Utes rolled into the New England on Saturday, January 31 from across the region and beyond for the seventh annual Bundarra Ute Show.
The event saw 24 utes entered this year – 20 competing and four vehicles on display – from Bundarra, Inverell and Uralla, as well as Barraba, Attunga, Dungowan, Wee Waa, Tamworth, Bingara and even Taree.
Bundarra Ute Show steward Maria Gregory said show-goers loved the ute display because it was something new and different for the local event.
“It started as a novelty event and attracted people because the kids out here get a kick out of seeing the utes and love watching the barrel racing,” she said.
“For the owners, it’s a chance to show off their utes, which they love.”
The ute show began seven years ago, with Mrs Gregory saying the early displays were dominated by B&S and feral utes, but the variety of vehicles had continued to expand.
“There are some vehicles on club rego, but others are everyday drives,” she said.
“The utes range from 1980 Mazda utes right through to current models, including four-wheel drives like LandCruisers, Hiluxes and Patrols, as well as Falcons, Commodores and some flash ones as well.”
Utes competed in a range of categories, including best BNS, best 4×4, best street, best feral, best Holden, best Ford, best classic and best other make, along with themed and sub-categories. Owners also showed off the noise their utes could make with loudest exhaust competitions across four, six and eight-cylinder vehicles, as well as diesel.
While Mrs Gregory doesn’t own a ute herself, she is the proud owner of a beloved green Volkswagen Beetle called Oscar, she said her husband and sons were ute owners and she loved the culture surrounding them.
She said the show had previously attracted entries from south of Sydney and as far north as Bundaberg, with events including barrel racing adding a fun competitive edge.
“Next year is Bundarra’s 100th show, so we’ll be promoting further afield,” she said.
“Our biggest ute numbers so far have been 46, so we’ll see if we can match or beat that next year, with a couple of new activities planned.”
The ute show is held in conjunction with the Bundarra Show, held on the weekend following the January long weekend.
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