MASTERTON SHOW

Evening Post, Issue 42, 19 February 1936, Page 4

MASTERTON SHOW

INCREASED ENTRIES

FINE STOCK EXHIBITS

LIST OF CHAMPIONS

(From "The Post's" Special Reporter.) ■■■-■■-'. MASTERTON, This Day.

Quality was the keynote in practically every class of exhibit at the forty-ninth annual show of the.Mas- , terton Agricultural and Pastoral Association began in the beautiful . Solway showgrounds yesterday. This was particularly noticeable in the sheep '■;' classes, for which the Wairarapa is 'justly famous, but it was present in almost everything, and the town and '• country people who came from far and near were rewarded by as fine an ex- ; hibition of the dsitrict's natural wealth • as has ever been shown. Numerically the entries exceeded those of last year, the totals being •■ 2357 and 2077 respectively. Encouraging ■ ■ increases were shown in the classes for sheep, dogs, poultry, and competitions, with a falling off in those for horses, cattle, pigs, and horticulture. Cold and changeable weather with abnormally heavy rainfall gave the stock-raisers a harder task than usual and kept many intending exhibitors away from the show. It also probably detracted from yesterday's attendance, large though it was, because many farmers, after weeks of unfavourable weather, could not afford to lose such a calm and sunny working day. There are more than 2,100.000 sheep in the Wairarapa, and the district's stud flocks are known'throughout the Dominion. It was only natural, therefore, that the principal interest should . centre in them* Almost without'exception the animals maintained a high standard and quality that has come to be taken for 'granted in the Wairarapa. OUTSIDE SHEEP ENTRIES WIN. Feilding breeders, won the championships in the open Romney Marsh class, which aroused more than usual enthusiasm amongst those interested and whose quality was pronounced by one expert to be the outstanding feature of the show. The success of the outside . breeders, though naturally disappointing to the local specialists, was considered by many to be a good thing, as it would stimulate competition. Though the popularity of the Lincoln breed has waned somewhat in recent years and there were not a great number of exhibitors at the show the animals that did come forward were of very fair quality. The Argentine trade in top sheep. is practically the only vital influence in Romney breeding today. .... -Feilding, Shannon, and Bulls, exhibitors also did well in the: open Southdown classes, in which outside breeders nearly always score at the Masterton show. Under the stimulation of this outside competition the quality in this section was of a high order. The Corriedale ; class attracted only '. two exhibitors and the quality1 was disappointing. ; Fat lambs were not expected to be anything extraordinary after such an . unsettled season,; and, they did show some lack of bloom, but when handled and examined in the pens they proved to be animals typical of the best that Wairarapa, can produce. , An excellent; number of animals was shown in the iarmers'. class of non-stud sheep but because of the bad •eason the quality., did not fulfil normal expectations. APATHY OVER CHILLED BEEF. Disappointmeht /was expressed by a lot of those interested in the chilled beef export trade: with the entries in the chilling classes, which were fewer than they should have been considering that the industry was pioneered by the Wairarapa district and promises to be of vast importance to it. It was a feature of the show that deserved far more support than it got, but the entries that were shown were good. Quality was more apparent than quantity in the cattle entries. The Ayrshire and Hereford classes attracted only one breeder in each, Dut the animals shown were fine specimens. A Hereford bull and a cow of the same; breed recently imported from America gained a lot of attention not only by their fine characteristics but by their American method of preparation for the show ring. Jerseys and Friesians were shown ■ by a slightly larger number of exhibitors and their quality too was good. No purebred shorthorns or Polled Angus cattle were exhibited. The pig entries were disappointing in number but again that fact was ascribed to the inclemency of the season. EQUESTRIAN EVENTS. Ring competitions for horses yesterday afternoon produced entries more num- " erous than of previous years. Horses came from Hawke's' Bay, Taihape, Palmerston North, Pahiatua, and Trentham, and a strong team of local N horses could be attributed to the growth of paper-chasing in the Wairarapa. In the maiden jumping competition, a very strong class* the jumping was equal to any in -the Dominion and the pony jumpingl attracted a number of entrants, most of whom did really well. Of the dual jumping the judge remarked that he had never seen better in New Zealand. Today was "People's Day" and the light rain with which it started was vail the more unwelcome after yesterday's summery conditions. Judging was completed this morning and the principal event on the afternoon's programme was a procession of trade motor vehicles from the town to the show grounds—an innovation—followed by the grand parade of all live stock that could be led, ridden, or driven. . . .. . : . Apart from the animals and poultry visitors found plenty to interest them in the competitive events, and the sewing and cooking and vegetable classes. THe trade exhibits included all the latest cars, radio sets, refrigerators, agricultural machinery, and requisites, and with: those people in holiday mood sideshows of every kind were eager for business. '