The annual Southern NSW Team Sorting event took place at the Crookwell Showground across Saturday, November 23, and Sunday, November 24, with numbers comparable to those from 2018.
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The competition saw riders from Yass, Braidwood, Boorowa and even Albion Park turn out.
One hundred and ninety four open teams took part in the senior competition, while 32 junior teams signed up, compared to 185 and 50 last year, respectively.
The smaller numbers in the junior competition this year opened up more space for a larger senior competition, Southern NSW Team Sorting secretary Kim Derwent said.
"[We were] a little bit down on juniors. That's why there were more spots for open riders," she said. "But [226 teams in total is] a really good, full day."
With full competitor lists on both Saturday and Sunday, Derwent said the event was "awesome ... [It went] terrific, the cattle were perfect both days," she said.
"Saturday they were exceptional, the fastest time was 1:06.94 [achieved by Wade Sephton and Jake Williams] in the opens and the junior's fastest time was 32.64 seconds [achieved by Hayley and Michael Jeffree]."
The senior team of Sephton and Williams were the fastest on both days, with Sunday's run only 0.01 second slower.
Meanwhile, in the juniors, Koby Andrews and Charlotte Stephenson were the quickest on Saturday, with a time of 34.16 seconds.
Roughly half a dozen clubs are affiliated as part of Southern NSW Team Sorting, and with each event, the number of cattle sorted is added to a tally.
Those with the highest tallies are invited to the finals, which are held at the start of November each year in Taralga.
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Because of the strong incentive for competitors to attend as many events as possible, last weekend's competition saw riders from a 160-kilometre radius turn out. "It's set up pretty well now, nearly every event is a full house," Derwent said.
Cattle for last weekend's event were provided by Ian Miller on Saturday, and the Culley family on Sunday. Derwent thanked both parties for their support.
After a hectic November schedule, competitors will have some time off over Christmas and the new year. The next event is scheduled to take place in Braidwood at the end of February.
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