Bagpipes and drums set the scene as hundreds of people gathered on the hill to watch the nail-biting excitement and non-stop entertainment of the dog jumping.

Luncheons sold out and old friends sought time to just relax in the small spots of shade .

Candelo Agricultural, Horticultural and Dairy Farmers Association secretary Keith Coleman said the show was one of the town’s most successful ever.

“General consensus is that it was equal to our best show last year,” he said.

“The weather was great, there were plenty of horses and over 1200 excellent entries in the pavilion.

“We were concerned because rain can affect and ruin things like the fruit and vegetable entries.

“The ice creams sold out and unfortunately the coffee machine blew up,” he said

One happy competitor on Sunday was Bega’s Emmyt Moon.

“I started to get pretty tired by those last few hits to break the log,” he said after taking out the open men’s woodchop event in the day’s heat.

The state under 21 team member chopped his way to an easy victory with both brute strength and perfect axe-swinging technique.

Mr Coleman felt that in a time where many children look to technology for entertainment, Candelo offers a unique rural show experience.

“It’s the simple pleasures,” he said.

“A family can go along for $24 and the parents don’t have their hand in their pocket all the time.

“With their ticket the kids got face painting, a free kite, bags of lollies, a treasure hunt game and entertainment like the dog jumping all day.

“There were 500 people sitting on the hill watching the dogs,” he said.

The charisma of commentator Brett Rogers kept the crowd enthralled, as people of all ages cheered every successful jump and near miss.

Mr Coleman is planning something grander for next year’s anniversary show.

“Next year is our 130^th Candelo Show so we’re trying to put on some special events and highlight the history of the place,” Mr Coleman said.

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