Weather gods smile on show's return

ABOVE: Owners get ready to release their dogs in the terrier race. BELOW: And they are off and racing.

The Hawke's Bay A and P Society was last night toasting the success of its first Royal Show in 12 years - and thanking the weather.

President Richard Chambers, general manager Brent Linn and acting marketing manager Maria Gourlie agreed the weather, crucial to the viability of the show, had been the best over the three days of the Hawke's Bay show for several years.

The weather was the star act on the last day, temperatures in Hastings hitting close to 27C, the hottest in the country for the day and the hottest day in the Bay since last summer, and winds that are common to the Show Week caused few problems this year.

It was too early to calculate numbers but Mr Linn was confident last year's three-day attendance of about 22,000 would be easily exceeded, and this year's figures may top those of the 150th anniversary show in 2013.

"Using the usual methods for guessing," he said. "The carparks, how far they're parked up the road, and how many toilet rolls have been used ... I talk to the traffic manager and the cleaner.

"But it was an early crowd, and probably hits its peak about 11-11.30am," said Mr Linn, whose society last staged a Royal Show in 2003 but which now has rights to stage it for three years, to 2017.

Effectively a national championship of show classes, it drew competitors from as far as Whangarei and Canterbury.

Mr Linn said: "It's good to get this first one out of the way but, talking around, the competitors and exhibitors are saying they'll be back next year, and at this stage I'd expect some significant increases in numbers."

He said, however, staging the show seemed to have revived interest in the Royal status, and success may make it difficult to retain the event if the society decided to tender for another round after the end of its current three-year contract.

Sideshows, however, appeared to have taken another downturn, with one stall operator saying it was a "bit of a trend" that reflected income and employment trends.

"I don't know what the answer is," he said. Asked if a night show would help, he added: "Not so sure."

For one, it was "keep on going". His crew was packing 14 sideshows and heading for a craft fair at Anderson Park in Napier, where they were expected to be set up by midnight, ready to go in the morning.

It was a particularly memorable show for Waikato cattle breeders Robert and Sandy Mitchell. With a gelbvieh cow named Abba and her twins named Dixie Chick and Destiny, they yesterday added the RAS Gold Medal for top all-of-show exhibitor to the Meat and Wool Cup they won the previous day.

Yesterday's win, decided by Royal Agricultural Society president John Grigg of Darfield, west of Christchurch, came as a "nice surprise", said Mrs Mitchell as they drove home to Raglan last night.

They had won Meat and Wool Cups at the Royal Easter Show in Auckland and a Royal Manawatu Show in Palmerston North about 13 years ago.

World champion shearer Rowland Smith of Hastings won the Great Raihania Shears Open final for the first time, Poverty Bay shearer Catherine Mullooly became the first woman to win the show's Senior shearing title, which she added to previous Junior and Intermediate wins in Hastings, and Te Karaka's Mary-Anne Baty scored an upset win over Golden Shears champion and 2012 world champion Joel Henare in the open woolhandling final, her first open-class win after three years of trying. She was runner-up last year.

The major showjumping event yesterday, the first round of New Zealand's World Cup qualifying series, was won by up-and-coming Tauranga rider and Young New Zealand team member Samantha Morrison, on Biarritz.

Visitors dominated the sheepdogs annual yarding contest, won by Noddy Halley's Sue, from Gisborne. Rod Mead, also from Gisborne, was second, with Bob, and Waikato triallist Bob Berger was third with Rose, edging out the first Hawke's Bay competitor, Scott Wedd, with Kip.