Youngsters show off skills at Otago Taieri A and P show

Scarlett Ingram (13) (left), and her cousin Xavier Spinner (4), Jakob Brits (9) and Ryleigh Makiiti (13), enjoy the Otago Taieri A and P Show. Photos / Gerard O'Brien

The simplicity of an old engine gets Saddle Hill teenager Max Martin's motor running.

The 14-year-old was the youngest Otago Vintage Machinery Club member at the Otago Taieri A&P Show in Mosgiel at the weekend.

But he was only one of many young people making their mark at the annual agricultural and pastoral show.

Martin said he liked to fix things and keep history alive.

The 1928 Anderson engine he had running smoothly for the club was basically a predecessor of a lawnmower engine but was made in Christchurch to run milking pumps for dairy cows, Martin said.

Otago Vintage Machinery Club member Max Martin, of Saddle Hill, makes sure a 1928 Anderson engine runs smoothly. Photo / Gerard O'Brien

And dairy cows were on display at the D.W. Wallace Pavilion, but so were beef cattle.

Outside the pavilion, 11-year-old Jake Eden, of Balfour, said he was in Mosgiel on Saturday to show off his calf-handling skills with his 12-month-old South Devon named Nora.

Southland's Jake Eden, of Balfour, steadies a South Devon named Nora at the Taieri A an P showgrounds in Mosgiel on Saturday. Photo / Gerard O'Brien

The breed was known as the gentle giants, good for a cuddle "and for the freezer", Eden said.

And another youngster was nearby at the Otago Axemen's Club timber sports demonstration.

Tahakopa teen Alex Napier (13) showed the adults how to swing an axe.

Napier said he had been competing with an axe for only two months.

"But I've been chopping wood my whole life," he said.

Alex Napier, of Tahakopa, competes during the Otago Axemen's Club timber sports demonstration. Photo / Gerard O'Brien

Show secretary Cate Edgeler said there were about 80 stalls at the Taieri showgrounds this year and they were expecting visitor numbers in the thousands.

Saturday morning's weather, overcast and a little on the cooler side, was perfect summer weather for the animals, she said.

Wanaka singer Jody Direen performed; the Caledonian Society of Otago hosted traditional Scottish athletic events; a big rig truck show, equestrian events and craft market stalls featured; and the Otago Regional Excavator Operator competition hosted a field of 18 competitors.