As storms and heavy rain belted the region on Friday night, organisers of the Tyrendarra show went to bed unsure of what lay ahead the next day.

But thankfully the rain cleared and a perfect day dawned for the 2015 Tyrendarra show to put its best foot forward.

Show vice-president Anne Burley said organisers were thrilled with the numbers through the gate on Saturday.

“It was a wonderful day. It even got a bit hot around lunchtime before the sea breeze kicked in,” Ms Burley said. “We had a lot of people come along. Numbers were up on last year. Probably 2000-2500 were there so it was a great result.

“We have a hard working committee and a great volunteer base within the community which means we can put on a good show.

“There is good local support and we get people from all round the area — Portland, Heywood, Mount Gambier, Hamilton and Warrnambool.”

The numbers through the gate were not the only count that was up with entrants to the many competitions running at the show were also high. There was an increase in many of the pavilion exhibits including the fruit and vegetables, craft, cut flowers and children’s cookery. 

Out on the arena, showjumping numbers were again very strong as were the sheep sections.

Ms Burley said the good numbers in the competitions is a sign the community still placed great importance on its annual show. 

“It was wonderful to see so many entries in the junior sections. We have put a lot of work into getting the kids involved,” she said.

“Leading up to the show we went out into the schools and talked to the children about entering their work in the show.

“And because the show is such a family friendly day, a family of four can pay just $20 for a day’s entertainment. The parents are happy to encourage the children to come along and be part of the show.”

The Tyrendarra show was also a must for car lovers with the Portland and District Motoring Enthusiasts group holding their show ’n’ shine as part of the event.

And there was more entertainment for those who hung around yesterday with the staging of harness and pony competitions as well as the inaugural horsemanship challenge.