The Wandoan Show was a hit for all ages with new classes and sections attracting a broader audience and greater participation on the weekend.
The revival of Wandoan’s Santa Gertrudis feature show was a key drawcard and chief stud cattle steward Karen Mayes said it came with many other changes to the program.
“It’s been more than 20 years since the last feature show and we’d made changes to the days of the show itself so I was nervous of the outcome,” Mrs Mayes said.
“We used to judge each breed but now we have interbreed classes so that adds a new dimension and it’s bringing more interest.
“I was a little scared about how the changes would be received but everything ran smoothly and we had 144 head in the stud ring which was pretty spectacular.”
Santa Gertrudis Breeders Association general manager Ben Noller, Geebung, said the committee’s hard work had paid off.
“The Santa Gertrudis feature helped increase numbers through the gate for the show society. They had more gate entries from 6am- 10am Saturday morning than what they received for the entire two day show in 2015,” Mr Noller said.
“We were glad to be a part of it and we thank the committee for hosting such a great event.”
Cattle were exhibited from Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia and Mr Noller said he had many producers commented on the quality of the cattle and positive progression of the breed.
Demand for shed stalls was so great, Mrs Mayes said portable panels were added to create more room.
“We had an idea it could be that big and the wide area our entrants came from along with local participation contributed to the event’s success.”
Mr Noller said an appealing prize pool of more than $10,000 was part of the reason for the high calibre of entrants.
Entrants such as Senior and grand champion Santa Gertrudis female Glenn Oaks Kismet K24, led by Santa Gertrudis youth ambassador Maddy Page, Tasmania, and owned by Scott Ferguson, Nobby (pictured), were a clear indication that strength of competition does not always dwindle with large numbers.
The prime cattle section was also well supported at Wandoan with numbers up on previous years making for a significant improvement to the cattle section overall.
Results
Judge: Tom Baker, Woonallee Simmentals, SA
No. of exhibits: 144
Gr ch bull: Yarrawonga L664, Bassingthwaighte family, Wandoan.
Gr ch female: Glenn Oaks Kismit K24, Ferguson family, Nobby.
Snr ch bull: Dunlop Pilgrim J1030, Dunlop family, Proston.
Res snr ch bull: Talgai Jango, Baldwin family, Allora.
Snr ch female: Glenn Oaks Kismit K24, Ferguson family, Nobby.
Res snr ch female: Yarrawonga E747, Bassingthwaighte family, Wandoan.
Jnr ch bull: Waco Falcon L52, Bassingthwaighte family, Wandoan.
Res jnr ch bull: Yarrawonga L606, Bassingthwaighte family, Wandoan.
Jnr ch female: Yarrawonga L661, Bassingthwaighte family, Wandoan.
Res jnr ch female: Murgona Impress, Phillips family, Wandoan.
