Hooking the top prize
Treasurer measures up for win
ELMA Goody, who is better known as ‘Girlie’, hasn’t missed a single Callide Dawson Beef Carcase Competition since its inception 30 years ago.
Those decades of experience worked in her favour, as this year she took out the Grand Champion Carcase.
She has won the Champion Grain Fed Steer in 2001 and 2002, then in 2003 she won alongside with her brothers, then on her own again in 2005.
“It’s always a nice feeling when you take out a win. We haven’t had the grand champion title for very long, so it was good,” she said.
“I became treasurer of the competition in 1993, so it didn’t really surprise me much because I saw out the results as they were going through.”
She said the judges liked how her winning carcase looked on the hook.
“They don’t really comment on them, they do a series of measurements and if they measure up they win,” she said.
“He looked very nice in the yard beforehand but I didn’t predict he would come up in the measurements.
“Just because they look good in the feedlot, doesn’t mean they’re going to pull up those winning numbers.”
Ms Goody said she got her love of competing from her father, Hector.
“He was big on showing prime cattle and had a lot of big wins in the ’50s and ’60s,” she said.
“The local shows also had their own carcase competitions and I thought I’d have a go, and here I am more than three decades on.”
This year she had 19 head of limousin-cross cattle entered in the competition.
“I start looking at them when they’re first born,” she said.
“You can generally get a good idea of how they’ll be built and you can get a bit of insight looking at their parents too.”
She said when she first entered all those years ago she didn’t think she would still be going.
“I didn’t really think that far ahead,” she said.
“I didn’t even think I’d still be around, but I am getting on in age so I’ll have to retire eventually.”
Ms Goody said she had noticed more women getting involved in the competition through the years.
“I think it’s great to be able to get ahead of the men,” she said.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re male, female, black or white, if you’re entitled to do a job and you’re capable of doing it, then you should go right ahead and give it a go.”
She said the competition had come a long way since it began.
“Back then everything was written out by hand,” she said.
“Now we’re getting more cattle and the results are all recorded on the computer.”
Ms Goody said she was proud of how each competition panned out.
“At the end of every event I think ‘that was just great, now let’s come back next year and see if we can do the same again’,” she said.
“I’ve made some wonderful friends on our committee and to me it doesn’t matter if you win, lose or draw. If everyone has a good time and everything goes well, that’s the main thing.”
Since the competition began in 1988, more than 10,300 carcases have been judged and close to $217,100 raised for local show societies.
This year the event raised $4500 for the Royal Flying Doctor Service.
See more pictures of 2018 Callide Dawson Beef Carcase Competition winners at www.ruralweekly.com.au