The Farming Express September 1 | Page 33

Celebrate with Champions

Celebrate with the Champions - A social evening with dairy industry networking.

Swap your market boots and breed society uniform for your glad rags - and join UK Dairy Day at their first Champions Dinner.

Ending the show on a high, the evening will be full of entertainment, celebration and congratulations – with the leading breeders and exhibitors honoured for their successes of the day. Taking place in the Ironbridge Suite at The International Centre, on Wednesday 16th September, the dinner will commence at 7.30pm, directly after the main activities of UK Dairy Day.

Visitors, competitors, sponsors and show associates are all being invited to attend the evening. It will be a fantastic opportunity to network with key dairy industry representatives and further develop networks of associates - and most importantly, celebrate and socialise after a triumphant day.

The evening will start at 7.30pm with a drinks reception before sitting down to a beef dinner at 8.00pm. After dinner, the awards ceremony will take place along side entertainment - finishing off with drinks and dancing!

Tickets are now on sale until the 31st August and can be purchased via telephone 01923 695225, or download booking form.

Carl Smith, UK Dairy Day Show Director, commented; “We’d be delighted for many guests to join us at Champions Dinner - for an evening of real celebration of the British dairy industry. Representatives from our principal sponsors will be present to network and socialise – and we hope to encourage many visitors and competitors to join. Champions Dinner is a way to congratulate breeders, thank our sponsors, celebrate with show winners and support each other during a challenging time in the UK dairy industry. Please join us and let’s finish UK Dairy Day 2015 on the highest of notes!”

An experience of a lifetime in Holland working in the equine industry

Natalie Fair from Lisburn is currently studying on the Level 3 Extended Diploma in Horse Management at CAFRE Enniskillen Campus. As part of her course she got the opportunity to be a part of the Erasmus+ project in Holland.

Speaking of her experience Natalie said: "The Friesian Stud, Demro Stables was one of the highlights of my experience in Holland. I got to see some of the most astounding horses in the world and even got to see a 3 day old foal that they had bred.

"The college visits to Helicon NHB Deurne every morning were a big part of the trip where I learnt a lot and was educated on new things that we wouldn’t be taught a lot at home. I also got the chance to observe different horse’s heart rates and use heart rate monitors which was very enlightening as I have never experienced this before."

Natalie got the chance to visit some of the most astonishing equine studs and show jumping yards in Holland such as VDL stud. Natalie was placed in a top show jumping yard called Lickhammer and Van Helmond stables for work placement and worked as a stable hand on the yard where she had to wash/groom the horses,

feed the horses, muck them out and bring them to the fields. Natalie also got to drive a horse and carriage and as part of the day she also went to Indoor Brabant which was amazing and we got to watch the ROLEX Grand Prix. Here she saw the most inspirational, top class show jumpers including Michael Whitaker from the UK.

This is an experience Natalie will never forget and will hopefully help her to improve her life skills and employability in the future.