Midwest Times

The small town of Mingenew swelled to almost double its size on Saturday when it staged its annual race day, which was filled with a capacity crowd, colourful fashion, family-friendly fun — and some horses running around the track.The majority of the town’s population turned out for the Mingenew Cup at the local turf club, while there were plenty of visitors too with accommodation at the hotel-motel and caravan park booked out. A capacity crowd of 500 hit the racetrack in a town with a usual population of about 282, according to the 2016 Census.The biggest day out on Mingenew’s calendar offered visitors the chance to visit a purely agricultural community, which received more grain than any other inland area in the southern hemisphere. Fashions on the Field was won by Christy Poulsen, with runners-up Fiona Cosgrove and Jessica Kirkland.FOTF organiser Aimee Holmes said 16 women participated in the competition at the weekend, which was slightly down on previous years, while 32 kids competed in the children’s fashion contest.She said the day was blessed with an amazing crowd and fine weather.“Fashions on the Field is very much about following your heart, rather than all the trends. You should put on something you love, wear it with pride and follow your own personal style,” she said.“Technically, we are an autumn (competition) which makes it a bit tricky to dress according to the season because the weather is still warm. But everyone had a great time, a lot of people came for a real fun time.”The big winner on the track was favourite, six-year-old mare Plead The Fifth, who took out the Mingenew Cup ridden by Natasha Faithfull and trained by Catherine Godden.The town’s next big event on its calendar is the Mingenew Expo, due to run later this year and coincide with the peak of the popular wildflower season. Credit: Justine Rowe/Claire Holmes, 5, at the Mingenew Races.