was very exciting that the rural ambassador team won the State Final and will be representing Victoria at the National Final next year in Adelaide so well done to Nicole Teitge, Tess Runting, Fraser Cameron & Bahlin Wishart!

On Sunday it was time for the Speeches Presentation from each ambassador, which they each delivered great speeches on the topic of “What are some of the future risks to the success and longevity of agricultural shows and how do you think we can resolve these risks?”. If you are interested in listening to each of the speeches they are on the VAS Facebook Page. It was then time for the Future Leaders Luncheon in the Masterchef Building where all ambassadors & families enjoyed the function together. This is where the results were announced of the State Final. The VAS Rural Ambassador State Final Winner was Caitlin Grieve representing the Midlands Group & Ballarat Show & the Runner Up was Nicole Teitge representing the Central & Upper Goulburn Group & Mansfield Show. Each ambassador represented their Show Society & Group so well and should be very proud of their contributions and the way they have conducted themselves.

VAS Ltd appreciates the support of our state final sponsors


Introducing the 2024 Rural Ambassador State Finalists

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Left to Right: Matilda Smith (Midlands Group & Beaufort Show), Nicole teitge (Central & Upper Goulbrn Group & Mansfield Show), Caitlin grieve (Midlands Group & Ballarat Show), Cassandra Douglas (Goulburn Valley Riverina Group & Euroa Show) & Tess Runting (Central & SOuth Gippsland Group & Pakenham Show)

Cassandra Douglas - Goulburn Valley Riverina Group & Euroa Show

Cass is passionate about her community and values the role country shows play in showcasing agricultural heritage while promoting future growth in regional areas. A fifth-generation local, she grew up on her family's farm in Gooram, which has been held and expanded since original selection. The farm runs an Angus beef breeding program alongside a small flock of sheep. After completing Year 12 at Euroa Secondary College, Cass secured a six-month role with her local council through the Victorian Government’s Working for Victoria program. This led to a full-time position in local government, where she continues to upskill and contribute to the community through her work in communications and engagement. In addition to being a CFA volunteer, Cass is an active committee and executive member of the Euroa Agricultural Society Inc. She plays a key role in coordinating the Society’s print and digital media, website, online entries, and show schedule.

Caitlin Grieve - Midlands Group & Ballarat Show

Caitlin lives on the family farm in Dean, where she assists around the farm with shearing, crutching, marking, in between working full time and studying a Bachelor of Arts part time. She spent a year and a half in New Zealand, studying Agricultural Science at Lincoln University on a Leadership Scholarship and working in the North Island. For the past 5 years she has adjudicated public speaking competitions at a regional, state, and national level and passionately coached girls rowing. She enjoys exhibiting her family’s stud Dorset Horns, and stewarding and judging sheep at agricultural shows, as well as coordinating, organising and judging junior handling and judging. For the last 3 years she has supervised and cared for the Heritage Sheep Breeds display at the Melbourne Show, staying on site with the sheep and interacting with the public, educating them about the sheep industry.

Tess Runting - Central & South Gippsland Group & Pakenham Show

Tess has a strong passion for encouraging youth into agriculture, as her journey began when she joined her high school’s sheep show team in 2011. Since then, Tess has been heavily involved in agricultural shows around Victoria, showing her stud Corriedale sheep, competing in youth judging competitions and coordinating the sheep section at Pakenham and Red Hill Shows. More recently, Tess has taken on the organisation of sheep youth events at an additional 8 shows around Victoria to provide more opportunities for youth to be involved. Alongside running her own stud, Tess is the farm manager at Flinders Christian Community College in Tyabb, where she loves encouraging students from prep to year 12 to follow a career in agriculture. Tess has enjoyed competing in the ASA National Championships for Meat Sheep Judging and Merino Fleece Judging and having won both at National level is now proud to be mentoring her school students in these competitions. Tess is grateful for the positive impact ag shows have had on her life and believes that they are invaluable to our local communities and the wider agricultural industry.

Matilda Smith - Midlands Group & Beaufort Show

Matilda was born into the agricultural show community, watching her dad compete in many show shearing competitions. She has now involved herself with many aspects of her local Beaufort Show and helps run the shearing competition. Matilda is involved with the Second Gen group to help with family activities such as the dog jump, egg throw, yard dog trials and her family’s original competition they invented in 2016, the “shearers v axemen relay”. She says being part of an enthusiastic, passionate team is exciting and rewarding. Since a young age, Matilda has been entering her pets, crafts and photography at the show. With her passion for animals stemming from growing up on a small farm, Matilda has put this experience into her work as a vet nurse, and now working in the shearing sheds, before implementing plans to expand her knowledge in the agricultural industry in 2025.

