Over the weekend eight of Victoria’s finest youngest men and women including Mansfield’s Annie Marquison all displayed a passion for their local agricultural show and rural life during the annual state VAS (Victoria Agricultural Shows) Rural Ambassador competition.
The finalists were judged earlier in the year at their respective show groups’ competition to earn a place at the state finals run in conjunction with the Royal Melbourne Show.
While described as all worthy of winning a chance to compete at the national competition in Brisbane next year, there can only be one winner and a runner up.
The winner of the 2025 Rural Ambassador state final was Harry Lloyd from the Goulburn Valley Riverina Group and the Kyabram Show.
Runner up was Andrew Spierings representing Central & South Gippsland Group and Berwick Show.
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Annie - representing the Central & Upper Goulburn Group - said the competition was a wonderful opportunity.
“I have certainly made some lifelong friends and connections across Victoria and gained a lot of confidence in myself and in what I have done,” she said.
Annie is on the Mansfield Agricultural & Pastoral Society’s committee and the theme for this year’s show on 15 November is “Spotlight on Youth”.
Nicci Tietge also on the committee was a state final runner up last year.
VAS runs other youth competitions including cattle, sheep, cookery and photography.
The winner of the Junior Boiled Fruit Cake at the group final in April was Booroolite’s Carly Marshall.
Carly had to make another cake to compete at the state finals judged last week at the royal show and placed third in what was a high calibre class.
