Today I went to the 130th Chudleigh Show. It is like your county fair where you can enter your animals, baked goods, flowers, crafts, etc, in competition with others in the community. Chudleigh is a small rural village of around 150 people but we have the oldest Agricultural Show in Tasmania.
First prize - Mixed vegetables.
First prize - 6 beans on a paper plate.
This is my entry that came 2nd.
Jams, preserves, and flowers.
Baked goods and crafts.
Flowers.
I came 2nd in the flowers for my tiny vase.
All vegetables must be on a paper plate.
Wood-chopping competition.
Cattle parade.
Vintage tractors.
Sheep judging.
Our showground is looking it's age.
It was a fabulous day. It may be a small affair as far as rural shows go, but people come from miles around to experience our real old-fashioned show.

Lola, thanks for the photos and descriptions of your show. Our country fairs are pretty much the same!

I love it! Wish there was something similar here but they only have it for the 4 H youth.

LolaTasmania said:

Vintage tractors.

And now I feel "vintage" . I grew up on a Farmall H tractor just like this only not as pretty.

Congratulations on your winning entries Lola!

Our town has a 4th of July parade, and vintage tractors are always a part of the parade. One grandfather had a Farmall tractor, not sure which model. The other had a John Deere.

My two younger brothers restore various tractors and although neither one farms, they play with them. They attend shows, tractor pulls, plowing contests. Great fun! I still love to get on the tractor for the day. I guess it would be different if I had to do so every day.

I was also amazed at that wood chopping competition photo above. That is impressive.

Tasmania has vintage machinery clubs, lots of vintage tractor clubs, and a family run farm machinery museum called Steamworld that is just amazing. The vintage tractors are very popular wherever they are shown and there are just as many women owners as men. I would love to have a pretty vintage tractor but the old Belarus is all I can afford.

The woodchopping in the photo is the final chopping contest of the day. The contestants have 3 planks to use as steps and they have to cut a slot in the pole then insert the plank. They then have to jump onto the plank and cut another slot further up and insert another plank. Then they do the third one the same way. Once up the top they have to chop one side of the top block of wood, then climb down to the ground and take the planks with them to start again on the other side. When they reach the top again they chop through the top block completely to win. Tasmanian woodchoppers are usually the world champions in international competitions.

That is a real effort they exert. I think those young men are in excellent condition.

You mentioned having a Belarus tractor. It is a very durable tractor but those that I have seen are quite large. Do you farm a large area?

Some of those woodchoppers are in their 70's. They just keep going with the sport and only stop if they have an injury.

The Belarus 420 is 57HP from 1985 although it looks so much older because it is mostly rust coloured. The clutch has gone on it now so I'm debating whether to fix it or buy another tractor. We only have a few acres but it is all sloping land and the tractor is mostly used for dragging out trees for firewood and slashing reeds.

Our Belarus in all it's rusty glory. It has a homemade wood splitter on the back at the moment. The backhoe attachment sits in a paddock like a rusted sculpture.

You're lucky to have it, Lola. It looks like it's had lots of use, and will give you lots more use with some occasional fix its. I remember my grandparents working on their tractors, and sometimes they even had to make their own parts for them.