Nicole Teitge - Central & Upper Goulburn Group & Mansfield Show

Nicci’s love for rural life began on her family’s small property in Pearcedale, Victoria, where she learned to ride horses and care for livestock. At 16, her passion deepened when she visited her sister on a remote cattle station in Queensland, where the strength of the rural community left a lasting impression. After high school, Nicci worked on farms across Queensland, New South Wales, the Northern Territory, and Victoria, gaining valuable experience in agriculture. In 2023, she moved to Mansfield, where her dedication to rural life earned her the Rural Ambassador award for the Central and Upper Goulburn region. Despite being new to the local show society, Nicci understands the importance of community for mental and physical well-being. Recently, she organised a charity event that raised $30,000 for the local campdraft club and men’s mental health. In October, she’ll ride a posty bike through NSW to raise funds for Variety, the children’s charity, before helping with the Mansfield show in November. Nicci’s journey reflects her commitment to agriculture and her community.

Introducing the new initiative VAS Ltd Show Awards

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This is an exciting new initiative by the VAS Ltd Board and they are proud to launch the Victorian Agricultural Shows Awards.

The Victorian Agricultural Shows Awards serve to recognise excellence in the agricultural show movement and is an initiative supported by the VAS Ltd Board & Sub Committee. The Awards will acknowledge the contributions of not just the Show Societies/Field Days and events hosted by them, but the people whose tireless efforts embody what the agricultural show movement is all about. It also aims to encourage teams and individuals to innovate and maintain their commitment to achieving excellence.

The Awards & Presentations will be announced during the annual VAS Ltd Convention Dinner held in conjunction with the Victorian Agricultural Shows Annual General Meeting weekend. The Awards is an opportunity for the industry to come together and celebrate the outstanding achievements within our movement.

Nominations are now open and they close 11th April 2025. So at anytime between now and then nominations can be submitted.

2024 Rural Ambassador State Finalists

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VAS held the Rural Ambassador State Final Information Day on 25th August! It was great to have all six ambassadors there all getting to know each other! The State Final will be held at the Melbourne Royal Show on the 4th, 5th & 6th October, so keep an eye out for more introductions of our 2024 state finalists!

Introducing the 2024 State Finalists

Tess Runting - Central & South Gippsland Group - Pakenham Show

Nicole Teitge - Central & Upper Goulburn Group - Mansfield Agricultural and Pastoral Society

Cassandra Douglas - Goulburn Valley Riverina Group - Euroa Agricultural Society Inc

Matilda Smith - Midlands Group - Beaufort Agricultural Society Annual Show

Caitlin Grieve - Midlands Group - Ballarat Show

Karla Evans - North Eastern Group - Yarrawonga-Mulwala Agricultural Show

2024/25 Agricultural & Pastoral Society Grants - Close in two weeks time!

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Click here to apply for the grant & read the grant guidelines: https://agriculture.vic.gov.au/.../agricultural-and...

Grants of up to $10,000 per eligible society are available for eligible projects. Projects that will be considered may include initiatives that:

  • promote agricultural production

  • provide new, or improved or upgraded facilities for exhibitions, competitions and displays, such as upgrading fencing and stables, or areas used for shearing demonstrations and wool exhibits and/or judging of commercial and stud animals and providing opportunities to display arts and craft, and artisan produce

  • enhance public amenities at showgrounds such as toilets, seating and disabled access

  • improve essential infrastructure for electricity and water supply

  • enhance business management, planning for shows and marketing strategies targeting the broader community

  • promote reporting of livestock movements to the National Livestock Identification System (NLIS) database, such as the purchase of scanning wands

  • enhance biosecurity planning, such as a written biosecurity plan, signage or improved facilities to create separate housing of different species of animals for biosecurity purposes.

Applications will close 5pm Friday 23rd August 2024.

2024 Merino Fleece State Final Results

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Fine Merino Fleece Class

1st Place - Barty & Sons Beverely Merino Stud (Northern District Group)

2nd Place - Ava & Tom Harris (Central & Upper Goulburn Group)

3rd Place - Fraser Brothers (Midlands Group)

Medium Merino Fleece Class

1st Place - A & P Harris (Northern District Group)

2nd Place - Carol Gleeson (Midlands Group)

3rd Place - Diana Wheaton (Wimmera Group)

Strong Merino Fleece Class

1st Place - Dylan Fox (Northern District Group)

2nd Place - Anthony Lowe (Wimmera Group)

3rd Place - Robin Neilson (Midlands Group)