A. & P. SHOW JUSTIFIES UNITED EFFORTS.

Shannon News, 1 February 1929, Page 4

A. & P. SHOW JUSTIFIES UNITED EFFORTS.

GATE TAKINGS £66 AHEAD OF LAST YEAR. HUGE, INTERESTED CROWD ON SECOND DAY.

The factors making for success iu ‘'tin} -23rd annual Show of the Horowhcnua A and P. Association had their issue Wednesday, when the second day was held under most favourable auspices. The weather was all that could be desired, and crowds of people arrived, hailing from all parts of the district as well as from Wellington, Palmerston, Foxton and other centres. Mr W. H. Field, M.P., for Otaki, who is one of the Patrons of the Association, was present, and his constituency was well represented by young and old of both sexes. The society -has every reason to be gratified with "the outcome'of the 1929 fixture, as the gate receipts for the two days were : £66 5s in advance of those at the pref vious Show. The takings arc shown in - the following comparative statement: —

From an estimate based on the num- •• her of cars and other vehicles, there must have been not less than three thousand people present at the height of the Show. The attractions of the - function being manifold, spectators : were mostly on the move, until the major competitions in the afternoon claimed their attention, the grandstand then being filled. The sideshows received a large amount of support, and various stalls dealing in articles useful as well as ornamental did

good business. Excellent musical items were rendered at intervals throughout the day by the Levin Band, under Conductor Lester. The catering, av-

; rangements, undertaken by the AssocRation, assisted by the Women's Rest 'Committee and young lady helpers, ’ were very successful from the public of view and probably were equally so for the Association, as the mm' service appeared,, to proceed without a hitch, thanks to the energy and willing spirit of the, ladies concerned. The . .Rest Committee also conducted a soft ' drinks and sweets stall, at which they did a wonderful trade during the heat - ’ of the afternoon, i Undoubtedly the outstanding feature

in the side shows was the thrill provided by the Staig Bros, in their daring performance on motor cycles in '' J the Auto-Silodrome, a circular wall some 20 feet high.- Standing on a

' ramp 2ft 6in. high the rider attains a .speed that enables him to ride round - . the perpendicular wall, climbing higher with each revolution till he is

whizzing rouncj at a speed of 60 miles per hour , within a foot of the top. ; Then, as if this Avere not sufficiently ‘thrilling for the public,'the other brother zig-rags all over -the Avail from top to bottom. All who saAv the'Staig Bros.’ perfomanee (were Avell (satis- . tied that they received ample enter-

‘ tainment for the price of admission. < ’ A spectacular feature of the Show, and one to which the spectators lookcd forward fAvith eager anticipation, ; % 'Avas the grand parade of prize-Avinning ' cattle and horses. Headed by the marshal, Mr G. Tully on a handsome grey

. .mount, the procession entered the rac-ing-stragiht, crossed to the shoAvring, Avhere the animals Averc. draAvn up in - • ranks, after Avhich they proceeded at a stately pace into the eastern part of

the. straight and so past the stands on -- the way back to their stalls. The champions headed each section, being

• followed by the reserve champions and the other prize-winners, each animal being led by its exhiitor or cus- \ todian. Pride of place was given to

t, the breed of cattle for. Avhich the dis- ' triet is celebrated—namely, the Jerjj? seys —after Avhich came the Ayrsliires, Friesians, Bed Polls, and Milking :: 'Shorthorns, followed by the horses and

(’ ponies. The cattle and horse sections j Avere well filled this year, and the > parade gave testimony to a little-sus- £'. -pected fact, which is that interest in -. the care, and breeding of horses has taken a turn for the better, entries in this section being Avell in adA r ance of those at the previous Show. f l ' Popularity reAyarded the steer-rid-v.,ino ntes ts, one of Avhich Avas held each day. In yesterday’s event K? ,there were no feAver than 22 starters, ifLand the amount of talent Avas surprisK: ; ;ing, fully half the starters having an ‘ appreciable ride, Avhile sevefal of them •jsf .had their unruly mounts so well, in hand that they travelled up to 50 yards and then dismounted. The judging was. based on the riders’ balance, and fe B. ( Vickers, Avho came second the day before, Avas the Avinner of the first U prize yesterday.

