Canterbury A&P Show Ditches Saturday Schedule, Returns to Farmer-Friendly Dates

The Board and General Committee of the Canterbury Agricultural and Pastoral Association (CAPA) have announced that the Show will return to its original Wednesday-Thursday-Friday format, running from November 11 to 13.

Back to a Proven Format

CAPA says the decision restores a format that served the show for more than 160 years, and reflects direct feedback from the farming community, rural exhibitors, and agricultural businesses who are the backbone of the Canterbury A&P Show.

"This is a return to our roots," said board chairman Sir David Carter.

"Wednesday-Friday is the format that works for farmers, for competitors, and for the rural community that built this show," he told Rural News.

"We listened to our exhibitors and our members, and we are acting on what they told us. That is what good governance looks like."

Avoiding Clash with Cup Week Events

The change also reverses a scheduling conflict with the New Zealand Cup race day at Riccarton on the Saturday.

The Association said the show and the cup were two complementary pillars of Canterbury's Show Week calendar that should not be rivals for the same audience.

The development ends the upheaval that began in 2024 when the then-board announced that because of financial constraints there would be no public show that year - although the competition classes would continue without a public audience.

Dissatisfaction from the association rank and file then led to a change in board membership including Carter as chair, and the acceptance of an offer from events company Event Hire to run a public show at much less cost than the old board had thought necessary.

It ran both the revived 2024 show and the 2025 show to the same schedule.

However, Carter said Event Hire's aspirations weren't quite the same as CAPA's.

"Their aspiration was more a carnival type show than what we think is an agricultural and pastoral show connecting town and country," says Carter.

Amicable Split

Nick Anderson, one of Event Hire's two owner/operator brothers, confirmed that the parting of the ways was amicable but he still did not agree with the return to the old dates.

Anderson said it was hard to compete with the specialist agricultural shows such as the South Island Agricultural Fieeld Days at Kirwee.

"Things have changed and I think the agricultural side isn't as prominent as it used to be. It's bloody hard to get them in.

"That's the reason why we changed the date to a Saturday because it became a numbers through the gate scenario."

The change also marks the return of former show manager Geoff Bone, who last managed the Canterbury Show in 2019, the year before the Covid cancellation of 2020.

Back as Event Director, Bone told Rural News he was inspired to return by Sir David and the Board.

"There's a whole culture there that's worth preserving.

"When we build this Show around rural exhibitors and competitors, the urban audience gets something no other event can offer - a genuinely authentic rural experience to share with their kids. THat's what they come for. That's what we have to protect," he says.