But for a small show the cattle section is also well patronised, with 200 head competing, including 80 from 17 studs, the spacious area available for parking trucks, right next to the judging ring, making it an easy choice for stud breeders wishing to enter their cattle in the all breeds competition at the Proserpine Showgrounds on June 19.

The calf champion bull was a Brahman, Timbrell Mr Safari Manso 340, exhibited by Terry Connor of Timbrell Cattle Services, Rockhampton, and the senior champion was a Charbray, Colinta Caetano 6030, from Colinta Holdings P/L owned by the mining giant Xtrata. However the grand championship was the junior champion, Hamdenvale Summer Dream Boy, the Brahman that continued a run of successes in recent weeks for the Hamdenvale Stud owned by the Deguara family, Daunia, Nebo.

The calf champion female was a Braford, Vaucraft Bring 1801, from the Vaucraft Stud owned by the Flor family of Mackay. The junior champion Colinta Camelita was beaten to the grand championship by its sibling Colinta Aanita, which was awarded the senior prize by Judge Matthew Kirk, Carinya Brahman Stud, Gayndah.

The Breeders Group, won by Colinta Holdings P/L, were the Charbrays, while the Sires Progeny Group went to the Tara View Droughtmaster Stud, Sarina, owned by Jeff Scells.

Forty three young people competed in the Junior Handler and Junior Judging competitions with Agforce donating a $100 voucher for the winner of the Junior Judging 12-18 year-old group, which was won by Katie Ann Robinson from Sarina State High School.

The cane section was well patronised with Barry and Beverley Holcombe, Lethebrook, being the exhibitors with the highest number of points and Reg Muller, senior and junior, who farm just east of Proserpine, being awarded the Mangrove Jack Award for excellence in environmentally sustainable cane farming.

And as mentioned last week in the Mackay Show roundup, the Aussie axemen won the third and final heat of the Masters Trans Tasman Challenge at Show Whitsunday, to clinch the title. It was a relay event where nine of Australia’s finest choppers and sawers, over 60 years-of-age, pitted themselves against nine from New Zealand, at chopping and both single and double sawing. In each heat the lead changed four or five times with the biggest winning margin being in the final heat where the Kiwis took three more swings of an axe to finish.

*More pictures in next week’s North Queensland Register.