NEXT year’s Sheepvention is likely to be shortened and several other revisions to the running of the event have been foreshadowed after a review meeting went through items relating to everything from trader placement to tweaking the running of competitions.

Holding the 2023 Sheepvention for two days on either Sunday/Monday or Monday/Tuesday were options that will be considered at the next meeting early in October.

Overall, the P&A Society were happy with attendance numbers, despite a 16 per cent decrease from 2019 – it was felt that the challenges of a two-year hiatus and poor weather this year still meant the results were “excellent”.

Monday was the biggest day, whilst Tuesday had the lowest attendance – overall 7052 paying adults attended over the three days.

The new dog yards received positive feedback and it was estimated an average of 250 to 300 people watched the event at any given time and stayed for at least two runs.

The wool handling competition was praised for its smooth running and “good number of entries”, but some traders at the Innovations Hub felt it made the area too noisy, but conceded the atmosphere it created was positive.

Another noise issue was identified between the Kitchen Stage and the veranda at the Producers Pavilion, while a need to have more face painters for children was also discussed.

A larger proportion of traders required power and the problem of inadequate supply at the Showgrounds was seen as something to address, as was the drainage in the area.

In respect to livestock, potential buyers commented that it was difficult to gain access to view sale rams, but vendors were very happy in the Sheep Pavilion and said access into the space worked well.

Merino breeders raised concerns that they would not return in 2023 if the Merino Show and Ram Sale were not consolidated back in the Ram Shed, and an opportunity to offer a British Breed sale was up for discussion.

Interest was also raised from White Suffolk breeders.

The new layout with a judging arena received positive feedback and an opportunity to have trade space along the inside wall of the shed for relevant traders was another idea floated to better utilise the space and create more atmosphere.

The potential to rebrand ‘Sheepvention Rural Expo’ to ‘Sheepvention’ alone again was on the agenda, and finally the absence of the fashion show with its large costs was considered, with the intention to revisit the concept by offering a “similar fashion parade to Bendigo Show in 2023”.