The 151st Cooma Show was a success as thousands experienced one of the South East’s most popular agricultural shows.

The show’s official opening saw three special presentations made. Leanne Mackay and Leone Venables received life membership of the Cooma Pastoral and Agricultural Association, and Phillipa Dodd was awarded a NSW Royal Agricultural Society medal.

The opening ceremony saw as Gabi Forman sing the national anthem with Tim Dreverman hosting. Cooma Show Young Woman of the Year, Miranda McGufficke, spoke about her experiences as a young person growing up in a regional area.

“The Cooma Show has always been a day on the calendar, its an accumulation of 365 days of hard work, commitment, hard work and skills it is a celebration of rural heritage and our hardworking families and the pride we take on the land we live on,” she said.

“I would like to thank the Cooma Show Society for the time and dedication in creating another wonderful day at the show and their encouragement for enabling these programs to continue.

“As young people growing up in this community we are lucky to be in a region that supports the next generation, the encouragement we receive from our families, community groups, businesses, local members and peers helps shape who we become and what we can achieve.”

Following Ms McGufficke was the presentation of this year’s Rural Achiever, Alycia Marks. She spoke on how agricultural programs can benefit the local community.

“Thank you to the committee, volunteers and everyone involved in putting on this show, it is great to see the community come together to celebrate our region. Three years ago I moved to Cooma and it quickly began to feel like home and since then I’ve worked with Snowy Monaro Regional Council on community programs that has delivered agricultural training and opportunities for community people,” Ms Marks said.

“Agricultural shows like this are very important for bringing communities together and supporting rural industries, if you are enthusiastic and love your community I strongly encourage you to consider applying for the rural achievement program next year.” Closing the official opening was Cooma Show president, Rob Hain. He praised his committee for their hard work and thanked all who made the show possible.