2016 Deni Ute Muster draws 20,000

The splatters were knee-high on the nearly 20,000 revellers at the 18^th event, but the conditions only made for all the more antics in the lanes of the ute paddocks.

While the weather meant the annual world-record attempt took a hit –  the blue single count of 2187 fell short of last year’s 3959 – muster general manager Kate Pitt said the grey sky proved to be no dampener.

“We’ve got muddy boots, but big smiles on our faces,” she said.

“The farmers will be here with their tractors, the council has been incredibly supportive and we have the most amazing site crew – every time we've needed to get someone out of a bog they’ve been there.

“There was not a spare campsite, there hasn’t been since Friday lunchtime.”

Ms Pitt said country singer Keith Urban had been a major drawcard.

“He’s the act people have been asking for for basically 18 years and he’s truly up there with the best artists we've had at the muster,” she said.

Many event favourites made a return – including the wood-chopping competition, show ‘n shine and seasoned musical acts such as Adam Brand, but the Brophy Bros Circus offered a new attraction.

“We have a range of family events and I think that sets us apart,” Ms Pitt said.

“We know around about $14 million annually rolls into our region with the muster.

“The people working here are community and sporting groups – we engage them at the festival and it does support he community.”

The Deniliquin High School was one such group – a gold coin donation to receive a breath test raised money for its driver education program.

Maths teacher Dominique Jansen said police believed the program had reduced road accidents across the district.

“Year 10 students go and do different activities – a mock accident with all the emergency services, first aid, and they also go to jail and the morgue,” she said.

“Last year we raised $4400 just through gold coin donations.

“We usually get many people on the Sunday morning.”

Friday night was the biggest for many revellers – including Melbourne’s Joel Cooley, who had his 15 minutes of fame.

“Yesterday we were having a few cans and a laugh about four in the afternoon and one the girls said, ‘I’ll give you a Jack Daniels if you do a nudie run’,” he said.

“I ran through the aisle in front of 60 or 70 people.

“It got on the Deni Ute Muster event with over 2000 likes and 700 comments before it was deleted.

“By the time they saw it, I was already famous.”