Horses for courses: A&P Show week in Hawke’s Bay features Clydesdales, horticulture and amusement rides

All hands on deck as James Dean, from 007 Paintball, next to the showgrounds, moves fences to prepare for the A&P show that starts on Wednesday and ends on Friday. Photo / Warren Buckland

A Hawke’s Bay show with 160 years of history is slowly taking shape at Hastings’ Tomoana Showgrounds in preparation for the annual three-day event later this week.

The Wednesday to Friday show, one of the biggest of the almost 100 A&P shows held throughout New Zealand each year, dates back to 1863, when the first event was held near Havelock North.

The history includes almost a century at the showgrounds off Karamu, Kennilworth and Elwood roads. The grounds were sold to the Hastings District Council last year to safeguard the future of the show and keep the facilities for public use amid demands for residential development land in Hastings.

The Hawke’s Bay A&P Society is expecting foot traffic of up to 30,000 people. Fine weather is forecast for the week; however, the afternoon northeasterly and easterly winds each year are almost as much a feature of the week as the show.

Major changes to the programme this year include the incorporation of a horticulture focus transformed from the National Horticultural Field Day held annually earlier in the year for most of the past decade. The rodeo makes an appearance for the first time in 15 years and a Clydesdale horse team is back after some years’ absence.

They complement the traditional array of equestrian events in the oval, animal judging classes, shearing and sheepdog events.

All the fun of the fair at the Hawke's Bay Show. File photo / NZME

The biggest crowds are expected on Friday, the public holiday set aside in respect of the Hawke’s Bay provincial anniversary day (which is actually November 1). Friday is also expected to be the biggest day for fairground operators Mahon’s Amusements.

Prime ministers, ministers of agriculture, MPs and candidates have proliferated over the years because of the profile the show has accorded in the days before an election.

This year, post-election, the National Party has a marquee site still booked in the trade and exhibitor space, where all rural and horticultural sites are booked out.

More than 400 primary school pupils are expected at the show on Wednesday, and secondary school students will be at the show on Thursday, when there will be some focus on career opportunities in the rural and horticultural sectors.

The Hawke’s Bay A&P Society is paying homage to the ordeals of the community in the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle, inviting the public to sponsor a family for a day out at the show, at a cost of $55 for a family of four.

The first A&P show of the North Island season was the Poverty Bay show in Gisborne at the weekend, starting a weekly circuit continuing in Hastings, and on successive weekends the Wairarapa show near Carterton, the Manawatū show in Feilding, and the Central Hawke’s Bay show in Waipukurau on November 10 and 11.