Tenterfield Show Society president Matt Duff is thrilled with the turnout to the weekend’s show, given that it was competing with shows in Glen Innes and Allora for attendees and competitors.
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He said ideally each show society would strive to be the only show on offer within a several hundred kilometre radius, but an early Easter this year made that impossible as each town determines its entries for the Royal Easter Show in Sydney.
Gate entry numbers are still being collated, but Mr Duff said while it’s not the biggest attendance the show has seen it’s certainly one of the biggest.
“It was definitely bigger than expectations,” he said, considering the competition from nearby shows.
“It was a very good show, and the other shows definitely didn’t affect it.”
Mr Duff said the popularity of the show could be gauged by the crowd at the bar on the Saturday night, and the weather was a bit kinder this year after last year’s heatwave. It much easier to cope with just one afternoon of oppressive heat, which resulted in a brief downpour that served to settle the dust for the rodeo.
He was particularly impressed with the local and outside businesses who came to show off their products and services.
“There was an excellent variety of trade spaces, including local cafes and other food outlets,” he said.
The incorporation of the National Chainsaw Racing Titles added a new element to the show that drew in huge crowds, even extending into the Sunday when the titles concluded. Mr Duff acknowledged the great effort of the Chisholm family to organise the successful event, and is confident the Show Society would welcome any opportunity to host the titles again.
Mr Duff hasn't had a chance yet to make contact with all the pavilion stewards but doesn’t feel any reduction in pavilion entries can be attributed to the decision to not print schedules this year.
“Around 95 per cent of people have access to computers and people definitely came into the show office for printouts of their sections,” he said.
“Stewards also had copies themselves to hand out.”
Mr Duff thanked his team of volunteers for carrying out another successful show, and undertaking the huge workload involved. Volunteers were out doing the cleanup as soon as the show ended on Sunday, returning again during the week to get everything back in order.
“For a very small committee, it was a very big show,” he said.
