Leigh James receives RAS president's certificate of appreciation

Mr James was the only person to receive the award, which recognises his exemplary judging service to the District Exhibits Competition in his method and practices, at the Sydney Royal on Saturday evening.

It is a rare award and complements the long service award he received for 25 years of service.

Mr James is recognised as one of the top judges of fresh produce at the Sydney Royal.

"I'm sincerely honoured and appreciative to the RAS for this award," he said.

The Richmond local began judging fruit, vegetables and ornamental flowers when he was the district horticulturist at Armidale in the mid-1980s.

Mr James worked for the NSW DPI, then the Department of Agriculture, when he joined in 1981 as a district horticulturist providing advice to commercial vegetable growers in the Greater Sydney Region and the fruit and vegetable industry more broadly across the state.

"I started judging at ag shows throughout the New England region, which included shows such as Bingara and Barraba," he said.

"Show societies would usually ask the district horticulturist to judge the fruit and vegetables because of their expertise and impartiality.

"I started judging at the Sydney Show when I transferred from Armidale to Windsor and have only missed judging at the 2020 show due to the COVID-19 restrictions."

Following his first stint as a royal judge, Mr James was invited back by the RAS for a second year, which he took as a positive sign.

Over the last 35 years, Mr James has judged mainly cattle pumpkins, pie melons, grammas, stock roots and root vegetables at Sydney Royal.

He has also filled in to judge tomatoes, mushrooms and crucifers at various times.

"I've been the judge of the Great Backyard Pumpkin Challenge at the Sydney Show since the inception of the contest," he said.

"I've judged the vegetables and cucurbits at the Hawkesbury Show for about 30 years and have been the over judge in the horticulture junior judging there since it first began.

'I've also been the over judge at the Sydney Show hort junior judging."

Mr James said he enjoyed the interaction with people the most when going about his judging.

"I've known many of the exhibitors for quite a few years," he said.

"I've enjoyed interacting with RAS officials for many, many years.

"I also really enjoy providing training and mentoring the next generation of young judges who often start off as stewards assisting the judges and learning the pros and cons of judging different classes.

"Seeing younger exhibitors entering the game of showing their produce is rewarding."

Mr James recalled one particularly memorable judging moment from Sydney Royal.

"I remember one year, an exhibitor telling me that he had six different varieties, so he'd receive maximum points for that particular criteria of scoring the exhibit," Mr James said.

"I replied, 'I'll be the judge of that'.

"There have been regular occasions where you realise that the usually older, stalwart steward has a close connection with a specific exhibit because of their reaction to your comments, be they positive or negative."

Mr James said he had definitely observed some major changes in fresh produce over the years.

"Exhibitors are always looking for new varieties that visually present better than the run-of-the-mill types or unusual types such as sugar beet and mangolds," he said.

"Exhibitors often seek advice on how best to present their produce to gain more points."

READ MORE: