Hawke's Bay Show management were last night in buoyant mood as they started the job of evaluating some of the more significant changes in the 154 years of the event.
New president Simin Collin and society and Showgrounds Hawke's Bay Tomoana general manager Brent Linn were happy with attendances on yesterday's Hawke's Bay Anniversary Day public holiday Show Day, although some observers suspected there had been a downturn.
The major changes were cutting public days from three to two, and creating a night programme, thought to be the first in the 154 years of the show.
The combined effect, Mr Collin noted, was that the gates were open to the public only 3 to 4 hours less than in recent years.
Mr Collin said crowd numbers throughout yesterday appeared good, and there was a "reasonable" attendance for the night show, although Mr Linn said most of the night-show crowd was "behind" the grandstand, in the amusements circle and food areas, rather than in the grandstand watching events on the oval.
"We are very pleased with the way the two days has gone," Mr Collin said, "but we won't know the numbers until next week or so. There has been reasonable feedback.
Royal Agricultural Society of New Zealand president Geoff Smith, of Pukeoware in the Franklin district in South Auckland, was particularly impressed with the Hawke's Bay society's attempts to involve more younger people and said that in staging the event as the Royal Show for a third time in a row "Hawke' Bay has done us proud."
It's one of 97 A and P shows and events around the country each year, and as one of the bigger "it felt like a good place to be," he said.
One of the big winners yesterday was the Hudson family's Coastal Cowhides Fundraiser who was named top trade exhibit, being presented the Charles Douglas Cup, one of the society's finest pieces of silverware and which was first presented 62 years ago.
The unique initiative, now a regular at shows and other events, trades products using cowhides sourced from Brazil and calf hides from New Zealand, all profits to the endeavours of alpine skier Piera Hudson, now in line to become Hawke's Bay's first competitor at the Winter Olympics.
Targeting the 2018 snow and ice sports extravaganza in Pyeongchang County, South Korea, the 21-yeare-olds sports is costing over $100,000 a year.
Skier's parents John and Fiona Hudson and aunt Caroline Rittson-Thomas, who was the inspiration for the initiative after discovering a popularity for stools and other items "to furnish the bach", were overwhelmed by the success, ahead of about 170 other exhibitors.
They were first named Best Outdoor Exhibit, and lined up for the ultimate honour against Best Indoor Exhibit winner Porangi Carving.
As well as the engraving on the signature, the exhibit won the family a 10m x 10m site free at next year's show.
Mrs Hudson said as the family pose with the trophy, with Hawke's Bay A and P Society president Simon Collin and Roysal Agricultural Society president Geoff Smith: "We didn't know when we arrived this morning that this was going to happen."