Our show stoppers to catch fire for Ekka

A lot of planning goes into the entertainment for the Ekka, and one show takes its cues from the Maclean Showground

Bruce Green with his saddle and an old house prop he's taking up to the Brisbane Ekka as part of their show entertainment. Picture: Adam Hourigan

BRUCE Green looked up at the cloud-filled sky, as he packs a small bark hut into his shed before the rain comes.

"We sure do need it, but it'll be no good for this bark. It'll ruin it," he said.

Mr Green is taking old timber huts, yards and other props for the second year running to the Brisbane Ekka, with an outback show part of the nighttime entertainment.

"These were all built by John McLennan, who's a life member of the show society, for our Man From Snowy River show which we did back in 2001," he said.

"They have to be wrapped up tight in plastic with boards over them so the wind doesn't get under and pull it off as we tow it up the highway."

This year, Mr Green will ride in the show, which includes yarding bucking bulls, brumbies and a lot of shetland ponies, all into rough-cut yards made from local timber around the Lower Clarence.

This year, a stagecoach pulled by six clydesdale will be part of the show, which Mr Green said takes a lot of practice.

"I'll take this all up Tuesday night, we practice Wednesday and Thursday and then do 10 straight nights," he said.

"The entertainment goes at night there for two and a half hours, and we have a 20 minute session.

"It's all full-on, we have to set up the yards and pull some down so the monster trucks can come in. Everything's is on a timetable down to the 30 seconds for when it has to finish."

And while the show was a success last year, Mr Green said there was some concern on the first night of performance.

"I got told to go light the fire that's inside the hut twenty minutes before the show so the smoke came out the chimney," he said.

"I used to open the door in the firebox so it'd get the air, but the night air when it's heavy it got a glow up and the smoke just bore out of it.

"I had people ringing me telling me the fire brigade was outside wanting to come into the ring to see if something had burned down."

Originally published as Our show stoppers to catch fire for Ekka