IT’S been part of the fabric of rural life in North Yorkshire for the best part of a century – and once again it’s been a runaway success.

Thousands of visitors gathered at the 89th annual Thornton-le-Dale show, near Pickering, to take a look at a huge variety of produce stalls and livestock displays.

This year’s programme also included motorcycle stunt shows, showjumping, a children’s tug’o’war competition, a bale-tossing contest and falconry, sheepdog and gun dog exhibitions. In recent years, the event at the village’s showfield has attracted about 16,000 visitors, but Martin Blythe, chairman of the Thornton-le-Dale Show And Sports Society, expected the attendance figure this time to be even higher.

“It’s a real highlight of the village year and it’s such a friendly, traditional show which brings everybody together – that’s the secret of its success,” he said.

“People who have moved away from the area come back for it and you see some old faces again.

“It takes an awful lot of organising and we’re already starting work on next year’s show, but it’s all worth it.

“We also look to put any profit we make from the event back into the community through various sponsorship and supporting the local school and churches, and we’re delighted everything’s gone extremely well again this year.”