Bedgerabong Showgirl Stacey Webb will be the first girl to represent Bedgerabong at The Land Sydney Royal Showgirl Competition after being selected as one of three girls to go through to the final stage of the competition.
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Stacey was chosen out of 23 girls, along with Cumnock Showgirl Lucy Watt and Blayney Showgirl Leia Chapman, to go on to the next level on Saturday night at the zone final, which was held in Bathurst.
“It was very, very exciting,” Stacey said.
“I was so shocked, I didn’t think I had a chance to be honest.
“There were so many other ladies doing such great things in their communities, anyone could have really won.”
Bedgerabong Showgirl coordinator Louise French was thrilled for Stacey and said it’s a great achievement for her and for Bedgerabong.
“This is the first time Bedgerabong has had someone go through to Sydney, so it’s very exciting,” Ms French said.
“[Stacey] was so good, I’m so proud of her.”
Forbes Showgirl Shannen Toole said it was a great night in Bathurst and that the three girls chosen to go on to Sydney, were very deserving.
“Any of the girls that were there are all winners in my books, we all got that far,” she said.
“It would have been nice to get through but I’m happy with the experience I had...I loved it, it was so much fun.”
Forbes PA and H Association president Pip Perry also attended the dinner and said both Stacey and Shannen were great.
“There were 23 girls there and they only picked three and they all came off the top shelf...they were all charming, well-educated and spoke well,” he said.
“[Shannen] did really well...we’re really proud of her, she presented herself very well and she waved the Forbes flag.”
The zone final was held on Saturday, February 28 in Bathurst and all 23 showgirls attended a luncheon during the day with the three judges, the mayor of Bathurst and the Bathurst Show president, before having their individual interviews.
“We had to use our table manners really well,” Stacey said.
“In the interview I got asked a lot of rural knowledge questions which were quite broad, so we could put our own spin on things...I quoted my dad a lot.”
Stacey said she did a lot of preparation leading up to the interviews but said she was asked a lot of questions that she didn’t expect.
“I got asked about the frozen berries and what issues farmers face when they wake up in the morning - to that I said ‘what issues don’t they face?’,” she said.
Questions more specific to each showgirl were then asked on stage at the formal dinner at the Panthers Club.
As an oral health therapist in Dubbo, Stacey was asked about the problems with rural health and how to address the inequalities and what she’s doing to address the issues.
“It was so nerve-wracking doing the interview on stage, there were about 300 people there,” she said.
Stacey said the whole competition has so far been a great experience and she can’t wait to represent Bedgerabong at the Sydney Royal Easter Show. “It was just such a humbling experience - all these ladies are doing so much for their communities and it makes you want to contribute more for your community,” she said.
“Bedgerabong is such a fantastic place and I’m proud to represent them.”
Stacey will now attend the Sydney Royal Easter Show from Tuesday, March 24 until Tuesday, March 31 with the state final presentation to be held on Sunday, March 29.