P HOESB CLASSES AND COMPETITIONS WELL SUPPOETED.

f.’ f . Horses came fonvard in large, numbers, especially in the classes for hack and lady’s hack. p 1; First place in the former class Avas awarded to Miss G. Maher’f (Pallia merston North) stylish mount ’ Workje? man, whieh was also successful, in as- |, f sociation Avith Mr T. McGill’s Benin the class for lady’s and SL genleman’s hacks, and was adjudged champion hack. An old show conqueror, Gentleman Jack, gained first |v-place for hack 13st or over, and mare pi.or gelding most suitable for hunter, p*.and won the hunters’ open compotiin which he Avas ridden by Mr glgG. Smith. Miss D; Young, of PalIjKiherston North, was successful with p.'Silver in the cob and lady’s hack fplclasses, and she won the prize for best felady rider. The open steeplechase jumping was carried off by Mr J. Goodwin '3 (Ohingaiti) Mataroa, ridden by / ‘ . '

Miss Bowman, of Levin; and the district jumping contest went to |Mr L. Bevan's (Manakau) Tikorangi, ridden by Mr G. Vickers. The open pony race, which strongly appeals to the sporting instinct of the crowd, was won by Mr L. J. Power’s (Otaki) Flying Hero, ridden by A. Heap. Second and third place were filled respectively by Mr J. C. Houlihan’s (Levin) Bonny (Jas. Houlihan) and Mr D. McDonald’s (Levin) Scrutineer (K. Hammond), but botn mounts were disqualified on account of being over the prescribed height of -14.3 hands, and the second prize was awarded to Mr Clyde Robinson’s (Levin) Missie. Flying Hero had won by three and a-half lengths from Bonnie, which was three-quarters of a length in front of Scrutineer. The judge of horses and competitions, Mr H, J. Caiiieron, of Turaldna, stated that the hacks were of a good type. Since the war the standard in competition horses had fallen off everywhere, but there were signs of an improvement. The jumping at this Show was very good, particularly in the hunters’ open event.' CONGRATULATORY SPEECHES.

During an interval following the grand parade, the President, Mr 11. J. Richards, read out the names of the winners of cups and trophies, and stated that these prizes would be held by the Association to be engraved and would be presented to the winners in due course. He heartily thanked the workers on behalf of the Show for the excellent help they had given, and specially expressed the society’s gratitude to the donors of prizes. The President also acknowledged the. great assistance rendered by the ladies of the Women’s Rest Committee and their helpers in carrying out the whole of the catering under the Asssociation’s direction. This departure had proved satisfactory not only to the public generally, but to the Association also. Reference was made by Mr Richards to the popular appeal of the competitions, particularly the steer-riding contests, which he believed would fully justify the action taken in adding them to the programme. He remarked that the entries in the Show as a whole were about forty ahead of those at the 1928 gathering; the support accorded the competitions had more than compensated for tlfe falling-off in the pig section, and the Show as a whole could be considered a success. He hoped that the favourable trend of affairs would continue, so as to enable the society, in conjunction with the Racing 'Club, to appoint a caretaker on the grounds, with the object of beautifying the surroundings, with benefit to the public of Levin and the district generally. The President apologised for the unavoidable absence from the second day’s proceedings of Mr J. Linklater, M.P. for Manawatu, one of the Patrons, who was present on the first day; and he extended a welcome to Mr W. H. Field, M.P. for Otaki.

Mr Field, in a brief but cordial speech, thanked the President for the welcome accorded him, and stated that lie was very glad to be present. It was with much pleasure that he learnt that the entries constituted practically a record, and he felt sure that the public must be well satisfied with the work of the general committee and the officials in charge of the Show. (Applause).

EXHIBITS' REVIEWED. The general quality of exhibits Avas such as to please the judges, Avhose remarks Avere of a nature Avhich should encourage the farmers of this and other districts to patronise future Slioavs in Levin to the very best of their abilitv. THE CATTLE. The Jersey cattle are ahvays a strong feature, oAving to the favour in Avhich they are held on this coast, Avhere there .are a number of avcllknoAvn breeders. The judge, Mr J. Pettigrew, of Pihama, stated that the section as a Avhole Avas quite up to the standard seen at other slioavs. Mrs Spcirs’ tAvo-year-old bull Jersey Oak’s Silver Prince, in winning the championship, had beaten the same exhibitor’s aged bull Kuku Napper, AA'hich had itself Avon many championships. The former was very true to the type. The champion coav, Mr E. M L. Horn’s Kuku Brooklet, Avas a Avell-known winner of premier honours. The reserve champion coav, Mr P. A. Ander‘son’s Jersey MeadoAv Dorothy, Avas a very nice animal of hardy type —quite a good, eA’en coav. The yearling heifers were the most outstanding class, and the most difficult to judge. The bull calves Avere A r cry good, but the yearling bulls Avere not just up to the standard of the heifers. It was pleasing to note, howcA-er, that the calves generally were carrying on the characteristics of the breed.

