TOKOMAIRIRO FARMERS’ CLUB.

Otago Witness, Issue 3899, 4 December 1928, Page 13

TOKOMAIRIRO FARMERS’ CLUB.

ANNUAL SUMMER SHOW. The annual summer show of the Tokomairiro Farmers’ Club was held at Milton on Tuesday under the most unfavourable circumstances. Early in the morning heavy rain set in, and it continued with scarcely a pause all day. Conditions underfoot were very unpleasant, and the stock, none of which was under cover, presented a forlorn and bedraggled appearance. The gate takings were only about £8 10s less than last year, the figures being £72 Ils on Tuesday and £Bl 2s last year. The entries were not up to the standard of last year, except in the case of 'ight horses, of which there was a record display. Sheep and heavy horses showed a decre-ase, and had it not been for two Southland breeders who called in at Milton on their way from the Dunedin show the entry of cattle would have been very poor. The expeditious manner in which the judging was carried out and the despatch with which the day’s programme was disposed of were a credit to th- executive officers who had charge of the arrangements. Mr Alex. Campbell shouldered the onerous duties of secretary to perfection, and was ably assisted by the presi lent of the club (Mr R. Allison) and the vice-president (Mr W. Jeffrev). CATTLE. . The entry of cattle was not large, but there was plenty of quality in the various rings. The crossbred animals were all very fair, and the judge picked out several for particular mention. Nearly all the dairy stock showed good milking qualities, and there seemed to be a very fair a -predation on the part of exhibitors of what constituted a good dairy cow. The best crossbred was the yearling I heifer shown by Mr E. A. Hills. It was a very fine type of milker. Among the Jerseys there were two very exceptional animals —the champion co"- and the champion bull. The cow was the property of Messrs Peattie Bros. It beat the 400-guinea imported' animal exhibited by Dr J. Ritchie Crawford, of Invercargill, for the supreme. The local cow showed superiority over the Southland beast in vessel formation. Dr Crawford’s aged bull, bred by himself, took the bull championship. He was brought out in th. pink of condition, and was a fine specimen of this valuable breed. The feature of the cattle .display, however. was the entry sent forward by Mr T. R. Eades, of Edendale. Hinemoa Beauty, the cow that was placed second to the South Island champion cow, Rosa Posch of Oakview, at the Otago A. and P. Society’s Show at Tahuna Park, won the championship on Tuesday with the Dunedin champion in second place. The judge, Mr John Hellyer, of North-East Harbour, explained that he had put Hinemoa Beauty first because her head was much better than that of tire other cow. Cremona Cordyline Pontiac, a splendid specimen of the black and white breed, had no difficulty in taking the bull championship from a fairly large field. In the class for best type of dairy cow the winner was Mr Eades with one of his Frjesians. The second animal was a crossbred cow and the third was a Jersey.

HEAVY HORSES. There were far more working horses than breeding animals in the display of heavy horses. The greater bulk of the entry were good quality geldings, many of the best of which were shown by Messrs Allison Bros. A championship was awarded for the best gelding, and it was won by these exhibitors' with a very nice three-year-old that appeared to the best advantage later on in the team classes. In the breeding classes easily the most prominent exhibitor was Mr Archibald Wilson, of Henley. He had some very fine stock forward, and deserved his championship honours. The female championship he annexed with a stylish mare by Vice-roy Footprint, while a well-bred three-year-old by Marengo was a close second. These two c.nimals won the class for the best colonial-bred mare for the Hen(ey breeder, being placed first and second respectively. The entire championship also went to Mr Wilson with his Bridgebank Free' Step, a promising two-year-old with plenty of growth and the makings of a very fine horse. The best class in the show from the point of quality and competition was that for colonial-bred mares, in which many useful types were paraded.

LIGHT HORSES. The light horse section is always an interesting one at the Milton Show.’ Both numbers and quality can be expected every year, and yesterday was no exception to the rule. Exhibitors from Dunedin, Central Otago, all parts of South Otago, and the Bruce Countv made up the largest display of the show. The judge admitted that in several classes he was hard pressed to decide which animal should tak e the red ticket. The total number of live stock in the show was about 280, and of these about 14Q were light horses and entrants in the various competitions. All the hack and hunter classes were well filled, and the honours were very evenly divided. Miss E. Greenslade (Dunedin) won the champion ribbon for the best hack, and also figured largely in the list of class awards. Other Dunedin exhibitors who scored well were Miss Statham. Mrs T. D. Dalziel, and Mr W. Hastie. Miss K. Wood (Beaumont) looks like repeating her series of triumphs of last year. Her horsemanship and the quality of the horseflesh she always exhibits have made her a welcome exhibitor at any show in Otago. The harness horse championship went to Mr E. J. Robertson. The jumping events provided some excellent displays of riding, although the wet conditions underfoot resulted in one or two spills that put the horses concerned in no frame of mind to continue their courses. The class for the best bareback riders was won, strange to say. by two lady riders. Nliss Rutherford (Dunedin) and Miss Edith Smythe (Dunedin) were first and second respectively. SHEEP. The sheep entries were lamentably few. There were only six purebreds in the show, these being a small entry of Border Leicesters sent in by Messrs Jasper Clark and W. Drinnan. The former exhibitor showed four animals and the latter two. A notable absentee from the pens was Mr Oliver Grey, of Milburn, whose catholicity of tastes in regard to breeds of sheep allows him to be represented by three and sometimes four different classes of sheep. The crossbred and fat sheep classes were little better as far as numbers go. In all there were about 40 animals, about a score of crossbreds and the same number of fats. Mr R. Clark was the most consistently successful exhibitor, and carried off the special prize for most points in crossbreds and also the trophy for most points in all the sheep classes. HOME INDUSTRIES.

The housewives of the Bruie County remain firm in their allegiance to the club’s annual show. The entries showed no decrease on those of last year, and the quality, according to the judge (Mrs J. J. Nyhon, Sandymount) was quite up to standard. A notable feature of the baking classes was the number of Dunedin cooks who were successful, and who had large entries in several of the sections. The dairy produce, too. made a good showing, and more than satisfied the judge.

CHAMPIONSHIPS. Championship honours were awarded as follows: —• —Cattle.— Shorthorns—Bull and cow. R. Clark. Jerseys-—Cow, Peattie Bros.; bull, Ritchie Crawford. Friesians—Bull and cow, T. R. Eades. —Sheep.— Border Leicesters—Ram and ewe, Jasper Clark. —Horses.— Clydesdales—Entire and mare, Archibald Wilson; gelding. Allison Bros. Light horses —Hack, Miss E. Greens 1 lade; harness, E. J. Robertson.