The Farmers Mart Aug-Sep 2018 - Issue 58 | Page 24

24 EVENTS
AUG/SEP 2018 • farmers-mart.co.uk
LINCOLNSHIRE
SHOW REVIEW
It was the 134th Lincolnshire show in
June, and this year the theme was a
special RAF 100 2018, celebrating 100
years history of the Royal Air Force.
THE Lincolnshire Show is organ-
ised by the Lincolnshire Agricul-
tural Society, a registered charity
whose aims are to educate about
food, farming and the country-
side.
The Lincolnshire Show attract-
ed 60,000 visitors across the
two-day event.
Aimed at all ages, the Show
hosted several exciting animal
displays, daring stunts and lively
music in the Main Ring, as well
as offering visitors the chance
to explore cockpits, meet local
aviation heritage centres and try
Ferry Ales Brewery’s special Bas-
tian Ale in the dedicated Aviation
Zone.
Visitors were able to satisfy
their shopping habit by visiting
more than 600 trade stands
offering everything from clothes,
jewellery and shoes to cars,
lawnmowers and hot tubs as
well as take home beautiful floral
displays from the flower show.
For foodies, Lincolnshire pro-
ducers showcased the very best
of their wares, with national and
international specialities on offer
as well as live cookery demon-
strations from top local chefs and
producers in The Lincolnshire
Kitchen.
This year was my (editor) first
year attending the show, and I was
over whelmed by how big then
show was. I only attended one
of the two days and looking back
realised I probably didn’t get to see
everything, and I suspect even if I’d
attended both days there would
have been something I missed.
My first port of call was the
livestock areas, where I wandered
around the sheep and cattle pens.
I was particularly taken with the
Lincoln Longwool breed, so much
so we’ve featured them in this is-
sue. There was a good selection of
different breeds from across the
region in the livestock areas.
I also stopped by the equine
rings to watch some of the show
jumping, in the Working Hunter
Ponies category. I’ve always en-
joyed watching show jumping as it
was something I did growing up in
Devon and Cornwall.
I then wandered around the agri-
cultural stands displaying the latest in
farm machinery and stumbled onto
a section devoted to classic cars,
military vehicles and classic tractors.
Now I’ve always been a sucker for a
classic, and it was nice to see such a
variety of vehicles on display, includ-
ing several motorbikes.
After wandering across to the
steam engines, walking past the
US Airborne re-enactors, I came
across the area dedicated to the
RAF, with a Red Arrow on display.
It was good to see the show
celebrating 100 years of the RAF,
as well as 100 years since the end
of World War 1, which forms an
integral part of Lincolnshire’s rich
history. There was a fly over by
the Red Arrows, and a parachute
display by the RAF Falcons. Along
with stands, and several aircraft
cockpits to explore.
By this time, I was rather fam-
ished and need some sustenance,
it was time for a bite to eat and a
cup of coffee. There was plenty
to choose from so much, so I
had a hard time deciding what to
eat, so I went for Oriental Duck
wrap, washed down with a mug
of caffeine. I then stopped by
the countryside ring to watch
the United Retrievers in action,
whether it’s working dogs or
agility dog courses they’re always
great fun to watch.
I then headed across to watch
the farrier in action, there was the
134th Lincolnshire County Show
Horseshoeing and Shoemaking
competition going on which was
fascinating to watch. The category
I watched was the Class 4 – Two
Person Sports Horse Shoeing.
Each team was required to make
3 shoes. The teams were required
to shoe one side of a horse (front
and hind) from Fullered Concave
steel bars. Shoes for the feet had
to possess two stud holes in each
shoe, punched and tapped by
the competitors. All of this had to
completed in a time of 65 minutes.
It was a great display of craftman-
ship and tradition.
I headed back up to the
livestock rings to watch some of
the afternoon judging, though I
stopped in at the poultry tent to
take a gander at the poultry on
display, in the top corner of the
tent there were also some rabbits
on display, with some of them on
sale, I nearly walked out with a
new rabbit, but the one I wanted
wasn’t for sale, probably a good
thing as I’m not sure the other
half would appreciate another
house rabbit. Finally, I stopped
at the livestock rings to watch
some of the judging of cattle and
sheep.
I have to say it was a thorough-
ly enjoyable day, and as I said
earlier I think I needed both days
to see everything, there was
plenty to see and do. Including
a plethora of trade stall selling a
wide range of goods, everything
from footwear through to kitchen
utensils. One of the highlights of
the show was the Red Arrows
display, can’t beat jets screaming
past over head with multi-colour
trails behind them.
www.lincolnshireshow.co.uk