Elmore Tractor Pull co-organiser Grant Shawcross summed it up succinctly: "It was a bloody big show."
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The fundraiser at Elmore Events Centre on Saturday evening attracted a crowd of about 4000 people who watched 27 modified tractors pull weighted sleds along a 100-metre dirt track.
It was aimed to raise funds for St Joseph's Primary School, Rochester and the school community teamed up with the Elmore Field Days committee and Down Under Modified Tractor Pulling Association to make it happen.
St Joseph's principal Liz Trewick said the event surpassed all expectations.
"We were absolutely thrilled the Elmore Events Centre worked with us on this," Mrs Trewick said.
"One group had the vision and one group had the facilities and know-how and it was a recipe for success."
Mrs Trewick said the feedback from the night described the atmosphere as "electric, epic and fantastic".
"It sounded like the crowd involvement was really inclusive," she said.
"I met a few of the Down Under tractor guys and they are really down to earth, who live on the land and have an outlet with tractors and machinery."
Mrs Trewick said the event's success was due to a lot of community members working together.
"There was a group of parents who were passionate to have this up and running and they formed a committee which met diligently for six or seven months," she said.
"Our students and school community will be the beneficiaries of a lot of hard work.
"This one event has set us up for the year. It means there are a lot of cake stalls we don't have to run.
"It was a fundraiser we never expected to do but it has now given lots of options for students and teachers to have a wishlist."
Mrs Trewick said on that wishlist were many school resources and facilities in need of upgrading which had become run down the past two years as the COVID-19 pandemic restricted any work.
"The spaces that need upgrades is all about the students," Mrs Trewick said.
"They're spaces where voice is important to hear what students would like, what the staff needs and what the parents' vision is for the school, what direction the school wants to head in to make it a place people want to come to in the future."
The Elmore Tractor Pull is set to become an annual fundraiser with organisers having learnt a lot from the inaugural event.
"We are very grateful for the sponsors, both financial and in-kind," Mrs Trewick said.
"I'd like to congratulate the hard-working parents who had the vision and the Elmore Events Committee who believed in that vision to make it work."
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