IF ambition is any indication, 17-year-old cattle judge Ruby Canning has some big things coming her way. The Ballarat teenager was nominated to be a judge at this year’s Royal Bathurst Show, and it was an opportunity she could not knock back. Along with her brother Jacob, they own and run Mavstar Simmentals stud in Mortlake, Victoria. She is also a livestock photographer and is still completing high school at Ballarat Grammar. “I’m a six-generation cattle producer,” she said. And the cattle stud she runs with her brother was inherited from her grandfather, Peter Schembri, who died in 2012.  “He was an absolute inspiration,” Ruby said. Cattle judging is very much in her blood, with her mother and father also involved in judging at the Royal Bathurst Show.  “My father Ross and I got nominated to judge and my mum Rita judged handlers,” she said. And Ruby knows exactly what it feels like to be in the judging ring as a competitor, having shown cattle for years. “I represented Victoria in the state final for a couple of years now ... I was also Victorian state champion in parading,” she said. When asked what the reaction was from people she was judging who are decades older than her, the answer was simple. “I guess there’s some people who have been in the industry a lot longer and would rather be judged by an older judge,” she said. Ruby, however, is unfazed and said young people who are passionate about agriculture are needed to ensure the long-term future of the industry that is so vital to Australia. “Growing up in the country, you need young people,” she said. "When I got to judge the school kids I think the kids really enjoy it because they're getting judged by someone their own age." And, after school is finished, Ruby is keen to stay in agriculture. "I'd like to study agricultural science ... I've been involved with the industry and I'd like to see it from a different perspective," she said.
