Sophia Halls

SPECIAL INTEREST

Interview by: Tania Paget

Please tell us a little about yourself. (Age, other family members, location and are you currently still at school and if so what year, what are your interests for the future)

My name is Sophia, I’m 15 years old, completing year 9 in school. I live in Muswellbrook NSW with my Mum Jess, brother Lachlan, my dog Taz, my horse Comet and my heifer Randy. I grew up with horses and ever since Randy made her way into my life I’ve had a passion for agriculture and training animals. I also love drawing and design which led me to my own clothing line ‘Speckles Chose Me.’ I hope to combine all my passions by continuing to grow my business JSL Livestock and Design by offering more opportunities for logo design, clipping/fitting/showing and photography in the future.

What initially attracted you to Speckle Park?

I didn’t really ‘choose’ Speckles, Speckles chose me! It was never really planned we hadn’t had any cows of our own at the time and agreed to buy a bull for the partner mum had at the time. The partnership fell through, and we bought the bull home. The decision was to buy a stud heifer of our own. We short-listed 3 heifers. Randy was one of these 3. When I saw her, something clicked and I convinced my mum that ‘yes, she’s definitely the heifer we need!’ It wasn’t really until I had seen Randy that I became serious about working with cows. As I spent more time with her and learned more about cattle and breeding, I found Speckles were just right for me.

What lead you to want to start training Randy in the way that you have and how did you find her to work with?

I love the idea of quiet cattle so in the beginning it was just Halter training and we didn’t really think anything beyond that but I was really dedicated to spending time with her. During the drought we would let her out to graze (while still on the halter) and I’d lean over her back as she ate, moving with her. She grew on me. It had turned into a joke really, that she was so quiet, I’d be riding her next. We had sold the bull after losing our rental so all my time was spent with her as our only cow so when her breeding career didn’t work out I couldn’t imagine just letting her go, I felt there was something special about her. The joke set a fire in me and I decided I had to at least try to ride her and give her a different purpose. It just grew from there!

Randy just turned 4 years old! She is out of SIX STAR RENDEZVOUS D27 and by SPOTS AND SPROUTS STANDS ALONE 300X. She’s a total ‘Diva’, she’s quiet and calm and, honestly, I could trust her with my life most of the time and yet she still has a way of strutting around with a ‘holier than thou’ attitude! Mum always says Randy is constantly doting on me and only has eyes for me. She can still be very stubborn and respectfully lets you know when she doesn’t like something and she always thinks she’s hungry. She laps up attention and acts like it’s what she deserves.

What sorts of things have you taught Randy to do, how long did it take to teach her, did she find any of those things particularly challenging or easy?

I’ve taught Randy everything from leading to long reining and riding. She knows about the same things a horse her age would know. She picks things up quite quickly, however, the most challenging thing would be when she decides she has other ideas. You can’t force a 750+kg cow to do anything they don’t want to! Like when she puts all her weight on the foot I’m trying to pick up. When working with cows youfunnily enough-have to be more stubborn than an actual cow.

What did you find particularly rewarding about training Randy

When Randy came off the stock trailer 3 years ago, you couldn’t touch her. She was quiet, yes, and would let you within a meter radius of her but she wasn’t a pet or show cow. She was just any other heifer out in the paddock. Now I have people asking whether she was raised as a poddy calf and are surprised when I tell them she wasn’t. But perhaps the most rewarding thing about training her was giving her such a unique purpose that she would have never had that we can share with everyone. It really has taken on a life of its own! Whenever I ride her out near the road or in town people’s faces just light up! I love that she has become such a unique cow in her own way. I find it so rewarding that she makes people’s day, including mine.

“You can’t force a 750+kg cow to do anything they don’t want to!”

Is there much of a difference between riding horses and cattle? (ie slower/faster/more comfortable etc), was it hard to find equipment to fit Randy?

Honestly, I could write a book about the differences/similarities between horses and cows. I much prefer riding Randy to my horse Comet, she’s a lot more comfortable (at least in my opinion), almost like a lounge chair. The movements are more exaggerated due to the size of her shoulders and there’s not much stopping you from flying over their head. Cows are always going to be a bit slower than horses but they still keep up as best they can. Cattle are a lot safer in the regard of trail riding and temperament as they tend to think before they react, while horses are more likely to react first. Cattle are definitely less prone to spook. Our horse still spooks at traffic after 15 odd years of work and training whereas Randy doesn’t bat an eye after only a couple months.

It took us some searching and experimenting to know what we needed equipment wise. After some research I had found I had to import a treeless barrel saddle as I couldn’t find any in Australia. There still were some challenges to combat her round and flat figure and still found I needed a breeching strap. I was lucky enough to have mum, who has made rope tack (Jesskah’s Rope Tack) for some time to custom make to my request (with some sweet talking) my bridle, reins, breeching strap and breastplate.

What are your future dreams with Randy and/or other Speckle Park cattle?

In the near future I’d like to do performances with Randy to save money for our own property so I’m able to get more cows, as we are currently only agisting. Later on, I’d like to start my own stud and training center. I’d like to breed cattle that perform well all around. Breed well, work well and produce high quality hide, milk and meat. I want cattle that can be used to check a fence line or cart supplies when they aren’t breeding. Why muster cattle when you can hop on the lead cow and go for a ride down to the yards? I don’t want to raise ‘pets’ I want to breed and train efficient animals for work, performance and pleasure.