The Zwartberg Show took place on the 12 of September at the Swartberg Show Grounds. And wow, what a day! The turn out and support was incredible.
First of all, thank you to our title sponsor Standard Bank for making The Zwartberg Show a memorable event. The day kicked off under the Standard Bank arch with a 5k/15k trail run/cycle through a neighbouring dairy farm with spectacular views. The morning was misty, promising beautiful weather for the jam packed day ahead. Participants enjoyed two water tables full of refreshments thanks to Underberg Super Spar. Thank you to Guy Williamson for opening your beautiful farm for the event. Special thank you to Heinrich Zellhuber and team for all your hard work. Next came the much anticipated Poultry Show with over 160 chickens on display plus more for sale. The chickens and people were all clucking with excitement! It was amazing to see so many breeds of chickens in one place. Kids buzzed around the baby alpaca and water fowls on display, thanks to Shane Trollope. Well done to all the winners who received amazing prizes from all the sponsors. Thank you to Jon Alison and Shaun van Huyssteen for taking the time to be our judges. Well done to Rozelle du Plessis and Michelle Muir on another successful Poultry Show. The Zwartberg Show hosted its very first Enduro Family Fun Ride around the Zwartberg Polo Club and old sports grounds. What a great turn out and fun event for young and old. Alongside the motorbikes, showgoers were treated to three planes and a gyrocopter landing on the Zwartberg Farmers Association airstrip to pop in at the show. What a special sight to see! Well done to the Zwartberg Cricket Club for organising such a successful event. Farmers Livestock Agents hosted the Sheep Fat Stock Show. Thank you to all the farmers who participated and FLA for all your effort! Well done to Lanie Eaglestone and Miles Williamson for walking away with the top places. Thank you to RPO KZN, De Heus, Molatek, Virbac, TWK Swartberg and Bester for your generous sponsorship. Show goers enjoyed a variety of delicious meals from all the food vendors while enjoying the live music under the trees by the talented Vernon Malyon and Shakira Biggs. Thank you to Gwyn Viljoen for doing a spectacular job on the sound and being the show commentator. Thank you to Jean Williamson, Bridget Dorning and Margie Firth for creating such a beautiful space inside the Farmer s Hall for show goers to enjoy their meals while catching up with friends. The Pony Club was up next and showed up in a big way! With everyone chomping at the bit, they started with the themed When I Grow Up Pony Parade around the arena. Show goers enjoyed seeing ponies dressed up to the nines, from a ballerina to a Checkers Sixty-60 delivery driver. After the parade the horse riders (and horses) put their game faces on for the Cross-Country Amazing Race. The horses weaved and jumped their way through the course of challenges. Thank you to all the sponsors for building such incredible jumps – Mount Fifty, Zwartberg Garage, Agrimark, Intsizwa Feeds, TWK Swartberg, Potfontein Boereperd Stud, Pleasant View and Bokfontein. Well done to Janette de Bruin and Savannah Rattray for creating such a world class event.
Next up was the TWK Swartberg Farmers Challenge, a firm favourite! Farmers put their skills and muscles to the test with a course consisting of bale rolling, launching water cups on a lever, carrying 50kg feed bags, a bull lasso and tractor pulling. The side line commentators provided as much entertainment as the participants. After a long day filled with excitement, the Swartberg Country Club opened its doors for an uproarious gathering where everyone could reminisce on the day s events. The day ended on a high note with a vetkoek dinner and live streaming of the Springboks rugby match. Thank you to the agricultural exhibitors, without you the show would not be possible. We look forward to welcoming you back next year! Zwartberg Garage, EG Tractors, Dorning Motors, AFGRI Equipment, Warrigal CC Case IH, TWK Mechanisation, Rototank Kokstad, Irritech Kokstad, Kokstad Milling, Motique Motors, MMG Ford, MMG Mahindra, Thekwini Toyota, Johnstones Isuzu, Almighty Equipment, Jedidiah Equipment, Rain Queen, Vortech Agri Drones and Lapperson Wool. A huge thank you to our sponsors, the back bone of The Zwartberg Show. We applaud your willingness to be a part of our special day, and we cannot thank you enough. Thank you to RPO KZN, Saamstaan, De Heus, Molatek, Bester, Underberg Super Spar, Virbac, Intsizwa Feeds, TWK Swartberg, Underberg Gas, Kokstad Advertiser, FLA, Mountain Country Co, Back to Basics, Pleysier Incubators, RSA Pet Couriers, Bearing & Bolt, EGIB Garrun, EG Vets, BL Meats, Voermol, TWK Kokstad, Lionel s, Mercor, Sought After Seedlings, Engitek, Bad Manor, EKO, Delta Incubators, APE, Antrovet, RumiStim, Actif and Bol n Vlieg. Thank you to all the market stalls for all your beautiful products on display, the classic car display from Cedarville, the Potjiekos Competition participants, the amazing food vendors, Struan Stanford for the bales, The Cedarville Young Farmers Pub and Swartberg School Kids Zone. We appreciate you being a part of The Zwartberg Show and our community. Last but not least, thank you to Zwartberg Security for going above and beyond to keep our show safe. Well done to Nick Hiscock and his team for all their hard work and hours put into the show. Thank you to The Zwartberg Show committee and everyone involved for making this year s event a success. And of course, thank you to the community for showing up and supporting us in such a big way. Save the date for next year – 11 September 2027. See you there!