Gulgong zoology student, Hollie Smith, will be one of 10 zone five showgirls representing their region's at the upcoming Sydney Royal AgShows NSW Young Woman competition.
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The event, which will be held in Gulgong, aims to recognise women with strong agricultural knowledge who have contributed greatly to their community.
As the local entrant, Ms Smith is thrilled to have the zone finals held in her hometown, a place that has shaped her beliefs.
"I'm not originally from an agricultural background, I was living in Sydney and moved here when I was 10," she said.
"Gulgong has shaped my views on what I want to do with my future with animals, it's my background now."
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On the day, 10 ladies from across the zone five area - from Lithgow to Newcastlte - will be judged on a variety of things from their community involvement, agricultural knowledge, ambitions, and more.
The winner of the round will progress to the state final that will be held at the Sydney Royal Easter Show.
"I believe that, as a Gulgong girl, it would be awesome to win because we haven't had someone in a few years go and I would love to represent my town," Ms Smith said.
For Gulgong to be selected as the event's location is a coup, according to event coordinator Niamh Hutchinson who said hosting offers a chance to showcase the region.
"Hosting provides an opportunity for a regional town to get people in to see what the town has to offer and to be able to showcase their local region," Ms Hutchinson said.
"It's a great opportunity to be able to show the younger generation, who are going to be our future within the agricultural show societies, what you can achieve and be influenced by some of the amazing things some of these women have achieved."
"Our younger generations are having quite a difficulty attending shows. We've found that a lot of our age group has begun to fade away from going," Ms Smith said.
"This sort of stuff brings them back in and gets them more interested in why we have our show societies and how our ag industry works."
The 2022 Sydney Royal AgShows NSW Young Woman competition zone five finals will be held on Saturday, January 22 at the Gulgong Memorial Hall.
To purchase tickets, click here.
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