Show Time At Leeston

Press, Volume C, Issue 29643, 13 October 1961, Page 16

Show Time At Leeston

First Spring Show Of The Season

Tomorrow, the Ellesmere Agricultural and Pastoral Association will hold its annual show at Leeston and the busy 1961*62 show season will be under way again.

Traditionally the first Canterbury aprinff show of the season, the Leeston show starts off a series which ranges from Kaikonra in the north to Umaru and Geraldine in the south. In turn, each district holds its event > The fanners bring out their sheep and cattle for judging, the floats and vans bring the hacks and hunters and the children’s ponies and the machinery firms and salesmen bring out their brightest and best and newest machines with their order books conveniently at hand.

One of the oldest show associations in New Zealand, the Ellesmere Agricultural and Pastoral Association was founded in 1870 and for a number of years held both spring and autumn shows but later it concentrated on an annual spring show. Its close proximity to Christchurch makes the Leeston show a popular spring picnic day for hundreds of city folk. There is little in the farming line the Ellesmere district cannot produce. The show catalogue lists the wide variety of its farming produce that feeds the city of Christchurch. The green grass fattens the young lambs and the cattle. Milk from the district either goes direct to Christchurch for town supply or the cream separated from it is sent for buttermaking. Pigs provide the bacon and pork and there are also poultry farms. Wheat and other grains have been cropped in Ellesmere for a century and the rich soil grows many of the potatoes for Christchurch tables. Entries this year for the show are very good, although the sheep classes are smaller. This is because of the late season and the very wet winter. There are 253

sheep entries which is about 140 lees than lest year. The season has meant the lambs are not fattening as quickly this year and the fat lamb classes—always a strong feature of the show—will have about 100 entries less. Cattle entries are 14 down at 175 but this is made up for by the pig section which has 68 entries, an increase of 14. Horses will be about the same. About 700 entries have been received and the Leeston show gives Canterbury horsemen and women the first opportunity of the season to try their mounts in competition. Many of the top horses at the Metropolitan show begin the season at Leeston. Goat entries are smaller at 19, poultry have increased to 115, dogs are about the same at 12 and the host of produce and handiwork classes will again be strong. In the cattle section of the show the Ayrshire breeders’ South Island championship gold medals for the champion bull and cow will be awarded at Leeston this year. These are awarded at different South Island shows each year in turn. Similar travelling awards are made in the goat classes

and the Canterbury Goat Society has presented South Island challenge cups for yearling and adult champions with the intention At present of alternating the awards between the Leeston show and the Christchurch metropolitan show. This will be the first year for a long time that there have been no beef cattle entries. This is probably because of a change in the district’s farming away from breeding to fattening young stock brought in from other areas. In former years this was a strong section of the show catalogue. As well as some of the country’s foremost breeders, the district could count on support from Canterbury Agricultural College which had a fine Shorthorn stud. One of the older awards still in the catalogue is the college challenge shield for the best yearling Shorthorn bull.