When it comes to show time, Brodi Woolnough can usually be found in the ring parading heifers and steers.
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This year the 17-year-old Chatham High School student swapped the boots and hat for some glad rags to enter the Camden Haven Teen Showgirl contest.
Brodi faced an interview panel of four judges in private, and then answered more questions in front of other contestants and their families at a special dinner organised by the committee, a process she found “very nerve racking”.
“Whether you like it or not, they’re judging you,” Brodi said. “It puts you out of your comfort zone.”
As the only entrant in the Teen Showgirl competition, Brodi was naturally crowned the winner. But that is exactly the reason why she entered – to support the local show community.
“If I wasn’t to go in, there wouldn’t have been a Teen Showgirl,” Brodi said.
“If you don’t keep these things running, they’re gone.”
Over the years Brodi has watched her sisters participate in showgirl competitions and values it as a “great learning experience.”
Brodi is firmly entrenched in the agricultural show tradition, having won the title of champion parader at the 2013 RAS Heifer Show - her first time competing at the Sydney Royal.
The year 11 student is a regular at local shows, Wingham Beef Week and the Upper Hunter Beef Bonanza at Scone, competing with the Chatham High School show team.
Brodi intends taking a crack at the Taree Showgirl title in the future, however, she says, probably not next year as she will be studying for the HSC.