ORGANISERS of the 99th annual Thornton-le-Dale Show said the event continues to be a fantastic part of country life.

The show, which took place last Wednesday on the village showfield, included classes in cattle, sheep, horses, goats and pigs, as well as fur and feather.

Also on display was a wide range of horticulture and crafts, along with a variety of children’s sections.

With crowds flocking to the event from early morning, show chairman Martin Blythe said it had been a perfect day and another successful show.

“The weather has been excellent with sunny skies and a breeze, which is ideal for the animals, while warm enough for people to sit outside,” he said.

“We appear to have more visitors than ever as people love to come to the show.

“Last year’s show was a very different one following all the rain, but we seem to be back to normal with a good crowd and everyone looking very happy.”

Martin said the standard across all sections had been very high, with a good number of entries.

He said: “We have had an amazing number of entries in the craft and produce tents, which reflects the country show element and we could have done with an extra large tent for it all to go in.

“People also like to come here to show their animals and the showcase really does reflect the best of British farming. This is a lot of what we are about – to preserve the country way of life and provide an enjoyable show.”

Martin said they also had a lot of children’s classes to encourage younger people to get involved with country shows.

“One of the aims is that they will come here and have an enjoyable day which gets them into showing their animals and hopefully carry on to other shows,” he said.

Martin, who has been show chairman for 28 years, said he always enjoyed the show.

“I expected to be chairman for a couple of years but I’m still here now,” he said. “The show has grown over the years and it does take a lot of work but we have a very good committee.”

Martin said visitor numbers were expected to be between 12,000 to 15,000.

“We always get a good crowd as there is so much to do all day and well into the evening when the show continues with sports, showjumping and fancy dress.”

He added: “Entrants in the renowned open sheepdog trial include a number of national championship contestants, many of whom feature in the television programme One Man And His Dog and more recently Countryfile.

“Thornton-le-Dale Show is not only one of the high spots in the annual calendar for locals, but it also acts as the focal point for our many friends throughout the country, and indeed further afield, who return year after year to renew acquaintances on show day. The show is a fantastic part of country life.”