Meet some of the Royal Hobart Show’s top exhibitors

YOUR TASWEEKEND READ: BEYOND the rides, fairy floss and showbags are the Royal Hobart Show’s thousands of exhibitors – more than 6000 entries were received last year.

Anne Sherwood, of Glenorchy, with birman Dookie -- otherwise known as Bonnie Brae Red Star.

BEYOND the rides, fairy floss and showbags are the Royal Hobart Show’s thousands of exhibitors – more than 6000 entries were received last year.

Next week a similar number of exhibitors will come from far and wide to show their prized pets and livestock or showcase their finest art, craft and cookery.

The competition is often fierce, with many seasoned exhibitors harbouring a firm desire to be named champion and claim showground glory.

Trophies, certificates and ribbons are proudly on display for the show’s 50,000 patrons to see.

And competing is often a family affair, with husband-and-wife teams, mother-and-daughter duos or extended family members carrying on a tradition that dates to the first show 192 years ago.

And, as TasWeekend discovered, each competitor has his or her own secret for success – be it magic chalk for degreasing cats, favourite styling tools for primping pooches to perfection or using farm-fresh eggs in recipes that have been handed down through the generations.

POULTRY

When Peter Spotswood was a boy, some of the more senior poultry fanciers gave him downy chicks and ducklings to help kickstart his exhibiting career.

Forty years later and Peter, an experienced chicken and duck breeder, judge and Royal Hobart Show Society poultry committee chairman, finds himself offering feathered babies to other enthusiastic youngsters.

“I was about seven when I started – my uncle gave me a pair of ducks,” he says.

“I put one in the show to sell and she won first prize … after that she became a bit of a pet and lived until she was 15. I haven’t missed a Royal Hobart Show since.”

The 49-year-old from Granton has since added chooks to his repertoire and visits shows across Tasmania and interstate to exhibit his many varieties of birds or to judge others.

But the sales manager says there are tactics involved – it’s important not to go to too many shows with the same birds.

Peter Spotswood, from Granton, breeds chooks and ducks.

“It’s like trying to breed a racehorse,” he says.

“You can’t just breed it and take it to every race because it will get worn out … you need to pick and choose which events you will attend.”

Looking back, Peter never imagined his childhood hobby would end up becoming a lifelong passion.

“I’ve never really thought about it, it’s just something I continued on with,” he says.

“Just breeding your own good fowl – it’s a good feeling.”

Even after 40 years, he still gets a thrill from hatching chickens and waiting for them to grow up to see if there are any prizewinners among them.

He keeps the best offspring and sells the rest, but also keeps a few to give to any budding young chook fanciers who might like them.

CATS

When Anne Sherwood arrives at the Royal Hobart Show with her beloved birman cats in tow, she’ll be armed with her secret weapon – French grooming chalk.

But if she happens to run out of the fine white powder used for removing oil from a cat’s coat then you might find her or another cat exhibitor scratching around in the bakery pavilion or the supermarket aisles, as food-grade cornflour is an acceptable substitute. Anne’s other emergency back-up is Johnson’s baby powder.

“You do a lot of grooming and use French chalk — it’s like cornflour,” she says of her routine in the lead-up to show time. “It fluffs the coat up and takes the grease out.”

The Glenorchy resident has three long-haired birman cats, with plans to buy more.

Anne Sherwood, of Glenorchy, with birman Dookie -- otherwise known as Bonnie Brae Red Star.

As a small child, Anne used to excitedly queue to enter the cat pavilion at the Royal Hobart Show every year. Twelve years ago she started showing her household pet – Mr Heinz – and her passion grew from there.

“I’d always had cats and I’d always had an interest in showing cats,” Anne says, adding it was only after her kids reached high school she decided to act on her long-held desire.

She says there’s simply something magical about the “gorgeous blue eyes”, coloured points and soft coats of birmans.

“Their temperament is to die for … they are affectionate, loving and gentle.”

Anne says show preparations start many weeks in advance, becoming more intense as show day approaches.

“The last two weeks there’s some pretty intense grooming,” she says.

“Show day is the end of it – that’s the easy part, putting the cat in cage on the day.”

ART & CRAFT

Grant Allford once won $1500 for entering his art at the Royal Hobart Show. In the same year, his wife Jenny won $7 for the craft items she entered.

But regardless of how much – or how little – they win, the Glenorchy couple enjoy the thrill of being involved and having their creations on public display.

Grant Allford, of Glenorchy, entered the Royal Hobart Show for the first time in 2009.

Grant, 63, has been interested in art since his school days but has spent more time painting landscapes since he retired a few years ago.

“I’ve been fiddling with art on a recreational basis for a long, long time,” he says. “Since I retired I started doing it a bit more. It’s a relaxing pastime.”

Grant entered his art at the Royal Hobart Show for the first time in 2009 and was shocked to win one of the major awards for recreational artists, picking up $1500 in the process.

And he’s been entering ever since, enjoying the chance to showcase his pieces in a public forum and see how his work stacks up against other artists.

Winning prize money, selling art or picking up a commission along the way is an added bonus.

He and Jenny have also become Art on Show committee members, helping behind the scenes.

