Inverell Show a stunner despite showers

"We had a magnificient time, it was amazing how well it went with all the things that went against it," Inverell Show Society president Jodie Burtenshaw said on Tuesday.

Mr Burtenshaw said organisers had a rough trot with COVID-19 concerns in the lead-up and heavy rains leading into the weekend, but the show was still "an outstanding success".

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He said a couple of stall holders cancelled due to the weather, while a few stewards fell ill and couldn't attend, but the pavilion, horse events, the rodeo, fireworks and even a mud-soaked demolition derby all went off without a hitch.

"We're very happy with how it went," Mr Burtenshaw said. "It turned out to be one of the best demolition derbies we've ever had and the rodeo was one of the best we've ever had with one of the largest fields of entries ever."

Mr Burtenshaw said that so many events had to be postponed or cancelled over the past 18 months that the show was a wonderful opportunity to bring people together and said officials were delighted to see so many people out and enjoying themselves.

"We were concerned the numbers might be down with the recent COVID-19 outbreaks, but even as the rain came down the crowd came - the visitor numbers were very strong and comparable with other good years," he said.

Under cover from the weather the pavilion entries also soared throughout the spectrum of classes with Mr Burtenshaw saying the entries "in general were excellent and strong in all areas".

"Some of the other shows have been down a bit in some of their entries we couldn't have been happier, we were very pleased with the numbers.

"The knitting had very high numbers and there were some excellent quilts in the quilt section."

The show society on Monday were able to breathe a collective sigh of relief after months of planning and organising, Mr Burtenshaw said a few late worries were waylaid and the weekend was a stunning success.

The society president said he couldn't pick out any favourite aspect from the show, praising each of the stall holders and event organisers.

"They were all excellent, everyone who helped with the organisation they've all done extremely well and the committee is grateful for all their participation and their efforts."

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