More than 2200 people attended the annual Easter Monday show on a fine day in Middlemarch.
A and P show committee member Lynnore Templeton said incorporating the Otago Southland regional final of the Young Farmer Contest into the day was a big boost, helping entice more people.
Also, in recent years the day was more like "shows of old", with sheep racing, a shearing competition, and a bigger dog trial.
More trade stalls were also featuring at the show.
It was a great family fun day for people who did not go away for Easter, Mrs Templeton said.
She attributed a drop in horse show entries to the hard ground caused by the drought, coupled with the economic recession.
Sheep entries were up 10%, which Mrs Templeton attributed to strong local support.
In a tense final round of the Young Farmer Contest, Pete Gardyne (22), who farms near Gore, beat his closest rival, Elliot Scott (30), of Dunedin, by three points, organisers said.
Mr Gardyne, who works on a 650ha sheep, beef and arable farm, took home a $10,750 first-prize package, including a Honda farm bike, and won the right to compete in the national grand final, to be held in Gore in July.
Compered by Jim Hopkins and filmed by a TVNZ6 crew, the young farmers' practical competition, which included shearing, cooking, beekeeping, and a head-to-head kennel-building contest, attracted the day's biggest crowds.
Young Farmers Otago Southland committee member Sonya Abbott said the regional final, normally a stand-alone event, had been a chance for people to see it who might not otherwise.
The A and P committee had been "outstanding" and made organising the event easy, she said.
Miss Abbott, who also works for contest sponsor National Bank, said a new feature this year was an agri-teen contest, which was a national pilot project.
The event could act as a bridge between the children and adult competitions.
The national final of the 2010 Young Farmer Contest will be in Gore, in July.