THE Simpson Rec Reserve came alive on the first weekend in March for the annual Heytesbury Show.

The town was abuzz from Friday right through to Sunday, with the event including a junior cattle showing competition on the Friday night, show day Saturday, the Settlement Cattle Sale Saturday night, and a full weekend of horse events.

This is the second Heytesbury show since a two-year break over COVID, and it has come back as strong as ever, with strong numbers entered in the cattle and horse events.

Crowd numbers were similar to last year, which saw around 1600 people through the gates to the popular show.

There was no shortage of things to keep the kids entertained. The headline act of the day was science experiments and displays from the team at ‘Fizzics’, entertaining the kids with liquid nitrogen explosions from 9am. 

To keep the younger ones amused there was free Face Painting, balloon sculpting and an animal nursery filled with cuddly animals for the kids to pat and cuddle, and also a selection of not so cuddly animals on display from Animals from Oz!

If that didn’t keep the kids happy, then there were several large inflatables for them to burn off energy on, and pet parades and dog jumping competitions to take part in. Not to mention the gumboot throwing competition and kicking and handball competitions with the local footy club. 

A major draw card again was the mystery showbag activity, where young show goers pay $5 for a bucket which they then use to collect items from around 20 stalls along the way. All 250 of the buckets were sold out in record time of a little over an hour, again showing the popularity of the ‘original and best’ mystery showbag!  

There were also various food vendors and other stalls to browse, for a snack or a touch of retail therapy for the older sow goers.

The home craft pavilion was one not to miss, with hundreds of entries in various categories on display. Again the dahlia display was extensive, with dozens of breathtaking blooms to see. This year there was also a ‘cowacature’ competition, with participants encouraged to make a cow in any shape or form! 

Equine events proved popular, with horses and riders from all corners of the state taking part in various jumping events.

Sheep showing continued in 2024, with good numbers and quality of animals entered. Patrons were happy to see the sheep on display, although they aren’t as scarce in the Heytesbury as they once were, with a number of dairy farms being converted to sheep in recent times.

The dairy cattle sections were once again strong, with entry numbers sitting at an impressive 140 head. 

There were Jerseys, Friesians, Brown Swiss, Ayrshires and other cattle on display, being shown by young and old. The cattle pavilion was again humming, with many camping at the grounds for the full weekend. The crowds watched with interest as the cows and calves were washed, trimmed, brushed and polished to perfection by handlers of all ages.

This year junior exhibitors could also take part in a dedicated Youth Cattle Show on the Friday night before the main show on Saturday. This event included a bit of fun, with a class dedicated to cow fancy dress! 

Following its’ success last year, the show was again proceeded by a cattle sale at the show grounds on the Saturday night. The Settlement Sale was deemed a success, with around 35 dairy heifers and cows selling for an average of $5027 per head. The top lot of the night, put up for sale by the Lindquist Family, sold for an impressive $10,000. 

The sale was conducted by Brian Leslie of DLS, in conjunction with StockLive who ran the online bidding portion of the sale, with over 400 people logging on online. However the success of the night was down to the dedicated work of local organisers Judson Jennings and Jason McVilly, who put in countless hours to make the event happen.

Local agricultural shows have had an extremely tough few years through COVID, with the future of the likes of the Heytesbury show thrown into doubt with the break.

The work put in by the small committee to ensure the shows survival is truly amazing.

Days such as these are vital for small communities, as it sees locals come together and sees many farming families get a welcome day off-farm.

For a show such as the Heytesbury to have clocked up 88 years, it really is a testament to how valued it is by the locals. We look forward to another successful show in 2025!