LISBELLAW mum, Esther Robinson, did Fermanagh proud when she came third in the Miss British Isles Elegance contest in Chester at the end of May.
A mother of two, Esther (44) had never taken to a catwalk before the final of the national modelling competition, held in the Crown Plaza Hotel on May 28.
But her determination to “try something new” landed her third place overall, much to her own surprise and disbelief.
The holistic therapist travelled over to the competition with her husband and her mother, not knowing what to expect when she got there.
“All I was hoping for was to not trip over!” she said, “I wanted to be composed and look professional when I was doing it - and I managed that!”
Esther said she enjoyed the entire experience.
“I have never done anything like this before so I really didn’t know what to expect, but it was a really lovely experience.
“I got chatting to the rest of the girls taking part. I was the only one from Northern Ireland in my category.
“When they announced my third place they said: ‘All the way from Ireland’, so I knew it was me before they had even said my name.
“It was so lovely.”
She is glad that nerves didn’t get the better of her when it came to taking to the catwalk.
“I did feel a bit nervous, but not as bad as I thought, so I was very pleased with myself.
“I had to do the catwalk twice - once with a cocktail dress and again with an evening dress. I had originally planned to wear a navy evening dress but a girl two places apart from me had the same dress.
“Some people told me to just wear it anyway but I was glad I had brought a second option - a white dress.
“My husband liked the navy one and my mum liked the white, so she got her wish!
“I was glad that didn’t put me off.
“The whole experience was definitely an eye opener.”
Out of 35 participants in her category, Esther initially made the top five before it was announced she had secured the overall third place.
“I still can’t believe it - I put myself out there and I did it and I feel so pleased with myself. I tried something new and I achieved it,” she added.