Robertson Races

We left the Robertson Show around 7:30pm, before the final smash-up derby and fireworks. We had all experienced a very full day.
I asked the children what they enjoyed the most and the boys all listed the events in which they had participated, Clare enjoyed watching the races and Ariel was still pretty excited at her victories in the pavilion.
The Robertson Show is a small show, and that is a good thing. We are well known in the pavilion (they had to write our names so often!) and also in the arena as our boys all wear their bright orange caps and are eager to join in whatever events they can.
This year they decided to NOT join in the bike race, realising that their bikes weren't good enough for racing and they probably weren't fit enough either. But that didn't stop them from entering:
Gig Race - Using an old trotting rig, Peter sat in the rider's seat while Eric and James pulled. You need to enter in teams of three. Next year we should be able to put in two teams - Ariel and Eric pulling James, and Peter and Clare pulling Rose.
Boot Race - Each runner's shoes were placed in a pile and the runners had to race from the start line, find and put on their shoes and race back. In the races for the older children and adults the commentators rummaged the shoes and if they saw larger pairs tossed them some distance.
Wheelbarrow Race - Peter sat in the wheelbarrow while Eric pushed him up and around a marker and back to the start. Notice Eric's look of concentration in the photo while Peter is having a good sight-see.
There were many other races and the boys didn't win or place in any of them. But it didn't matter. They reckoned that just running in a race in the middle of the arena or around the track was fun.
Other events included egg throwing, gum boot (rubber boot) throwing, Beer keg tossing, hay stacking, Ute (pick-up truck) pulling, lawn mower races, dog jumping, and more.
The key to making all these events work for such a wide selection of entrants were the commentators interventions. Bruce, Bruce, Bruce and Paddy (these were the commentators real names) imposed handicaps whenever they felt they were needed. They also kept up a never ending supply of banter which is like an impromptu comedy routine over the course of the whole day!
As you can see here, Rose was pretty tuckered out at one point. Another visitor thought she looked cute and took a photo too.