The 40th birthday of the South of England Agricultural Society went with a big bang as thousands flocked to the 2007 South of England Show.
Visitor numbers were up by an impressive 6,590 on last year, with 79,747 show-goers across the three days.
Themed as "The Year of the Cow", cattle also turned out in force and reached a 12 year high. Particularly in evidence were the distinctive Sussex – our indigenous breed, leading the daily cattle parade with pride.
Food was firmly in focus with the launch of the Society's Local Food Initiative and the Sussex Food & Drink Awards. School children from St Peter's Primary in Ardingly dressed in costumes depicting traditional food sellers to welcome HRH Princess Alexandra to the opening ceremony. The Princess toured many of the rural attractions including goats, sheep and pigs, farming and wildlife, the flower marquee. She particularly relished the Regional Food and English Wine Pavilion where she commented on the wonderful diversity of the produce.
During the Royal tour, the Princess presented the Award of Honour to Tim Kenny from Dorking, the Long Service Awards to John Cherriman of Ote Hall Farm in Wivelsfield and Michael Martin of Lee Farm in Littlehampton. The Princess also presented the Outstanding Service Awards to a number of dedicated stewards.
As ever, the Young Craftsman of the Year Competition proved hugely popular – this year first prize was scooped by 18-year-old Scarlet Tull from Burgess Hill School for Girls with her 1920's style beaded dress.
Another popular attraction were the chickens and ducks in the Fur & Feather marquee, whose presence at the Show was put in jeopardy by a DEFRA ban, retracted just two days before.
Meanwhile, love was in the air for a member of the White Helmets Motorcycle Display Team and his girlfriend. After an awe-inspiring display in the main ring Gary Stewart took the microphone and asked Karen Walker to marry him – thankfully she accepted and the crowd gave an approving cheer.
Chairman of the South of England Agricultural Society David Allam said: "From the point of view of agriculture in the South East, this show has been a great success. Once again we have wonderful stock entries which is excellent in a time of agricultural recession. The calibre of the ring events was remarkably high thanks to a combination of weather factors and good preparation."
"As a 40th birthday party for the Society it has been a magnificent celebration bringing together the family of people who make up the countryside heritage of the South East. They have supported our show in great numbers and this is testament to the valuable work of our registered charity and its hundreds of hard working volunteers."
