Show week
Christchurch during spring, does it get any better? The city is ON SHOW right now and life is good.
The New Zealand Agricultural Show
9-11 November 2022
A&P Shows are a time-honoured way to bring together town and country, and bridge the infamous rural-urban divide. They provide an opportunity for New Zealanders to get up close and personal with world-class agricultural technology and produce, all while paying homage to the rural traditions that make up the backbone of this country.
The granddaddy of them all is the NZ Agricultural Show. Harking all the way back to 1863 (not long after the first European settlers arrived in Ōtautahi), the show is run by the Canterbury A&P Association, and attracts around 100,000 people over its three days.
This is your chance to get up close to a huge variety of animals, all the finest examples of their breed, while enjoying a cracker of a day out. Get there on Friday’s Anniversary Day to experience the show at its busiest and best.
New Zealand Cup Week at Riccarton Park
5,9,12 November 2022
Racing at the New Zealand Cup started 10 years BEFORE the telephone was invented. So, any doubts about the heritage and importance of this race are out the window. One of the main events of the season is the New Zealand Cup, run since 1865 at Riccarton Park.
As opposed to the trots at Addington, the New Zealand Cup at Riccarton Park is run by jockey-mounted thoroughbred horses. It’s fast-paced, massively spectator friendly, and Riccarton Park is a stunning venue for it. Mature trees and a park-like setting and wide open spaces.
All three days provide spectacular racing culminating on the 12th with the biggest crowd of the week providing a wonderful finale.
Addington Cup Week at Addington Raceway
8-11 November 2022
Is this the biggest annual social event in New Zealand? It would be chalenging to find another with as much history and prestige at Addington Raceway’s Cup Week. Peaking with Tuesday’s IRT New Zealand Trotting Cup, tens of thousands have gathered at the closest racecourse to the central city every year since 1904.
There’s a palpable excitement around the complex during this standardbred horseracing event, expected to reach fever pitch in a post-Covid world desperate for a return to normality and nostalgia. As much about glitz and glamour as it’s about horse racing, days at the course don’t get any larger than this. With plenty to entertain everyone, from trotting afficionados to those who never set eyes on the track. If the boss won’t let you skite off on a Tuesday, Friday’s Show Day races are the ones for you.
