DAIRYFARMER Neville Mueller, Glenhaven stud, has a long association with the Royal Adelaide Show.
He is the third generation in his family to show there regularly, has two more generations following him and his parents met while showing at Adelaide.
Mr Mueller attended his first Royal Show when he was four months old in 1948, and he has not missed one in the 66 years since.
In that time, he has seen a lot of changes.
"My earliest memories were of judging always taking place on white sand, the rings being where the animal nursery and the antique motors are now viewed, as well as against the main arena just across from where the exhibition milking dairy now is," he said.
Where the dairy shed and rings now stand there used to be houses that were bought to extend the showground space.
To get cattle to the show was also an involved process. Exhibitors would often have to make as many as three round-trips on their little 10 to 16-foot tray farm trucks to deliver cattle and all the supplies needed for the animals cattle and themselves for 10 days.
"This caused much congestion in the showground as this was the only area in which they could unload their cattle," Mr Mueller said.
On top of this, exhibitors would often bring in cut green cereal crop daily to feed their cattle. Bulls also used to make up a number of the entries.
"One of the highlights was watching these big bulls coming roaring into the ring as they summed up their competition," Mr Mueller said.
Now dairy bulls are no longer found at the show and females have changed for the better.
"A lot of the winning females back in those days would not even make the current show team as the breeds have made wonderful progress with their breeding," Mr Mueller said.
"This is a credit to the many shows around."
He also recalled the years when many exhibitors would bring down cows that would calve at the show, maybe as many as 20 between the breeds.
"It was always very exciting for the general public to see a calf born but now it's fairly rare," he said.
Another memory dates back before the 1970s when the show would shut down on a Sunday.
"Many of us youngsters would bring our footballs and have a traditional kick-and-catch in the main arena on a Sunday," Mr Mueller said.
Through the changes, there are two things that have stayed the same throughout his long association with the Show.
"There is that desire to win champion cow - it's like winning a premiership in footy," Mr Mueller said.
The other is the friendships made in the cattle sheds and show rings.
"This has been a significant part of show life as many have been life-long relationships, as with my parents who first met at the Adelaide Show in the 1940s," he said.
In part it is these friendships that keep him going back.
This year he will take seven cows to the show, keeping up a tradition of Glenhaven showing at Adelaide which started with his parents in 1947.
His granddaughter will also take part in the junior show this year.
"This is my 67th year and it's a bit hard to break that tradition," Mr Mueller said.
"There is a lot of work to go and it is getting harder every year.
"It's something I have done all my life and I'm not prepared to give it up yet - and my grandkids tell me I'm not allowed."
Glenhaven has had some outstanding results over the years.
In the past 66 years at the Show, the stud won most of the awards on offer.
Before the 1990s, the Stock Journal Trophy was open to all livestock exhibitors, with Mr Mueller winning it twice, in 1986 and 1991.
* Full report in Stock Journal, September 11, 2014 issue.
