Gwenllian Evans, 15, is from Ceredigion, West Wales and is currently studying for her GCSEs.
Family: Agriculture and farming is all I have ever known, as I have grown up on a smallholding with my Dad, a self-employed fencing contractor, and my Mum, who is working for the Íæż½ã½ã Union of Wales. I am currently studying for my GCSEs, with agriculture as one of my chosen subjects.
We keep a handful of British Blue cross heifers, a commercial flock of South Country Cheviots and more recently I have started my own pedigree flock of Jacob sheep, Gwenerin Jacobs.
I have been given complete responsibility for my flock, from the everyday care to selecting stock to sell. But showing my flock is my biggest passion and something I thoroughly enjoy.
Show: It may be a cliche, but keeping Jacobs really did happen by accident and it turned out to be the best thing that could have happened.
When I was eight years old, a neighbour gave me two little orphan Jacob lambs, a ewe lamb and a ram lamb.
After spending every hour possible hand rearing and looking after them, I decided that I wanted to show them. I enjoyed the process of getting them ready, and I could not believe my luck when the ewe lamb won reserve champion. I caught the showing bug well and truly that day.
Seven years later and I am proud of my Jacob flock and how it has developed. As well as showing, I also take part in young handlers competitions, which have helped to improve my confidence as well as developing skills and learning tips as I progress.
Not every local show has a Jacob class, so when I find a class that will accommodate my sheep I make sure that the Jacobs are well represented, sometimes in a very commercial class.
Winning is always a bonus, but every showing opportunity is a chance to promote the breed and show everyone else what Jacobs can offer.
Awards: In 2021, I was named as the UK Jacob Sheep Society Young Person of the Year, which something I am extremely proud of.
There were many highlights last year, as I won the Jacob Breed Championship at the RWAS Smallholding and Countryside Festival, which gave me the confidence to compete at my first Royal Welsh Show and that is something I had wanted to do since day one.
The experience was invaluable, but it was a complete bonus to be placed fourth in two strong classes and I also won Reserve Champion Senior Young Handler.
The perfect finish to 2022, was to win second best Welsh small flock and named the Jacob Sheep Society Wales Region Champion Young Handler.
Showing the Jacobs has given me so much confidence and I am enjoying learning as I go, with thanks to the support of my parents and advice from those who have years of experience.
Developing: I am looking forward to developing the flock further, and I am excited to see what can be achieved in the future.
Hopefully, I will achieve good results when I finish my GCSEs, as I plan to further my study in agriculture.
But I would like to continue farming at home with my parents and make sure our family farm has a positive future, which is so important to the industry.
