South Australian poultry breeder Aron Quinton, McLaren Vale, took the top spot at the inaugural National Poultry Young Judges championship on Sunday at the Royal Adelaide show.
Seven competitors from around Australia and New Zealand were required to judge Rhode Island Red, Modern Game and Indian Runner breeds, and gained points for describing breed characteristics such as head and feather quality, eye colour and health, and also for how well they handled the animals.
A timed verbal explanation of a breed of their chose was also given, after which Aaron was named champion with Courtney Davies, New Zealand, in second and Claire Blayney NSW in third.
Mr Quinton never imagined breeding poultry as a hobby would lead to a national title and was surprised with the win, having been thrown in the judging deep end just last year.
“I only got into judging last year when they were looking for state finalists to give it a shot and we were all a bit unsure about what to do and how it would go, but happened to get through,” he said.
“Over the last of couple of days, I’ve talked to breeders to get their different perspectives on their birds and the breeds, then went from there really.”
Mr Quinton did his verbal assessment on Indian Runners, a breed he is very familiar with having owned one since he was five years old, having now expanded into a variety of breeds.
“I would have been happy to speak about the other two breeds but I just felt more confident talking about the Runners,” he said.
”I didn't think I knew enough be competitive but I thought as long as I didn’t make myself look stupid I should be alright!”
The accolade puts Mr Quinton in good stead to judge in future shows around the country and he plans to get accredited through the SA Poultry Association.
Competition judge Grame Hopf, Murwillumbah, NSW, said it was excellent to see young people come forward and compete in both the state final and the national final.
“Aron was well spoken and the judge with the most natural ability that we had in the competition, and he obviously thoroughly enjoyed the task before him,” Mr Hopf said.
Young Judges Association of SA president David Peters said the inaugural national poultry final had been fantastic, with great interest for the first time.
“We had one entrant from each state and NZ, which you don’t always expect at the start of a new competition,” he said.
