Newspaper Article 2007 – Windy, warm and wet – what fun

Windy, warm and wet — what fun

Show time
HAWKE’S BAY SHOW

JOE DAWSON
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Day one of the 2007 Hawke’s Bay Show started with a bang and ended with a splash – millions of them.

High winds rattled the tents and animals first thing yesterday morning, and then the heavens opened up in the afternoon, drenching everything in seconds.

But in between those extremes the day was a breezy beauty, with Hawke’s Bay nabbing the country’s temperature high of 25deg.

But that pleasant temperature was likely to be just a happy memory, with today’s high forecast at 13deg.

It was a good first day for the inaugural Sheep Expo, a new event designed to ensure sheep remain a feature at the show.

The expo offers an insight into sheep-farming for the average person, with stock agent extraordinaire Kevin Ryan giving a rundown on what various breeds – from the South African dorper to the Finnish finnsheep – are good for, before Dynamic Meats butcher Aaron Pohatu gave a demonstration of how to break a side of lamb down into a multitude of cuts.

The expo is running twice daily throughout the show, and steward Richard Lee said he was pleased with how the first two expos went yesterday but was hoping a few more people would make it to the sheep pavilion over the next couple of days.

Suz Bremner, of the Eskview Young Farmers’ Club, was on hand to help out, and said the expo was an improvement on recent years.

There was also a shearing demonstration, free lamb barbecue tastings and sheep-counting and wool-pressing competitions for the public.