For young women in rural and regional NSW, the opportunity to represent their communities at the Sydney Royal Easter Show is both empowering and nerve-wracking.
But the preparation starts long before the show kicks off.
Madison Luke (Hawkesbury) and Louisa Gilmour (Warialda), the runner-up and winner of the Sydney Royal Agshows Young Woman Competition respectively, sat down with Maddie Adams on AFTRS Show Radio to talk about the years of preparation, study and hard work that went into the competition.
In their personal lives, Madison is a PhD candidate at the University of Sydney, specialising in feedlot beef cattle. Louisa is a passionate storyteller and journalist who works as a post-production assistant at Spectrum Films.
Both women are inspired, determined and driven to strengthening connections between rural and urban communities.
To make it to the prestigious final – a public speaking showcase – at the Easter Show, competitors must go through multiple stages. Starting at a local level, participants put their hands up tot volunteer for the program, and if successful, move on to the zone-level where they compete and advocate for what they love in Australian agriculture.
Judges ask simple and more complicated questions of the competitors, wanting to gain an idea of who will represent the district best. From there, winners of zones are “sashed” and go on to the state finals held at the Sydney Royal Easter Show.
Although they are at the Show to represent their communities, Madison and Louisa said that the finalists had created a community amongst themselves, bonded through competition and shared aspirations as young women in the agriculture industry.
On top of the competition requirements and challenges, the finalists have many duties and social responsibilities across the Easter Show, which both women agreed were exhausting, but ultimately, “the most rewarding parts of the experience.”
Learning from and connecting with each other, both Madison and Louisa excelled in the state final; passing through the series of development events, impressing the judges and other finalists and taking home first and second place.
It was a pleasure to talk to them and hear about their passions, interests and selfless motivations to uplift and boost their rural communities at the Easter Show.
