IFJ Junior: amazing Grace taking the reigns

On the north coast of Co Derry, 13-year-old Grace Neely lives a busy life on her family farm, close to the seaside village of Castlerock.

On top of her school work, Grace plays a big part in looking after cattle and sheep, and helping her dad with the endless list of jobs on the farm.

While she has a strong affinity for livestock, her real passion is horses. In recent years, she has joined several horse riding clubs that specialise in events such as show jumping, eventing and pony club games.

This has seen Grace travel across Northern Ireland, competing in numerous events, with the highlight to date being her debut at the RUAS Balmoral Show in mid-May.

Recently, the Irish Farmers Journal Junior paid a visit to Grace’s home farm to hear about her day-to-day routine.

What type of farm do you have?

I live with my mum and dad, Gareth and Michelle, along with my two younger sisters, Jessica and Emily, and younger brother, James. We farm over 200 acres with suckler cows, sheep and started rearing dairy beef calves this spring. Dad farms with my grandad Noel. Mum works in a local primary school, but also helps out on the farm when she comes home.

I have got more and more involved with livestock in the last few years, with the most recent winter being my most hands-on in terms of working with cattle and sheep.

What jobs do you look after on the farm?

Last winter, we started rearing dairy beef calves and I took on feeding the calves in the morning before school, then again in the evening time. It was hard work because it was a long winter. There are still some young calves being fed milk, but just once a day now, which makes it easier.

I also did the bedding of calves pens, gave them meal and fresh water every day. In total, we reared 36 calves over winter with most of these animals out on grass now.

I also help out with the sheep, especially around lambing time. This was my third year lambing sheep. There were 130 crossbred ewes lambed this spring and 55 horned ewes, so it was busy. All ewes are lambed indoors in February and March.

What are your favourite jobs on the farm?

I like lambing sheep, especially as you get better at it. I like most of the jobs with calves, but feeding milk every day is hard work. Another part of farming that I like is going to the mart, especially when we are selling cattle or lambs.

When did you start riding horses?

I got my first horse, Polly, when I was six, so that’s seven years ago. I still have Polly and she is one of two horses I ride in competitions. The other horse that I compete with is called Emmy.

I started riding lessons when I was seven and have carried on since then. I have five horses now, two of which are trained for competition.

I am starting to train another two horses for competing in jumping and games events. I train the horses myself. Instructors at the riding clubs give me advice and tips, but it mainly comes down to me to work with them every day, teaching them to jump and follow commands.

When I started riding lessons, I made jumps and gates out of anything I could find around the farm from tyres, pipes, ropes and hurdles.

Mum and Dad bought me some proper jumps as a reward for helping on the farm and Grandad built me a proper stable.

How often do you practise?

I work with Polly and Emmy every day. Polly needs a good hour of exercising as she works hardest in competitions.

I am also involved with three different clubs, one with my school, a local club in Coleraine, and Route Hunt pony club, which is near the farm.

Most weeks, I would be practicing with the horses on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings, then going to competitions on a Saturday.

At the minute, I am competing at events held at local agricultural shows across Northern Ireland.

The best competition so far was the Balmoral Show in mid-May. It was really exciting to get to ride in the main area, although I was very nervous as well.

What would you like to do when you leave school?

I would like to farm, probably with more sheep and fewer cattle. But I suppose, the main thing I want to do is turn part of the farm into a horse livery yard with an arena to teach other people to ride and to train more horses.

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