A little bit of rain was not going to dampen Sienna Hawke's day at the South Canterbury A&P Show at Waimate on Saturday.
The 7-year-old Waimate girl had a simple reason to stay smiling on the wet, cold day.
''Winning!''Sienna and her pet lamb Cocoa took home the supreme champion pet lamb award at the weekend and with it a prize of $50 and a new hat.
The dog trials, showjumping, sheep shearing, stock judging, home industries, pet competitions and young farmers competitions all went ahead, but light rain and cold temperatures were enough to keep the crowds away, event secretary Katrina Kelly said.
And the weather was disappointing for the ''at least 100'' volunteers who had put time and effort into preparing for a day when more people were supposed to have walked through the gates.
''There's a huge amount of effort from all the volunteers to get it done and it is gutting to have a bad day,'' she said.
Mrs Kelly, an Oamaru dairy farmer, said the rain would not even help on the farm.
''We need a couple of inches, not this sad stuff. This is just sad enough to keep people away.''
South Canterbury A&P Show manager Reto Oswald, in his third year in the role, said ''a lot fewer'' people came through the gates this year compared to last. He did not have figures available, but he said attendance was down about 30%.
Mr Oswald was able to find a silver-lining to the ''nuisance'' weather on the grey, cold day.
''This is the first time that I've been able to walk around and talk to all the exhibitors, to find out what their needs are,'' he said.
''Everyone is friendly.
''Next year we're going to make it a little bit different. There's always a positive, and usually we're just flat out and we don't have time to mingle with all the people.
''This year we have quite a lot of time.''
