IT WAS a case of second time lucky for this year's The Land Sydney Royal Showgirl Ellie Stephens from Lismore.
Ellie, a business development manager for a Lismore accountancy, was a state finalist in competition in 2012, and returned this year with the calm and confidence necessary to take the sash.
"I was only 19 when I competed for the first time, and I was almost swallowed whole by the movement," Ellie said.
"I didn't have stock of myself at the time and as a result I didn't get a huge amount out of it."
She said didn't re-contest to win, but to get the benefits she missed out on in her first time around.
"My focus this year was purely on creating solid friendships and making sure everyone around me made the most of the opportunity," she said.
The daughter of Sam and Annie Stephens, Ellie was born and bred on the family property "Deep Creek" near Coolah, but persistent drought forced her family to relocate to Lismore when she was 16.
Mr Stephens and Ellie joined their local show society as a way to get involved in their new community. Ellie's commitment to the show movement grew from there.
She is currently the treasurer and secretary of the Far North Coast Group of Show Societies and sits on the beef and showgirl committees for the North Coast National.
She is also president of Generation Ag, a sub-committee of the Far North Coast Group of Show Societies.
Second place in the The Land Sydney Royal Showgirl competition was Camden Show Society's Kate Boardman, an animal genetics officer for Riverlea Piggeries Australia in Corowa.
Third place was Tweed River Agriculture Society's Ema Marks, a Masters of Sustainable Agriculture student.
