"It was a fabulous weekend," vice president Melissa West said.

"The weather was perfect, it was the biggest weekend we've ever had in terms of competitors and numbers of runs, so we couldn't have asked for a better way to finish off a rather long and eventful series."

Long and eventful is not an understatement: the series actually began in 2021 but was pushed out by COVID lockdowns, heavy rains and eventually major flooding.

The plan was always for a three-event series wrapping up with a proper celebration and presentation of sponsors' buckles and rugs, West said.

"We were really keen to get it done for everyone who kept coming back and supporting us over those three years - with all the challenges thrown in between - we were very grateful for that," she said.

The finale was better than they could have imagined, the club's biggest event yet having to start on the Friday to fit all the riders and events in.

They came from as far afield as the Queensland border and Tasmania, the east coast to the Hunter Valley. Of course, many riders come from our region.

"Our littlies are starting as young as seven, right up until people in their 80s, you've got mums and daughters, dads and sons, brothers and sisters all coming together," West said.

She extended the club's thanks to all the volunteers, competitors, spectators, committee members, RSNCA affiliate clubs and helpers in the background.

Thanks also to sponsors including Lachlan Valley Chaff Co #2 and the Frazer Family, for the donation of bags of Lucerne Chaff for first prize; Tammy Nugent and Wello HS Laser with custom designed ribbon holders for junior competitors in the Ranch Hand class.

A highlight of the weekend was the youth-driven dress up night and challenge.

"It brought everyone together. We had a lot of comments from people," West said.

"In Forbes you meet everyone, you sit down around a campfire and talk to everyone, so everyone really enjoyed their time."

The club's next major event will be from August 11 to 13, but some of our riders' now turn their focus to Nationals in Dubbo in early June.

West also noticed significant local interest around the competition weekend, and says the club will look to give more people a chance to try ranch sorting.

"We had a lot of locals come and have a look so we're hoping to run a practice day in between somewhere as well, aiming it at our locals and younger riders if they want to give it a go," West said.

The Forbes Ranch Sorting and Penning Facebook page is the best way to keep up to date with what's happening.

Our series champions are:

Youth classes sponsored by Forbes Livestock Agency

Youth 12 and under: 1st Clancy Henderson; 2nd Kyanna Dargin; 3rd Kalvin Dargin.

Youth 13-18 years: 1st Bella Davie (Forbes); 2nd Mia Henderson; 3^rd Ella White (Forbes).

Masters - Sponsored by the Forbes In Hotel Motel

1st Beth Camilleri; 2nd John Camilleri; 3rd Adam Cleary.

Western Heritage classes sponsored by Forbes Sporting and Penning Club

WH 3 & under: 1st Cindy Henderson; 2nd Darryl Stone; 3rd Melissa West (Forbes).

WH Open: 1st John Camilleri; 2nd Ben Lawrence; 3rd Dawn Barwick.

Beginners (Sponsored by Mount Pleasant Limousin Stud)

1st Vanessa Herbert; 2nd Dave Nash (Forbes); 3rd Kay Markwort (Forbes).

Rookie (Sponsored by Lawson Grain)

1st John Hanley (Forbes); 2nd Tammy Nugent; 3rd Orlana Butt (Forbes).

Novice Sponsored by Dan Ball Transport

1st Molly Fuge (Forbes); 2nd Brenda Sinclair; 3rd Mark Schipp.

Amateur Sponsored by Midpro Engineering

1st Lonnie Henderson; 2nd David Nell; 3rd Beth Camilleri.

Open Sponsored by Hanley Excavation and Road Services

1st John Camilleri; 2nd Ben Lawrence; 3rd Cody Barwick

Weekend results below:

Friday

WH #6 (#3 and under): 1st - Billy Nell and Darryl Stone; 2nd - Darryl Stone and Sherrie Whitty (Forbes); 3rd - Joey Jones and Jason Jones; 4th - Kate LeBrocque and Cindy-lee Townsend (Forbes); 5th - D'Arcy Jones and Jo Garay.

WH AL #HC: 1st - Melissa West (Forbes) and Dawn Barwick; 2nd - Natalie Mihalic (Forbes) and Sherrie Whitty (Forbes); 3rd - Brad Shields and Joey Jones; 4th - John Camilleri and D'Arcy Jones; 5th - Brad Shields and Sherrie Whitty (Forbes).

Saturday

All Levels #HC: 1st - John Camilleri and Brad Shields; 2nd - Lonnie Henderson and Cody Barwick; 3rd - Ben Lawrence and Lonnie Henderson; 4th - Molly Fuge (Forbes) and David Lloyd; 5th - Billy Nell and David Nell.

Masters #10 HC: 1st - Lawrence Briggs and Dave Nash (Forbes); 2nd - Jason Jones and Dawn Barwick; 3rd - Shane Davie (F) and Deanna Johnston; 4th - John Camilleri and Jason Jones; 5th - Beth Camilleri and Adam Clearly.

#4 Non- Handicap: 1st - Tammy Nugent and Rebecca Dance; 2nd - Kay Markwort (Forbes) and Carmen Nash (Forbes); 3rd - Clancy Henderson and James Dixon; 4th - Darryl Stone and Emily Molloy (Forbes); 5th - Josh Fardell and Leigh Coster.

#8 HC: 1st - Bella Davie (F) and Tammy Nugent; 2nd - Ben Lawrence and Vanessa Herbert; 3rd - Bella Davie (Forbes) and Ella White (Forbes); 4th - Melissa West (Forbes) and Deanna Johnstone; 5th - D'Arcy Jones and Lily Henderson.

Sunday

AL #HC: 1st - Clancy Henderson and Mia Henderson; 2nd - Brad Shields and Clancy Henderson; 3rd - Millah Frost and John Hanley (Forbes); 4th - Shane Davie (Forbes) and Mary Monds; 5th - Emily Molloy and Geena Molloy.

Youth #10 Beginner Ranch Hand HC: 1st - Ngari Walsh (Forbes); 2nd - Daniel Mezes; 3rd - Daniel Mezes; 4th - Ngari Walsh (Forbes); 5th - Mikayla Jackson.

#2 Beginner Non-HC: 1st - Kate LeBrocque and Ngari Walsh (Forbes); 2nd - Kate Markwort and Kate LeBrocque; 3rd - Ngari Walsh (Forbes) and Cindy-Lee Townsend (Forbes); 4th - John Byrne and Cindy-Lee Townsend (Forbes); 5th - Ngari Walsh (Forbes) and Dave Nash (Forbes).

#10 HC: 1st - John Camilleri and Orlana Butt (Forbes); 2nd - Beth Camillieri and Brad Shields; 3nd - Brenda Sinclair (Forbes) and Molly Fuge (Forbes); 4th - D'Arcy Jones and Orlana Butt (Forbes); 5th - Millah Frost and David Nell