The Peter Westblade Scholarship (PWS) Annual Scholarship Announcement Ball was held on 23 May in Wagga Wagga with Harden's Rhiannon Hennessy and Victorian Tom Dave being named the 2026 recipients.

The night was described as being brilliant, bringing together past scholars, Committee members, sponsors, supporters and friends of the PWS network for an evening of celebration and connection.

The PWS Committee were pleased to include keynote speaker Charlie Blomfield of Boridgeree Farming, who has recently featured on breakfast TV, national news and more. Charlie gave the crowd plenty to think about, with a strong message encouraging young people to stand up for what they believe in and continue promoting and advocating for Australian agriculture.

Over the course of the evening, the crowd heard from PWS Chair Joe Walden and Vice-Chairs Rachael Gawne and Mitch Rubie, with all three executives also being past Peter Westblade Scholarship recipients.

They spoke of who Peter Westblade was, why the Scholarship was established, and what it has achieved in creating education and mentoring opportunities for young people in the sheep industry through the scholarship, training weekends and the finalist program. The 5 finalists for 2026 were introduced to a room full of applause; Heather Walker, Miranda McGufficke, Rhiannon Hennessy, Tom Davey and Zach Starr.

Rachael described the finalists as 'passionate young people in the Sheep Industry, who the committee believe will have long and successful careers in their chosen areas'.

The executives also highlighted the very difficult committee decision of selecting just two scholars from an incredible calibre of applicants.

"The establishment of the finalist program… is a fantastic extension of the Scholarship’s events, to be able to create opportunities for all of the very impressive finalists,” the executives noted.

The room was captivated hearing about the experiences of outgoing 2025 scholars Grace Kaveney and Scott Macpherson during their scholarship year. From one-on-one specialist training, sheep and wool industry tours to sheep classing advancement and practical skills training, the pair were exemplary of how much can be gained through the scholarship.

Formalities were closed with the announcement of the 2026 recipients, Rhiannon Hennessy and Tom Davey. Rhiannon, a Stock Hand from Harden in NSW, wants to explore how other industry leaders have incorporated best practice given their unique environmental challenges to help shape her own practices.

She has outlined goals of building on her foundational wool knowledge, exploring current and emerging sheep genetics and experience integrated supply chains and marketing.

Tom, a Shearing Contractor from Boorhaman in Victoria, applied to surround himself with like-minded people and industry professionals who can help him grow his future career and business.

With the scholarship he aims to learn more about sheep selection and classing, further his knowledge of pasture management and stock nutrition and improve his farm business management skills. Along with their own scholarship journey,

Rhiannon and Tom will join Heather, Miranda and Zach for specialised tours and events throughout the next 12 months, strengthening the group's knowledge and networks, before being individually matched with mentors to provide guidance and assistance into the future.