How my farming career shaped me…..
Growing up in an urban area, many of my core memories revolve around trips to the countryside to visit my grandparents. We would often spend hours in the Pennines exploring with the dogs, or venturing down to the local farm to feed the animals.
Walking through the little wooden gate, you would be immediately surrounded by the sights and smells of a bustling working farm. Little billy goats would escape their pens and reek havoc across the farmyard, nibbling coat tassels and pinching snacks from the toddlers stumbling around in clunky wellies. We would often spend hours, rain or shine, clinging to the rails and reaching through the gaps to sneak a handful of food to each and every animal. Before you knew it, the afternoon was drawing near and it would be time to drag our little legs up the hill back towards the car.
As we grew, time flew by and the visits to the farm grew less frequent. Before I knew it, I was sixteen and my continued love for animals was guiding me towards a Zoology degree. After months of submitting applications, I finally had a response and acceptance to complete some work experience. Pulling on my boots, I made my way back to a place I had cherished as a child, with no idea that it would become such a significant part of my life.
Two weeks of work experience quickly led to a new part time job, spending my weekends developing my skills and becoming even more obsessed with each animal I encountered. The people I met along the way offered invaluable support and I quickly achieved my goal of working hands on with large livestock. For the next seven years I arrived just as the sun rose, pulled on my wellies and grabbed a shovel. From mucking out and feeding round, to sheep races and educational talks, I embraced the outdoors and cherished the opportunity to work with the animals I had always adored. Falling in love with the the individual personalities of the cheeky goats I remembered, the true power of shire horses and the peculiar, but mesmerising world of reptiles.
From a simple application for work experience, to the start of my working life, the opportunity gave me the experience I needed to apply for the degree of my dreams. Whilst it wasn’t my job for life, it was an opportunity that skyrocketed my love for animals, gave me invaluable experience and introduced me to lifelong friends. Many of the animals I met along the way became the subjects of some of my most expressive paintings, including the Big Blue Cow!
