From rodeo riders and livestock to woodchops, motorbikes, a dog high jump and a men’s chocolate cake competition, the Dorrigo Show has something for everyone.
Dorrigo Show President Ben Clark said it was the community participation that continued to set the annual event apart.
“It’s a real community event,” he said.
“You can bring your dog for the dog high jump, you can come and watch the cattle, or you can have a run across the arena.”
The show gets underway on Friday, November 27 with junior judging and the junior parade in the cattle area, followed by Pony Club events in the afternoon.
Friday night will then kick into the main entertainment with the rodeo.
Saturday will feature the livestock and agricultural side of the show cattle judging, horses, poultry, the pavilions and woodchop, along with motorbike time trials open to riders of all ages.
There are also novelty events, including the tug of war, bikes and barrels, the popular dog high jump and a new event honouring one of the show’s former presidents.
The Brad Schwartz Memorial Foot Race, sponsored by the Schwartz family, will see competitors sprint across the arena, with junior and senior classes open to anyone.
The race is in honour of the former show president who passed away earlier this year.
“Brad wanted to do a gift race, like the Stawell Gift, but anyone can enter,” Mr Clark said.
Singer, songwriter and horseman Lachie Cossor will also be bringing his Brahman bull, Benson, horses, dogs, ducks and plenty of surprises for his Outback Stockman shows across the weekend and the traditional fireworks will light up the skies.
As well as being the show president, Mr Clark also has some handy skills as a baker, which were unveiled last year when he won the Men’s Chocolate Cake Competition at the show.
Last year he made his grandmother’s recipe for the first time, having called his sister for the recipe and then stayed up until about 11.30pm the night before to get his entry finished.
This year, he expects there could be considerably more competition. There were about nine entries in the section last year and Clark is hoping to see it crack double figures this year.
“Last year, I was a bit of a dark horse and everyone was like, ‘oh, I didn’t know you could cook a cake’,” he said.
The men’s section also includes scones and Anzac biscuits, although Mr Clark is concentrating his efforts on defending his title.
“If mine makes the top three, I’ll sell it at the Grand Parade with the proceeds going to the Show Society,” Clark said.
Mr Clark said entries across the traditional produce and livestock sections were strong, despite Dorrigo sitting at the end of the North Coast show season.
“At this stage, our entries for the produce and the livestock and all those sections have been pretty good,” he said.
The show attracts exhibitors and sideshow operators after other North Coast events have wrapped up and Mr Clark said the show was a bit further away from the larger centres which helped the show’s attendance figures.
“It’s away from Armidale, and it’s away from Coffs shows,” he said.
“We also have very good support from our sponsors and that all helps.” Clark said.
The Dorrigo Show is held November 27-28 at the town’s showground.
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