While Bob was golfing last Sat., I went to the Upper Clutha Agricultural and Pastoral Show at the Showgrounds lakeside in Wanaka. It marked the 73rd running of the show. It's one of Wanaka's major annual events sponsored by the whole community. Over 15,000 people attended over the 2 days.
Events included equestrian competition, sheep dog trails, sheaf-tossing (age-old farming skill now replaced by harvesters), cattle/boer goats/sheep/alpaca judging, Jack Russell (great rabbiting dog) racing, merino ram sales, trade exhibitions, pony/driver lookalike contest, alpaca fleece judging, ultrafine and superfine merino sheep wool judging, and let's not forget the canned goods and all the vegetable/flowers/arts/crafts judging as well. It was a fun day at the fair!
I especially enjoyed the Jack Russell race and watching the equestrian events. How they judge the wool is beyond me. It all looked the same. The trophies and ribbons awarded were beautiful. I skipped the American hotdog and had sushi! My favorite part was viewing all the vegetable creations, seeing the arts and crafts exhibited by the local kids, watching the parade of animals and smelling the lamb being cooked on the grills. It was truly a typical New Zealand experience.
