Nimmitabel Show’s equestrian events were so popular this year, the showjumping ran for close to 13 hours and didn’t finish until dark.
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On Saturday, February, 2, the “little” show at Nimmitabel celebrated its biggest year yet, with both gate takings – and show ring entries – up considerably on last year.
While the morning began in typical Nimmitabel fashion, cool and overcast, the day soon heated up, both in temperature and competition.
Show secretary Jackie Thompson said “there were people and horse floats everywhere”.
“It was huge – you always hope to better the previous year, and this time we did for sure,” Ms Thompson said.
“The showjumping ring went through until dark and ring two was an hour behind where we wanted it to be [due to the number of entries].”
Ms Thompson said Nimmitabel’s equestrian events are “first cab off the rank” each show season for qualifying for Sydney Royal, hence they always have a good number of entries.
However, also adding to the load this year was the Cooma Show cancelling its showjumping, she said.
“We were wondering if that would affect our entries and I reckon it did. There were entries coming in from 7.30 in the morning and when I went past at 8.30 there were still wall to wall people trying to register their entries.”
Elsewhere at the show there was also a lot of interest in the chainsaw races and post ripping.
“There was a Jack and Jill post rip at the end of the day which was received well,” Ms Thompson said.
“There were around 16 or so teams, some hadn’t ever knocked in a wedge before, but it was in the name of fun, not just for competition – it went off very well.
“The show shear is always a big thing every year as well and there’s never a spare seat in the audience.”
Ms Thompson said a Bush Kids Challenge was also a lot of fun with children aged between 5-12 taking on fun challenges in teams of four for fun prizes – “The kids loved it”.
Another big event for the youngsters was the Junior Showgirl contest, with 27 entries across four categories.
“Last year was the first time we held this so this was much bigger than last year, it was really overwhelming.”
Winners on the day were Annabelle and Charlotte McDonald in the newborn-toddler category, Tilly Pateman in the tiny tots (4-7), Charlotte Pateman in the juniors (8-12) and Hannah Pond in the teen showgirl (13-17).
In the show arenas, stud cattle was up on numbers, while sheep were down. Commercial cattle and fat lambs were also down due to the dry conditions on the Monaro this season.
In the pavilion, entries “were up and down, depending on the section” Ms Thompson said, but overall it was a fantastic show day and the committee was “really pleased”.
“The whole committee deserves thanks, the stewards and all the volunteers for their time. Without them we wouldn’t get to where we did. We wouldn’t have a show if not for all the volunteers,” Ms Thompson said.
“Thanks also to all the exhibitors and show ring entrants for giving up their day to be part of our show, to the Lions Club for their barbecue and being there all day until dark to feed us, and to Fiona Richards and her bar staff.”