SECOND DAY.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 19155, 11 November 1927, Page 10

SECOND DAY.

Riding Competitions.

In the morning there was more sunshine than on Wednesday, but the sky was clouded during the afternoon. Officers of the A. and P. Association are hoping that better weather will be experienced to-day than on People's Day last year. The great attraction, of course, will be the grand parade of stock at 1.30 p.m., but entertainment will be provided during the rest of the day by the various contests taking place on the oval. Yesterday's attendance was much beyond the Association's expectations, the opportunity given by the middle day for a close inspection of the stock being availed of By many hundreds from the country. As a result of the attention given to the great machinery exhibit, it is safe to forecast that many farmers will view the question of cheapened production from a new angle in future. The motor park was well filled with ears yesterday. Spectators filled a good section of the mam grandstand, the interest in the events on the oval being very keen.

The jumping was good, especially, that of, the heavy and light hunters, and in the ladies' competition. Mr Oswald Nelson's Blue Moon, a noted hunter from Hawke's Bay, won the light-weight and ladies' hunter competitions, being well ridden by Miss Maher, who was also the winner of the special prizo for the best lady rider. The tradesmen's turnouts were really good, the horses being excellent, and the judges were very pleased with the smartness of the display.

Saddle Horses. Among the saddle horses were many seen in the ring year after year. With increasing age, of course, they are not getting any better as show animals, and as there is not a very good class of young horses coming on, the older ones continue to win. The display of cobs and ponies was one of the best seen for years. It was verv encouraging to see the young riders taking such a keen interest, nearly all the classes for children being well filled. Several of the bigger ponies were not tree of blemishes, and had seen plenty of hard work. In one or two instances the judges overlooked these drawbacks to give the prizes to horses with better action and conformation. The Canterbury A. and P. Association is particularly.fortunate in having as judges in both the classes mentioned men who have had a life-long experience with these animals, and they quickly arrived at their decisions, loams no i ime in putting aside the horses whHh could not possibly be included :•: the prize-list. Hie Canterbury Kennel Club conducted a most successful show in their permanent building, hundreds of dog imnciers finding this section of the L'i< in display of special interest. Her Excellency Lady Fergus>oi: and Miss Frances Dugda ie. accompanied by Captain E. P. O. Boyle, arrived at the Show Grounds at 1?. Jo a.m. and were met by Sir Heaton and Lady Rhodes. Mr W. Perry (president of the Royal Agricultural Society of New Zealand). Mr E. Hav (president ,-jf the Canterbury A. and P. Association), and members of the executive. After the opening ceremony the visitors were conducted round the' Show by Mr Perry and were entertained at luncheon by the Association.

Officers of the Royal Agricultural Society of New Zealand present wcro as follows:—Messrs W. Pen-y (president), James Deans (life member), E. Hay. W. W. Massey, (vice-presidents). W. Howard Booth, A. Hunter. J. Km'aht. R. E. Alexander, J. O. Coop, E. F. Duthie. J. A. Johnstone. C. L. Orbell (members of Council). D. Marshall (nominee of the Board of Agriculture), and .1. Pow (secretary).

Other visitors included Messrs J. B. Foster iTrado Commissioner for the United States). T. Pcnnv (secretarv of- the Manawatu A. and P. Associa<<"n). J. J. .Tarmnn (secretary of the "estland A. and P. Association). D. Buchanan, and P. T). Knight CManawatn s .

Crowds in the Avenues. •Stall-holders in the various avenues experienced a much busier time than on tho opening day. - All work on the staging of exhibits had been completed, and everything was looking at its best. Sideshow men and the proprietors of those small stalls at which one purchases souvenirs of the Show have long aun learned the value of colour as an attraction, and a riot of crimson purple, and even- other conceivable hue met the eye i?<. all the avenues. The nierry-Ko-rounds revolved with heavv n-eiglits. and there were" thrills in plenty for the unsophisticated. \t no previous Show have the diversions covered such a range. For instance at the »anie tent one might purchase mvsteri•hs snakes which writhed fearsomely, without any urge from visible mechanism or score an ace high straight in J™. n S aUc T- Not far awav two energetic young men. acting with remarkable celerity and dexterity, show- "« »mb cloch and other property suSS* t d "f ter of P°°P le ««nd their•stand the only payment they demandsh„„f & tha *. the reci Pients should Wc uT- 11,ese and similar 'hows will be sure of their crowds to-

nr?S' S B ?" d pluyed an cnjovahle ikH of - m,,sic , and will ™ der Elections again to-dav. , The davs's Programme is as follows :-<) a.m.! '"*; 10.80 a. m ., po'ny juSg^lTfi

