Big crowd at 105th edition of show

Town met country for the 105th time in Queenstown on Saturday.

Thousands attended the annual Lake Hayes A&P Show, which escaped the strong winds battering other parts of the region, while rain held off until the last horse had finished jumping.

Those coming from Queenstown or Glenorchy, via State Highway 6A, had to deal with lengthy delays to get to the grounds following a serious crash on Frankton Rd, which closed the road for about four and a-half hours.

However, by noon parking spaces around the lake-side venue were at a premium as families and visitors converged to get their rural fix.

A group of children pull a 400hp Jones Contracting truck — left in neutral — at Saturday's Lake...
A group of children pull a 400hp Jones Contracting truck — left in neutral — at Saturday's Lake Hayes A&P Show.PHOTO: TRACEY ROXBURGH

The grand parade was once again led by the Queenstown and Southern Lakes Pipe Band, followed by a 1957 Series 1 Land Rover firetruck and a more modern version with Sergeant Kate Pirovano, of Queenstown, and her horse Slide leading the animals around the ring.

Along with an abundance of horses and ponies competing in the main arena — some also gathering qualifying points for the horse of the year — there was a pet competition, sheep and fleece and home industries competitions, sideshow attractions, live music and magicians and a couple of challenges
for the children.

A gumboot toss led to an all-in lolly scramble in the main arena, with a couple of enterprising children deciding not to wait until Clutha-Southland MP Hamish Walker, of Queenstown, threw the sweet treats, instead going straight for the bag he had left on the ground.

Hopped up on sugar, they were then tasked with a game of tug o’ war — their opponent a 400 horsepower Jones Contracting truck which had been left in neutral.

It took only a couple of seconds for the children's joint efforts to pay dividends as the truck slowly started to move forward.

Lake Hayes A&P Show president Philip Bunn said he was delighted with the 2020 show and that it was "pretty amazing for this district" for it to have been held for 105 years.

"It’s gone extremely well — I’m really happy with the turnout ... it’s been fantastic."

Four people — Jan Tomes, Jenette Boyd, Grant Stalker and Debbie MacColl — were made life members of the association on Saturday to recognise their contributions over many years.

 

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