It was one of two local events to win an award during the ceremony, with Murray River Council’s Moama Lights 2021 winning bronze in the same category.
Deni Play on the Plains Festival Inc general manager Vicky Lowry said with no opportunity to showcase the last in-person Ute Muster before now, the parameters of the awards category allowed them to pay tribute to such a great event.
‘‘It was so special (to win), especially when we have not been able to hold a Ute Muster for the last two years,’’ Mrs Lowry said.
‘‘Our 2019 Muster was such a great event — one of our biggest — and then COVID came.
‘‘It not only stopped events, but also stopped the awards nights.
‘‘It is great to finally acknowledge everything everyone had done to put on such a great event — from the community to those within our organisation.
‘‘It’s a great boost for the town, and for the morale of staff.’’
The 2019 Deni Ute Muster — the 21st birthday event — attracted about 20,000 people to the dusty plains off Conargo Rd, and saw one of the event’s two records fall.
A new Guinness World Record for the blue singlet count was set when 3972 people wearing the iconic blue singlet crowded the official count arena — 13 more than the previous record.
The Ute Paddock accommodated 8591 utes, which was shy of the record of 9736 set in 2013.
Headlining the 2019 event was American country music star Tim McGraw, with Lee Kernaghan, John Williamson, Beccy Cole, Ross Wilson, Travis Collins, Adam Harvey, Sunny Cowgirls, Ben Ransom, Aleyce Simmonds, Round Mountain Girls and Mustered Courage rounding out the evening entertainment line up.
And the around the grounds entertainment was as action packed as ever.
‘‘Even if we had been able to go ahead with events as normal in 2020 and 2021, nothing would have taken away from 2019,’’ Mrs Lowry said.
‘‘The awards submission process is a great opportunity to reflect on what you’ve done before, and we really did do a lot for 2019.’’
While the Ute Muster is not new to tourism awards gold, Mrs Lowry said it has been some time since the event took out the top gong.
‘‘We are Hall of Famers (awarded after three gold awards), but we’ve not had a state gold medal for the Ute Muster since 2012.
‘‘It was the same year we also won the Australian award.
‘‘We have won both silver and bronze since, but to win gold again is a great feeling.’’
Representatives of the event had planned to travel to Sydney for last week’s awards ceremony, until COVID-19 concerns forced organisers to defer to a virtual presentation instead.
But Mrs Lowry said it gave way for a far more inclusive local celebration.
‘‘We had our own awards night at Muster HQ, which allowed all staff, board members and our families to come together.
‘‘We watched the awards presentation on a big screen.’’
As the winner of the NSW Festival and Events category, the Deni Ute Muster is automatically a finalist in the QANTAS Australian Tourism Awards.
The ceremony is scheduled to be held on the Sunshine Coast on March 18.
This year’s Deni Ute Muster will be held Friday, September 30 and Saturday, October 1.
In addition to the usual around the grounds entertainment, there will be another huge line up of music headlined by Amercian country music star Brad Paisley and Australian singer-songwriter Jessica Mauboy.
For more details or tickets visit www.deniutemuster.com.au.
