Mr Bennett, or "Buster" as he was universally known passed away on July 6 last year, just weeks short of his 74th birthday.

One of the Shoalhaven's true characters and an outstanding horseman in his own right, Mrs Suffolk said the decision to paint Terry "was easy".

"When I heard the announcement I just said I might try and enter that," she said.

"Never thought I would win."

Read about all the action at this year's Nowra Show:

But for Mrs Suffolk, a stalwart of the Nowra Show pavilion, where she is a steward and keen competitor, time was tight.

"I had about four weeks to turn it around my work," she said.

The result for the artist, who over the years has tasted considerable success at the Sydney Royal Easter Show, was a beautiful unglazed porcelain plate depicting Terry.

"It was taken from a photo in the South Coast Register used in the tribute to him," Mrs Suffolk said.

Instead of using colour, she converted the image to black and white and the outcome has been incredible.

"I had known Terry for ever - 50 plus years - he was just such a character. One of the Shoalhaven's real identities," she said.

Over the course of four weeks she "painted and fired Terry" getting the work right.

"It's been fired [put in the kiln] about nine to 10 times I think," she said.

"I'd paint on it during the day and then fire it overnight.

"You could say I've been fiddling with Terry on and off for weeks," she laughed.

She said the work got fired about every second or third day.

She said there is a process in building up the layers and depth of colour.

"You can't just put black on in one go," she explained.

"You have to start with a light grey and then gradually build it up, getting darker with each coat until you get the darkness you want," she said.

"If you just put on a thick dark coat it will chip."

She said she was delighted with the finished work.

"I think it's a great liking of Terry," she said.

"He was such a character and had that sparkle, that bit of mischief in his eyes.

"Such a great character - definitely a well-known identity, especially in the horse world."

Of course he was also well known for his "working blue overalls".

"Everyone knew Buster - he will be sadly missed".

Mrs Suffolk said she was "shocked" to take out the $1000 Nowra Show Shoalhaven Art Prize sponsored by the Boyd Family.

"I never thought this would happen, " she said.

"I just wanted to pay tribute to Terry - this is a bonus."

The entry also had to include a "brief" outline of the person depicted in the artwork.

"That was harder than the painting," Mrs Suffolk said "Terry had such an amazing life, he did so much, it was hard to decide what to leave out."

And there could possibly be more success for the artwork, with Mrs Suffolk intending to enter it in his year's Sydney Royal.

"I think he'll have to go to Sydney - it would be fitting for him to be there," Mrs Suffolk said.

Mrs Suffolk has been painting for 40 years and been a teacher for 25 years.

She has tasted success at Sydney for a number of years - in fact at least one, if not more of her works have been part of the Stand of Excellence at the Sydney Royal since 2002.

"I've had up to three pieces in that at one time," she said.

And while she hasn't won the big championship in Sydney which is decided between 250 works, she has been awarded the Most Outstanding Piece of Porcelain work at Sydney on three occasions.

Could 2022 be the fourth time - knowing Buster he'd be giving it a good crack.

It was a big weekend for the Bennett Family.

Out in the main arena the inaugural Terry Bennett Memorial Open Flag Race event was staged.

A stalwart of the sporting events at numerous local shows, one of the highlights of the sporting events was the awarding of the inaugural Terry Bennett Memorial Open Flag Race belt buckle and memorial trophy which was won by Michael Green.

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