Country shows have always been a big part of Michael Scott's life from a young age when he and his sister would ride their ponies from their family farm to the Port Elliot Show.
The Scott family's association goes back even further though with his grandfather exhibiting the champion bull at the Fleurieu Peninsula show in 1884.
Michael's father Eric was involved from 1925 to 1976 with horses and later Merino sheep and wool.
Michael has never missed a Port Elliot show from his first in a basket as a six month old baby to his childhood competing in the horses in action rings before joining the horse committee as a teenager.
Over the years he has also held numerous leadership positions including president which then saw him become a delegate on the Southern Shows Association as well as a couple of stints on the Ag Societies Council of SA.
Michael insists he has just been one of many hard working volunteers which have transformed Port Elliot from a relatively small show to the state's third largest with more than 14,000 patrons coming through the gates over the two days each year.
However in a nod to his lifetime of service there is even a Michael Scott Pavilion at the Port Elliot Show.
Michael says his father set a good example to him about getting involved in his local show which has driven him to "play his part".
"After World War I my father as a young man would ride his horse from Currency Creek where he was living to attend meetings at Port Elliot and often ride home in the dark and soaking rain, I always thought if I couldn't go down in an air conditioned car when he did that I was letting the side down, " he said.
MIchael has also never missed an Adelaide Show, competing in the horse sections for many years and later as a grains and fodder exhibitor. He has also been a councillor for the RAS and on the Royal Adelaide Show horse committee for more than 20 years.
All of these show experiences have prepared him for his new role as SA Country Shows president.
Michael -who has succeeded Rosie Schultz from Uraidla Show - says one of the many qualities of country shows is that they are timeless, many of the competitive classes changing very little in the past 100 or 150 years.
However he acknowledges the role of shows has changed to both promoting excellence as well as educating city people about country life and helping them connect where their food comes from.
"When I was first competing everyone had a grandfather or an uncle living on a farm they would visit so people would come up and pat my horse if I was waiting outside the ring but I have really noticed now they stand back and say look out for the horse," he said.
Michael says he has seen some great displays including at Crystal Brook, Callington and Eudunda Shows where grains are displayed along with an explanation about finished products.
The key to country shows continuing to thrive according to Michael is innovation with new classes to encourage new exhibitors and providing "something for everyone". However he says livestock must be retained as core sections on any country show program.
Successful examples of show innovation include the Politician's Cookery Challenge at the Coonalpyn Show and the revamped Keith Show with a myriad of high action events including jet boats and lawnmower racing.
"Rather than people thinking they have been to one show they have been to them all we need to have people thinking as they leave the show I wonder what they will have next year and not be able to wait," he said.
Michael says shows create a sense of pride within communities. They are also a great fundraiser for community groups.
"It is also a chance to celebrate the regions and for people to stop in the small towns and spend a day there rather than driving past."
He acknowledges many shows are finding it harder to attract volunteers but says the SA Rural Ambassador award which he helped instigate about 25 years ago during his first stint on the SA Country Shows executive has been a great success getting more young ones involved.
Michael's sons Ed and Henry have both been through the Ambassador program and gone on to be involved with the Next Generation group, while his daughter Caroline is a keen showjumping rider.
Ed is also a past Agricultural Shows Australia board member and helped develop the Soils Young Judges competition.
"I am a great believer in supporting youth as much as possible, it can be very hard for them with their further education and work commitments to find time to be involved in shows but I have worked in many multi-generational committees and these are the committees that work the best," he said.
The current SA Country Shows executive comprises six past Rural Ambassadors.
Not only does Michael want to help the state's 45 shows go from strength to strength in his three year term as president, he also has plans to re-establish some shows.
"We lost a number of shows in the late 1950s and 1960s, Mount Barker has come back with great success but McLaren Flat, Willunga and Mount Compass all used to have strong shows so I can't see why we can't get at least one going again," he said.
"Country shows really are the only place you can experience the whole of country life in one day."
