Meet Turriff Show's star young handlers

That winning feeling!

Can you give us some background on yourself and your farming life?

My name is Olly Patterson, I am eight years old from Keith, North east Scotland.

My Dad and Granda have a farm at Aultmore, near Keith where they have pedigree Limousins (Aultside herd) and British Blues (Aultmore), Simmental (Aultmore) and Charolais (Aultmore) and some commercial cows as well.

Olly at home with the cattle

When did you get involved with showing?

I have always watched my dad showing cattle since i was a wee boy at shows and sales and wanted to learn how to do it myself. I help him a lot with washing and walking the beasts at home when he is getting them ready for shows and sales.

I have taken part in the young handlers at Keith show since I was four years old where i showed a Limousin bull calf called Aultside Meanmachine that my dad got champion with at Carlisle and sold him for 65000gns

Olly getting ready for the show ring

Do you have favourite breeds?

My favourite breeds are Limousin and British Blue.

Keeping his eye on the judge

Why do they stand out for you compared to the rest?

I like them because they are really quiet and easy to work with which means I get to help more with the halter training.

I also like beasts with lots of muscle, and they can sometimes make lots of money as sales.

Olly working with his Limousins

What shows did you go to first?

The first show i went to was the Highland show but I can’t remember it because i was only about eight weeks old. But my favourite show is Keith show because it is my local show and all my friends and family can come and watch me doing the young handlers, and I get to help my dad with showing the beasts.

Olly has been showing from a young age

What do you enjoy about taking part in showing?

My favourite thing about showing is getting the beasts looking really nice and trying my best to win prizes. I also enjoy it because i get to see lots of different breeds and i learn lots when i am watching others.

Have you had any big show wins?

I have won second prize in the young handlers at Keith show two years in a row and second at Grantown show as well, but this year I came first in the virtual young handlers at Turriff show.

Have you had any bad days in the show ring?

My biggest disappointment is that the shows have been cancelled for the last two years which means l haven’t been able to get to any shows to do young handlers and learn new things. I haven’t had many other disappointments yet but I remember getting my calf ready to do the young handlers at Keith show one year and something spooked him and after that he wouldn’t walk with me so it meant I didn’t get to use the calf I had done lots of work with at home.

Who inspires you most?

The person I look up to most in showing is my dad because he teaches me lots about cattle and how to handle them properly and get them looking right for shows. He has also won lots of prizes in shows and has sold lots of bulls for big prices which I hope i can do some day.

He also does showing and cattle dressing for lots of other farmers which I also want to do when im older.

Do you work on the farm all year round?

Yes I help a lot on the farm when I am not at school, I help with things like feeding and bedding the cows in the winter time and I have recently helped my dad with calving a couple cows for my first time. I have also had a few shots of driving the tractor, doing things like topping grass and gathering bales and i really enjoy learning new things.

What do you do in your spare time?

I play football every week for the Keith boys league and I really enjoy going out on my quad bike. I also really enjoy swimming and cycling.

What are your plans for the future?

In the future I want to keep learning all the different things about farming and showing, so I will be able to help my dad more on the farm and go to shows and sales with him to help. I also want to learn things like how to AI cows as I have watched my dad do it for years but he says I'm still too young to learn about that yet.

Also, I want to keep playing football as I really enjoy it and its good exercise and it's good for meeting new people.

Advice for young people wanting to try showing?

My advice for other young people is to always take your time and try your best, if you you don’t get it right first time, just keep trying.