The farm is owned by Linsey Bennett and Murray Skedgwell; they and their family have the Mount Lake Jerseys stud, the Elmsbrook Jerseys stud, the Elms Lake Stud and the Mount Brook Stud.
Ms Bennett said those who attended the cow camp on January 15 and 16 learned about and practised stock handling and training techniques, grooming, presentation, stock judging and public speaking.
‘‘It was good to see them get a lot more confidence,’’ she said.
‘‘They worked with the judges who gave them basic ideas of what to look out for in dairy cows.’’
The camp gave the young people insight into Jerseys, as many were used to Friesians.
The camp-goers learned how to get to know their animals.
‘‘Personal presentation during a show was also important,’’ she said.
‘‘If you have two people tied in points, it comes down to presentation of them and their animal.’’
Her daughter Julie Skedgwell, then 16, was reserve champion in a national dairy judging competition in Hastings last year and had said public speaking was one of the hardest parts of the competition.
Lina Buhre won the Craig Morton Memorial Shield, which was usually presented at the Gore show, to the handler who accumulated the most points from competing at all the Southland shows.
However, as Mycoplasma bovis had prevented many shows from including cattle or calves in their schedules, the competition had not been held.
‘‘We put up hand up this year to use our farm,’’ she said.
Brooke Flett judged the junior handler section while Ken and Nancy Eade judged the intermediate and senior handlers.
‘‘We had beautiful weather and the kids enjoyed sleeping in tents.
‘‘They got to know each other and spent a lot of time yacking.’’
She said they wanted to thank the Eade family, who were the major sponsors of the event, and the Southern Districts Royal Agricultural Society for sponsoring the meal.
