July 29, 2024
Brigooda teenager Kaitlyn Barber will be representing Queensland at the national finals of the prestigious Agricultural Shows Australia Young Paraders competition in September.
Kaitlyn won the QCAS Stud Beef Young Parader title at last year’s Brisbane Ekka.
She was representing the Darling Downs Sub-Chamber, after taking out the Young Paraders sash at the Bell Show.
Kaitlyn was also named Reserve Champion in the School Paraders competition.
The Kingaroy State High School / Kingaroy TAFE student also represented Queensland earlier this year at the 2025 WorldSkills Australia National Championships in Brisbane where she was competing in the Vocational Education and Training in Schools (VETIS) Primary Industries category.
Kaitlyn was a key part of the Proston P-10 school cattle team for many years and is a familiar face leading cattle at South Burnett shows.
She credits the school with her success.
“(Proston State School has) a really good agricultural program which includes lots of show time,” Kaitlyn said.
“I started with them when I was 13 and have never looked back.
“I have been to many shows, including three Ekkas, and I will be doing the one coming up this year.
“I have a very strong passion for cattle and I wanted to get into showing cattle. I got this opportunity when I started high school back when I was 13.
“Everything I know was because of the two teachers I learnt from. My knowledge doesn’t stop there, I am still continuing to learn and grow my skills.”
The 2025 Agricultural Shows Australia National Championships are being hosted by SA Country Shows at the Royal Adelaide Show from September 1-6.
UPDATE September 30: Congratulations to Kaitlyn who came 3rd in the Beef Cattle Young Paraders category at the national finals earlier this month!