With regard to the Priesians, their judge, Mr A. Burgess, of Eongotea, said that although the entry Avas not a' very large one the cattle had come fonvard in tip-top condition. On tne female side the outstanding beasts Avere the three-year-old and two-ylear-old prize heifers, both shoAvn by the Central Development Farm. The two-year-old, Dominion Proud Domino I, was an animal that would probably develop into- a champion. The prizeAvinning yearling heifer, exhibited by the Wm. Bevan Estate, Manakau, Avas of great promise. The Milking Shorthorns brought forth some favourable opinions from Mr E. Wall, of Hastings, Avho judged them. He observed that Mr E. V. Brown, of Werarca, had practically SAvept the board. His champion cow, Waimea Domingo, Avas of great quality, and for a type of the breed one could not Avish for a better example. The reserve champion Avas of the old 'type and Avas noAv shoAving signs of her age. The judge pointed out that no standard of colour had come into existence, the coavs of this breed ranging from Avhite to red, but the champion was a handsome red animal,

slightly relieved by white. The average ; of the exhibits “among the cows was good. Mr H. Bond’s (Rangiotu) champion bull, Hill View Gem, was a very typical dairy bull, of great quality, and shown in nice condition. He was a two-year-old, and had beaten an aged bull for the championship. Mr A. 11. Hansen, of Te Rehunga, judged the Red Polls and the Ayrshires. Of the former he stated that they were in excellent condition and typical of the breed. The champion bull—the Central Development Farm’s Bright Belgian’ A (299)—was a particularly fine animal. Concerning the Ayrshire3,. Mr Hansen said that competition was not as keen as it might have been, but the winning animals ought to hold their own in any show. The females were of specially fine quality and had nicely placed and “typey” udders. The' dairy cattle division was judged by Mr E. Wall, who remarked that Mr Alex Horn’s (Ohau) entries, which were Jerseys, stood out distinctively. The exhibits in this division were mostly Jersey or Jersey cross, and they were evidently well bred, and showed plenty of dairy qualities. THE SHEEP.

The judge of fat sheep and lambs, Mr V. Robinson, of Carterton, stated that the quality of the fat lambs was_ very good. In the freezing class the' lambs were very even indeed, taking into consideration the season, which had been more favourable for such exhibits at the early shows than at the later ones. He was particularly pleased with the pet lambs shown in the children’s class.

Romneys and Southdowns were judged by Mr Jas. Knight, of Feilding. He stated that the Romneys were up to average condition. He was very pleased with the champion and reserve champion rams, both shown by Messrs Voss, Bros., of Longburn. All the animals were in nice show condition. In the Southdown section there was such a variety of type that the exhibits did not set a standard. Quite a number of them showed far too much colour —they were too dark on the legs and the muzzle. A good many of the rams showed a. dark poll, a defect to whicn the breed society particularly calls attention, judges being advised to reject an otherwise good sheep if it had this characteristic. The champion ram, exhibited by Mairua Farms, Ltd., Levin, was an animal of a good Down colour, and with a lot of quality. There were some other very good and typical Southdowns in the section. The prize-winning pen of three two-tooth ewe 3, shown by Mr W. H. Field, of Waikanae, called for special mention. Mr Knight added that the season had been good for the older’ 1 sheep, if allowance was made for a certain amount of foot trouble caused’ by too much rank growth in pastures. PIG CLASSES. Mr J. Grant, who judged the pigs, stated that the section all through was very good. The champion Large White sow, Lake View Daisy, exhibited by the Levin Co-op. Dairy Co., was fit to compete in any show. It h interesting to note that the Dairy Co. bred the champion Large White sow. The champion boar is one which they obtained from Mr Dernier, of Feilding, who acquired from them a boar of their own breeding which won the championship at Palmerston North and which is a brother of the sow that won the Horowhenua championship yesterday. The C.D. Farm shewed fine collections, both in the Berkshij’es and Large Blacks. Mi J. Morgan’s champion Berkshire sow was purchased by him from the Farm. This exhibitor secured six first prizes in the Berkshire section, but gives the praise to Mrs Morgan, who has been responsible for the rearing of the pigs entered in his name. The Tamworths were a small but good section, in which Mr Ran. A. MacDonald obtained all the first prizes offered. DOG ENTRIES. Commenting on the Dog Show, the judge, Mr Jas. Mason, of Wellington, said he noticed that the number of entries showed an advance on last year. The quality of most of the exhibits was . good. There were some nice fox-terriers, Igroyhounds, whippets, cocker spaniels, Irish setters and Pomeranians. The prize for the best dog in the show had been won by a whippet, Mr G. Remington’s • (Palmerston North) Lady Jane, a very symmetrical, classical specimen of the breed.

1929 1928 £ a. d. £ 9. d. First day 40 10 0 26 17 0 Second day 156 12 6 104 0 6 Totals 197 2 6 • 130 17 6