THESE days many 14-year-olds spend their spare time playing video games or watching television shows, but for local resident Harry Comley, life on the farm is much more exciting.
Following in the footsteps of his grandfather Dale Cleves – who has been the owner of a Hereford herd since 1967 – Harry has spent the last two years working on the family’s Ardno stud.
“I love being around cattle and running a farm – I really enjoy breeding Hereford cattle and seeing the results of different genetics,” he said.
Spring means show season with Mount Gambier’s major event opening to the public tomorrow.
But Harry, along with his mother Christine, have stepped up their involvement in the circuit this year, taking part in the Royal Adelaide Show, showing four heifers and two bulls.
“I was very excited competing in our first royal show – it was great to see the old Ardno stud showing again,” he said.
“The previous owners of Ardno – the McEachern family – showed at Sydney royal and other big shows during the 1970s and 1980s.
“We believe showing is a really good way of advertising cattle and showing people what you have to offer.”
Proving their cattle are some of the best, Harry did not walk away empty handed.
“We did very well with our heifers, Ardno Oyster M124 won her class and then went on to become junior champion Hereford heifer,” he said.
“Another heifer, Ardno M140, came second to the champion heifer in their class.
“With the bulls, Ardno Mitchell came second in his class.”
Starting preparation 20 weeks before the show, Harry spent time with farm hand Chris Muller selecting animals suitable for the show, halter breaking the cattle and clipping them before the event.
“Chris has been showing since he was a little boy with his family stud Rellum Farms Simmentals – we spent days training the cattle to lead and get everything organised for the show to run smoothly,” Harry said.
Over the next few weeks, Harry will take part in a number of regional shows, starting with Mount Gambier this weekend and following with Penola and Casterton.
“For these shows I will be taking my two heifers and doing all the work with my mum, including leading the cattle in the ring, feeding and everything else,” he said.
Hoping to continue on at the stud, Harry said he would one day like to take over the family business and grow it to another level.
“I am very passionate about the beef industry and producing cattle,” he said.
“I will still hope to show in the future and build a client base for the stud.”
