The following comes from Karen Barker, Kangaroo Valley Show committee member.
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The Kangaroo Valley Friendly show was another great success with record attendance from both spectators and competitors.
It is truly a wonderful thing to be part of a community that puts together an event that shows our unique lifestyle with honesty, pride and a bit of healthy competition.
The weather turned on four seasons in two days, which was challenging for some events, but did not stop us showcasing the program in true Kangaroo Valley spirit.
Friday hosted the Junior horses events, with early horsemanship from many dedicated youngsters, including Valley girls Faith Banks on Pride, winning Girl Rider under 9, and Aria Baker on Emcee Flamboyance winning the final event of junior 6 Bar show jumping, her fifth win on the day.
These were followed by the Australian stock horses which are always impressive.
The show is so entrenched into the fabric of Kangaroo Valley and we are fortunate for our gazetted holiday with the lucky village school children being able to participate in fancy dress, the pet show, the pavilion, bicycle races, dog obstacle races and puppy events. This is something that is unique to their upbringing.
The pavilions were filled with displays of art, plants, vegetables, scarecrows, crafts, jams, jellies, eggs, honey, breads, cakes, apple crumbles and the ever-contested fruitcake, with champion Lyn Ashford taking the prize.
Next door was the new cheese making section, dahlias and the growing photography exhibition. It was great to see that overall entries over all categories were up over 10 per cent this year and we encourage even more next year. Get involved and have some fun.
The talent quest unearthed some new and old local talent, of all very much appreciated by the crowd. Colin McCarthy stole the show with his harmonica, storytelling and yodelling.
The ever-popular pig races were back entertaining the masses with eight of the cutest piglets vying for the prize. Sideshow alley again was a magnet for those people trying to win that elusive soft toy that you don’t really need!
Friday night at the bar saw entertainment by the talented Jarrod Sherman who had the crowd dancing and singing the night away.
Entries were up in Saturday’s Dairy and Beef sections, which are cornerstones of Kangaroo Valley’s identity with healthy competition between all our local farmers.
The Iron person comp is still our very own, followed by the open high dog jump which saw a new record broken by crowd favourite Bonnie and Ron McKinnon with a leap of more than two metres.
Poultry never fails to disappoint, with some of the best array of birds.
Whilst keeping with tradition we made some changes this year, to make things easier, we introduced our web page www.kangaroovalleyshow.org.au which had over 100 entries done online.
We also now have a Kangaroo Valley show logo and members will be contacted via email shortly to have the opportunity to give input and feedback via a survey.
The KV show is only possible via the collaboration of the countless volunteers, committee members, exhibitors and participants.
Without the concerted effort from all these people the show would not be the success it is and has been for its 132 year history.
The simplicity and authenticity of our Friendly Show is one of the privileges of country life that we are fortunate to host in our beautiful town.
-Karen Barker, Kangaroo Valley Show committee member