A LARGE ATTENDANCE. Thronged avenues and the crowds of spectators round the oval reflected yesterday the great public interest in the Royal Show at Addington. Judging of the lighter classes of horses took place during the day. Lady riders guided sleek hunters over obstacles calculated to discover their slightest weaknesses, children paraded their pet ponies under the eyes of the judges, and tradesmen circled round in shining turn-outs, drawn by the utility type of horse. Then, in the afternoon, khaki-clad cavalrymen thrilled the onlookers by their dexterity with the lance and their riding skill, in sections, negotiating hurdles at full gallop.

a.m., handicap pony trot; 11.30, go-as-you-please; 1i.40, go-as-you-please; 12 noon, Royal champion open hunters; 12.30 p.m.. best wire juniper; 1.30 p.m., grand parade; 2.30 p.m., trotters' and pacers' exhibition; 2.45 p.m., best actioned horse; 3 p.m., best aclioned cob or ipony; 3.15 p.m., Renown Challenge Cup; 3.45 p.m., Consolation jumping competition.

Saddle Horses. For very many years Canterbury was known throughout the Dominion as the home of good utility light horses, and even the cab horses in Christchurch were the envy of the cab-drivers in Australia and the other towns in New Zealand. The first decline in their numbers was noticed after the Boer War. The twelve to fourteen thousand remounts sent from the Dominion depleted the ranks of our best hacks, and the subsequent introduction of the trotting horse has assisted the harness class, but Fpoilt the saddle horse. Hunting in Canterbury has kept a certain number of good ones to the front, and several good sportsmen have used good stallions with their best mares to get hacks. Unfortunately their efforts have not received the support deserved and to-day the ranks are very thin. Some of th© horses in Thursday's classes have been shown for years and it is not complimentary to the younger horses that the old ones still win the majority of the prizes. And what is still more regrettable is that there does not appear to be many younger horses coming on to take the places of the old ones when the latter finally disappear from the rings. At the present time, even though many are getting up in years and carrying blemishes, they still serve to demonstrate the standard of what is required in a good hack, and for that reason their presence in the ring is of educational value to the younger generation. Fortunately for the A. and P. Associations the juveniles of to-day are still taking a keen interest in the pony classes. Mr J. H. McNiven, of Napier, was judge of the saddle section, and right through he rightly favoured horses that could carry themselves as well as the weights set out in the conditions of the classes they appeared in. He may have made a mistake, in the special 13-stone classes, where the prize's are provided by the Canterbury Jockey Club, the conditions of which set out'that consideration has to be given to horses showing most thoroughbred blood, a condition the judge had no knowledge of. The winner, Miss B. Harper's Challenger, does not show as much breeding as Miss Isbel Rutherford's The Tatler. Beyond this, Mr McNiven's judgment was sound, and met with general approval from the ring-side. r Speaking after the classes had been finished, Mr McNiven said he was disappointed with the quality paraded before him. Since he had last seen the show nine years ago. the quality of the light horses at this show had gone back. The old horses, he said, were still going strong, but their age was beginning to tell. Only three horses paraded in the 15 stone class, and D. Gillanders's Captain Murphy, the winner at Ellesmere, was well up to the weight stipulation and beat good-looking Perfection. In the 13 stone class, already referred to, Miss B. Harper had a lucky win with Challenger over Miss Isbel Rutherford's The Tatler, who certainly showed more of the thoroughbred blood which the conditions of the class stipulated. I: was a good class, and Challenger is unquestionably a fine mover, and was excellently handled by his owner. He afterwards won Mr George Gould's special prize in the class for horses, which, in the opinion of the judge, is most suitable as a journey horse for, n 13 stone rider, soundness to be essential. Ho also gained the coveted Royal champion ribbon for the best hack on the ground.

The 11 stone roadsters were not a particularly good class, quite a number of those forward not complying with the conditions, being more like 13 stone hacks. W. D. Westenra's Sinbad was placed first, and his stable companion Coquette second. The pair met again in the class for maiden 11 stoners and were placed in the same order. The class for. ladies' hacks was a good, if slightly mixed, one, and Miss Rutherford's The Tatler beat Sinbad and Coquette. The first-named is a particularly well-mannered mount for a lady. The remaining elass (best walking hack) was won by Mrs A. J. H. McMaster's The Count, a very fast walker, but- with quite a peculiar action. Saddle Cobs and Ponies. No centre in the Dominion can make a better display of saddle cobs and ponies than the Canterbury A. and P. Association, and fortunately an unusually large number of small girls and boys take a very keen interest in the classes provided for their ponies. Some of the girls give promise of becoming fine horse-women, but as for some of the others a few lessons in how to hold the reins and sit on their horses would help them greatly in showing off their mounts the next time they come into the ring. Mr L. W. Nelson, of Whangarei, who was judge, said the classes before mm contained the best lot of ponies he had seen anywhere tliis season, including the Brisbane Show. Mr Nelson's decisions were well received, and he very quickly sorted the wheat from the chaff in each class.

