ORANGE Showgirl Rosie Pritchard is smart, confident and well spoken, and hopes to be the first Orange Showgirl to make it through to the state final in more than 40 years.
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Ms Pritchard, 22, will compete in the zone six finals at Eugowra today, with the aim of being one of three chosen to compete in the state final at the Sydney Royal Easter Show at the end of next month.
More than 20 young women from Bathurst to Bourke will be interviewed, take part in a luncheon and an evening ball, all under the scrutiny of the judging panel.
“We’ll be interviewed and judged on personality, confidence, ambition, goals and knowledge of rural issues,” Ms Pritchard said.
She is confident in rural issues, having being born in Forbes and completing her schooling in Orange, and is a third-year public relations student at Charles Sturt University in Bathurst.
Ms Pritchard believes the main issues facing Orange at the moment are water security, coal seam gas and milk prices.
“I think it’s an issue [water security] that’s facing all of NSW,” she said.
Orange Show Society president Peter Naylor said Ms Pritchard had worked hard over the past 12 months to prepare for the zone finals.
“Rosie put her hand up for a lot of things around the town and has spent some time at field days,” he said.
“She is a very switched-on girl, we’ll all be barracking for her.”
Ms Pritchard says the showgirl process is still very relevant in today’s society.
On a personal level, she said the competition had given her new skills.
“It’s given me a lot more confidence, I strive to achieve, and this is something I’m really proud of,” she said.
nadine.morton@ fairfaxmedia.com.au
