Pictured above (left to right): Elizabeth Schieferstine, Team Advisor Carrie Edsall, Luke Enyart, Libby Sutton, Allison Gabel
The SUNY Cobleskill Dairy Judging Team just returned from their journey across the Atlantic to compete at the Royal Highland Show, one of Scotland’s most prestigious agricultural events held annually in Edinburgh. The show is a massive undertaking that attracts over 1,000 exhibitors showcasing 4,500 head of livestock to an audience of up to 190,000 visitors. For the team, this represented an opportunity to test their skills on an international stage.
The team consisted of Luke Enyart (Agricultural Engineering/Cobleskill, NY), Allison Gabel (Agricultural Business/Lawtons, NY), Elizabeth Schieferstine (Animal Science – Dairy/Vernon, NY), and Libby Sutton (Dairy Production & Management/Ruskin, FL).
The judging competition itself was described by Coach Carrie Edsall as “fast and furious,” given the compressed timeline that team members had in the field. Teams met four distinct classes of cattle with just five minutes allocated for each evaluation, followed by two sets of oral reasons. The Cobleskill team showed their expertise across multiple dairy breeds, judging two sets of Holstein cows along with Jersey and Ayrshire cattle.
Enyart and Schieferstine placed third overall, while Gabel and Sutton placed fifth overall in their respective pairings. Outside of the competition, the team experienced notable sights around the Scottish Lowlands, both historic and contemporary, including St. Andrews Links, Stirling Castle, the Kelpies, and the Falkirk Wheel.
In the capital City of Edinburgh, the team paid a visit to the National Museum of Scotland, the current home of Dolly the Sheep, the world’s first successfully cloned mammal, whose preserved remains serve as a primary attraction. Their journey culminated with a tour of Holyrood Palace. Built in the 1100s, this remarkable structure has served as the official residence of Scottish royalty for centuries and continues to function as an active royal residence today.
After their time in the capital, the team visited the city of Glasgow and three additional Scottish dairy farms. Then it was off to Ireland, where they explored large-scale grass-based dairy systems and smaller seasonal operations. Their time in Ireland included visits to the Kilkenny auction market and successful competition at the Charleville Agricultural Show, where the full team of four earned second place overall, judging and placing four classes of cattle within five minutes. Cultural highlights included touring portions of the Ring of Kerry and visiting historic sites such as Blarney Castle.
“This international trip brought to life the kind of real-world learning that sets our students apart,” said Animal Science Instructor and Team Advisor Carrie Edsall. “Competing at the Royal Highland Show and in Ireland challenged our team to apply their technical knowledge under pressure while exposing them to different dairy systems and agricultural practices. The third and fifth place finishes show that our students can compete with the best in the world, but more importantly, they return home with a global perspective that will serve them throughout their careers in agriculture.”