H. S. S. Kyle's Fireboy had an easv win m the pony entire class, beating

Sir Oassius and Kokomai, who is now 27 years old. Tho same owner's brood marc, Lady Mathias had an oasy win in the pony brood mare class. Ponies not over 15 hands made a fine class, and the winner, C. E. Skevington's Shirley, despite a blemish on the rear hind fetlock, is a good one, and afterwards gained the champion ribbon for ponies over 14 hands. Several ponies entered in the class for cobs not over 14.2 hands were thrown out as they had no pretensions to being cobs, leaving only two, and of these the judge decided in favour of Mrs F. Mcintosh's Magic. The polo pony class was a good one, but several of the ponies showed signs of hard wear. R. Gould's pair, Faerie Queen and Lady Ohio, were first and second, with L. R. C. Macfarlane's Tommv next.

The 14 hands and under ponies made another good show, and tho winner, Duncan Gillanders's Gay Girl, which won, is <i good one, and afterwards secured the champion ribbon for tho smaller ponies. H. S. S. Kyle's Firehell was second, and also secured a special prize. The small pony classes attracted keen competition, 0. Digby's Tommy winning in the 12.2 hands class, H. S. S. Kyle's Firefly in the 13.2 hands class, and afterwards taking the champion ribbon for ponies under 14 hands. Miss Penny Marshall's Fan, which was very nicely handled, won in the 33.2 hands class for ponies to be ridden by girls under 15 years. J. R. Dalton's Dr. Bill had an easy victory in the 11.2 hands class, tho only poor class of the day. The class for 10.2 7 onies produced three very good ones out of the half dozen paraded, and in a close contest Miss Jean Barclay's Jack scored over P. L. Donald's Bubbles and Alan Pulford's Cupid 2nd

OPENING CEREMONY.

LADY FERGUSSON OFFICIATES. Sir Charles Fergussou, Governor-Gen-eral of the Dominion, was unable, through indisposition, to officiate at the opening of the Show, and Lady Fcrgusson kindly consented to take his Excellency's place. The ceremony took place at the band rotunda.'

Mr W. Perry, president of the Royal Agricultural Society of New Zealand, said that ho had to announce that his Excellency the Governor-General had been ordered by his doctor to remain indoors, and he wished to convey to her Excellency their sincere regrets at the absence of his' Excellency. He trusted that it was nothing-very serious, though the.doctor had been quite emphatic that, his Excellency should not attend and perform the function of opening the Show. He was very pleased to say that her Excellency would' take the Governor-General's place and would open the Show. Before asking her Excellency to do so, he wished to congratulate the president, the committee, and the secretary of the Canterbury A. and P. Association for the able way they had carried out the arrangements for the Show. It had gone through particularly smoothly, and though, as a rule, they heard a good many grouses, he had not heard one. That was something that spoke well for their management.

An Autumn ShowThere was one point upon which a great many breeders and farmers were anxious to get information, and that was the view of the Royal Society respecting the date on which the Royal Show was to be held. (Hear, hear.) There had been a lot of discussion about the change of date from spring to autumn. At the annual meeting of the Royal Society the alteration'of the date to the. autumn was quite favourably received, but the question was referred to the Breeding Societies and the A. and P. Associations affiliated with the Royal Society and the large majority had replied in favour of the autumn. At a later date the council of the Society would be called together, and the question would be settled. He thought that there was no doubt at all that the date would be fixed for the autumn and that the Royal Society then would have to conduct the Shows itself with the assistance of the officials, and on the grounds of the Association in the locality where it was decided to hold the show. Most of the breeders felt that altering the show to the autumn would bring a great deal more business to them, and after all, it was the pounds, shillings, and pence that counted and went towards making a success of any movement.

Importation of Stock. Breeders aiid others in New Zealand had not been able to import stock from Great Britain on account of the foot and mouth disease. Although that disease was still prevalent in Britain a great many breeders were very anxious to secure fresh blood. There was a movement not only to have quarantine in this country, but to have quarantine also in England before the stock left, and that the stock should come from clean districts. Negotiations on that basis were going on. Although it would be a deplorable thing to get foot and mouth disease into New Zealand it was felt that, with the safeguard's that would be put into force, there would be very little, or no, risk. Mr Perry then asked her Excellency to make a few remarks and open the Show.

Lady Alice who was received with applause, said that she would like to convey his Excellency's very sincere apologies and regrets. Nothing but very strong forbidding by his doctor had prevented his Excellency's attendance. It had taken a lot of forbidding, because his Excellency had looked forward to seeing the show and to meeting friends again that he had met here on a previous occasion. Her Excellency was sure that they did not expect her to give a speech, and she had very much pleasure in declaring the Show open and wishing it every success. (Applause.)

ATTENDANCES AND TAKINGS. It is estimated that cloae upon 10,000 people attended the Show yesterday. The paid admissions represented 6265. The takings for the two days this year, with the figures for the 1925 Royal Show for comparison, are:—

* 1927 1925 First Ds.v ... Second day £ ... 67 ... 621 £ 86 520