ONE young competitor looking to emulate past successes at the Santa Gertrudis National Junior Show was 15-year-old Mitch Franz from Darr Creek.

Mitch has taken out the champion herdsperson at the past two shows and said the event was a highlight of his year.

"We've just won our class here today, so it's been a good start to things," he said.

"My bull, Darr Creek Nuisance, is a 16-month-old Santa Gertrudis from the Franz family farm.

"This year we've brought six heifers and four heavyweight steers for the competition."

Mitch said he would get in a lot of practice leading up to the competition.

"It's pretty important to prepare, to get the animal used to it all as well," he said.

"We'll head to a few local shows as well if we can."

A student at Dalby State High School, Mitch said he was from a family of commercial breeders.

"I've been around this kind of thing all my life," he said.

"It's a big passion of mine and definitely something I'll be looking to go into after I finish school.

"I really love the work with the animals and the competition."

Mitch said the show was the third he had attended.

"I've been lucky enough to win the champion herdsperson award the past two years," he said.

"So I've won two heifers which have enabled me to get my own herd started at a pretty young age.

"The points from all the competitions over the four days are added up and whoever comes out on top wins at the end of the week."

Mitch said the program was a great start into the cattle industry.

"I'm really looking forward to continuing on in this field and turning it into a career."