“Primarily, it’s just about getting your art out there so people can have a look at it,” Grant says of displaying his art.

Meanwhile, Jenny, 69, started showing dogs back in the ’90s and over the years has also shown dairy goats, chooks and even flowers.

Once, when she saw entry numbers were down in the cakes section, she tried her hand at cooking. She also dabbles in knitting, crochet and other arts and crafts.

“I’ve shown everything now except cows and horses,” she jokes.

DOGS

He’s certainly large in stature, but Errol the Irish wolfhound is also a giant softie.

The carefree canine is happy to spend hours being primped and preened by his doting owner Kristy Pearcey in preparation for his annual moment in the spotlight at the Royal Hobart Show.

Kristy’s daughters Kasey, 11, and Regan, 7, also get in on the action, meticulously grooming the family’s other dogs for showing.

“The kids are dog-mad, they love being with the dogs,” the proud 37-year-old says.

Kasey shows her petite Chinese crested dog Volley (short for show name Puff up the Volume) while Regan has only recently joined in the fun – as seven is the required age for showing dogs.

“She only just started in February,” Kristy says. “She’d been hanging out to turn seven for a long time.”

Kristy got her first show dog – a border collie – at 19, when she moved out of home, and has been showing various breeds in Tasmania and interstate ever since.

Kristy Pearcey, of Bagdad, with Irish wolfhound Errol.

Show days start early — competitors often have to arrive by 7am – and living at Bagdad there is plenty of travel involved, regardless of whether those shows are in Hobart, Launceston or Devonport. But Kristy says the hardest work is put in months before each show to create a “well-conditioned, well-groomed, well-fed dog”.

“It’s not something where you can just turn up on the day,” she says.

Kristy adds the best thing about showing dogs is the family connection.

“It’s great that we can go away and do something together as a family,” she says. “It’s really quite competitive but we try to keep it quite low-key for the kids’ sake.

“For us it’s important that the kids have fun.”

GOATS

Brian Smith will be showing about a dozen of his prized angora goats at this year’s Royal Hobart Show. But you won’t see him blowdrying their fleece or painting their toenails for the occasion.

“I take them out of the paddock, put them in the trailer and take them to the show,” the 61-year-old

from Forcett says.

“We don’t wash them or pamper them – they’ve got to be in their natural state”.

Brian started showing pigeons as a teen at the insistence of his bird-loving next-door neighbour.

But then he saw goats on display at the Royal Hobart Show and decided to jump ship.

“I just liked the look of them, their nature,” he says.

Brian Smith, of Forcett, with one of his prize buck angora goats.

When his in-laws bought some land, Brian put some goats on it. And he has since bought land of his own.

He now has about 80 goats at his 16ha Neethorp Angora and Texel Stud, as well as a “box full of ribbons” after winning a raft of prizes at various shows.

Brian, who also acts as a chief steward when he is not competing, says he’s amazed by how much goat-breeding has changed over the years, with strong bloodlines from Texas and South Africa now highly sought-after.

He says the cost of showing animals far outweighs any prize money that might be won but, like most showgoers, he does it because he is passionate about breeding and showing animals.

Being semi-retired, at least he no longer has to take annual leave from work to compete.

“There isn’t anybody who is showing animals who is going to get rich out of it,” Smith says.

“People simply do it for the love of it”.

BAKING

Farm-fresh eggs, well-tested recipes handed down through generations and a cleverly crafted shopping list are the secrets to success for Helen Peters of Stonehenge, near Oatlands.

But she says there’s also a bit of luck involved in scoring a win at the Royal Hobart Show – you need to keep a cool head and pray the power doesn’t go out on baking day.

Helen, 72 - who is also known by her middle name Enid – picked up seven firsts and 10 seconds out of the 20-something cakes, sweets and preserves she entered last year.

The triumphs are typical of the success she’s had since her daughters insisted she enter her first cake at the Campbell Town Show in 2010.

Despite initial reservations, Helen then entered the Royal Hobart Show – and continues to scoop the pool. She also enters the Huonville, Bream Creek and Launceston shows but jokes, “if I go to too many more I won’t have a husband”.

Helen Peters, of Stonehenge, says her home is a madhouse in the week before show day.

Rainbow cake, fruit cake, carrot cake, orange cake, fudge, tomato sauce, pickles, chutney and jam are among her entries.

“It’s a madhouse,” she says of the week before show day. “I cook from the time I get up to the time I go to bed … one tray going in the oven and one tray coming out … when I drag myself to bed my feet are killing me.”

Helen credits fresh duck and chicken eggs – from her brother’s place at Kingston – for making good cakes, plus good-quality our and butter. She also has three freezers.

“I try to use good ingredients … you don’t skimp on those sorts of things,” she says.

Helen enjoys the thrill of winning, but hates walking in to see the results, so she sends her hubby in ¬ first to suss things out.

“I have won a good few,” she says.

The Royal Hobart Show runs from Wednesday to Saturday at the Royal Hobart Showground at Glenorchy. Early-bird tickets start from $13 for children, $20 for adults and $50 per family, and are available from Coles and hobartshowground.com.au. Get your Family Fun Day coupons in the Mercury’s eight-page show feature on Tuesday.