Digger big drawcard at A&P show

Josh Washington  (8), of Waldronville, with miniature horse ''Lad'' after their show event was...
Josh Washington (8), of Waldronville, with miniature horse ''Lad'' after their show event was cancelled because no other competitors entered.
Terriers and their owners line up for the terrier race. The race was won by Frank, a 2-year-old ...
Terriers and their owners line up for the terrier race. The race was won by Frank, a 2-year-old owned by Regan Hall, of Dunedin.
Matthew Foster tosses a 25kg caber  during the Caledonian Society of Otago's inaugural Highland...
Matthew Foster tosses a 25kg caber during the Caledonian Society of Otago's inaugural Highland Games Otago championship at the show on Saturday.
Jasmin Kirk (5), of Abbotsford, has her face painted.
Jasmin Kirk (5), of Abbotsford, has her face painted.
Jordan Genever takes control of a mini mechanical excavator, helped by dad Rhys, at the Otago...
Jordan Genever takes control of a mini mechanical excavator, helped by dad Rhys, at the Otago Taieri A&P Show on Saturday. Photos by Christine O'Connor.

Jordan Genever is a little boy with an big interest in diggers.

So imagine his excitment when he took the controls of the real thing - a $40,000 mini mechanical excavator - at the Otago Taieri A&P Show on Saturday.

Jordan (5) spent a few exciting minutes spinning and digging while guiding the heavy machinery around a pile of sand, helped by keen dad Rhys (33).

Afterwards, Jordan told the Otago Daily Times the experience was ''cool''.

''They can move and they can dig stuff - other things can't do that,'' he said.

It was his first time driving a real digger, after years spent practising with toys at home, which perhaps explained the mile-wide grin.

He was among hundreds of boys and girls who spent the day queuing to take control of the machines, organised by members of the Civil Contractors New Zealand Otago branch.

Branch executive member Andrew Hollands said the rides had been running for about 10 years and the aim was to encourage more people to enter the industry.

The diggers were one of the show's major drawcards, and appealed to both boys and girls, he said.

''Their eyes just light up.''

It was that enjoyment which has kept Leon Porter-Thomas (15) coming back each year for the past five years.

He said he spent about $50 a day to ride the diggers and practise his driving skills, after learning the basics by watching YouTube videos.

He was now so hooked he was planning a career as a digger driver, and in the meantime was using a head-mounted camera to film his efforts and learn more.

''I have always liked driving diggers since I was little.

''It seemed really fun, so I keep coming back,'' he said.

The diggers were just one of the tastes of rural life on offer as thousands of people took advantage of warm, sunny weather to attend the A&P show's ''people day'' on Saturday, and yesterday.

Organisers said about 2800 to 3000 people attended the show, slightly down on last year, possibly due to other events on in the city such as the one-day international cricket.

''A lot of fun was had by all,'' society president Wayne Smaill said.

As those with a competitive streak had their animals judged, others took the opportunity to try their hand at a variety of rural pastimes.

They included Matthew Foster (24), of Dunedin, who was found getting to grips with a 25kg caber for the first time.

In between balancing the log upright and hurling it end over end, he explained he had been ''roped into it a bit'' as punishment, after breaking a friend's lamp.

As a result, he found himself competing in the Caledonian Society of Otago's inaugural Highland Games Otago championship.

''It's pretty fun, actually,'' he said, before using pitchfork to hurl a sheaf of hay over metal goalposts.

''There's a lot of technique to it.''

Caledonian Society life director Wayne Allen said such events were a good way of introducing people to the sport and the society's activities.

And, despite appearances, caber-tossing was about technique and accuracy, not just strength, he insisted.

''Quite often, it's not the person who's the strongest or brawniest - a lot of it is technique.''

-chris.morris@odt.co.nz

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