Thousands attend Shropshire County Show

Thousands of people turned out for the second Shropshire County Show to enjoy a wealth of exhibits and attractions despite rain and overcast weather.

The two-day extravaganza took place at the Berwick Road Showground in Shrewsbury on Saturday and yesterday with a large number of people flooding through the gates.

The show, which was first launched last year and replaced the former West Mid Show, featured a jam-packed programme of events and attractions.

Most of the crowd at this year's event looked happy enjoying the celebration of rural life but one visitor was not in the mood for fun.

For poor Georgia the pig had an unfortunate mishap on her journey to the showground from the farm where she lives in Llanidloes.

Her owners Richard and Fiona Powell and their family loaded up their pigs including Georgia and her 14 piglets for the 46-mile trip but when they got to the show they realised the Pedigree Welsh pig had somehow managed to get her tail trapped in the trailer.

Mrs Powell said after opening the doors it was revealed Georgia had lost part of her tail. They started to travel home but decided to do a U-turn after learning that an on-site vet would be able to patch her up.

The two-year-old sow was given an injection and her tail was bandaged up enabling her to stay at the show for the weekend.

Mrs Powell said: "There are flaps on the side of the trailer and because it's aluminium she stuck her tail through the flaps but somehow got it trapped.

"She was given an injection and bandaged up and now she's fine but she's been in a filthy mood."

In the sheep arena, a family of cattle farmers from Shrewsbury chose to exhibit an animal close to their hearts this year — their prize pet lamb Pandora.

Farmer Brian Lewis and his sons Peter and Ron Lewis, from Sundorne Farm in Uffington, near Shrewsbury, have been farming cattle for more than 64 years. Originally a dairy farm, the family now deals only in beef.

Brian agreed to branch out and buy Pandora, a one-year-old Dorset Downs yew, at the request of his grandchildren Georgia, 12, Joshua, 16, Jessica, 19, and Becky, 15. The whole family has now become so attached to the rare breed animal, they no longer eat lamb.

The protective owners even made the lucky sheep a personalised coat during the freezing spell in January, to keep her out of harm's way.

Peter said: "Breeding sheep is something completely new for us. The kids all love Pandora — she's become part of the family. My wife made her a coat with her name on it and it's quite a fashion statement."

Members of The Young Farmers Club enticed visitors into their marquee with a miniature Shetland pony called Catherine who was born on the Royal Wedding day.

The two-foot-tall pony was delivered at Home Farm in Attingham, near Shrewsbury, which is run by the young farmers's chairman Ben Dixon.

Megan Jones, county organiser, said the organisation had received a "huge" number of "quality" entries into this year's Best of British competitions with cookery, craft and flower sections.

Club members also took to the main ring to entertain crowds with an "It's a Knockout" themed event and a competition to see how many people they could fit in a Mini.

Sarah Cope, of the Whitchurch Young Farmers, took to the parade ring with fellow members on a Beatles-inspired float yesterday.

She said: "The young farmers had one of the best marquees in the showground and there were loads of great activities going on."

Offering a gentle touch at this year's show was Natural Balance Complementary Therapies who were providing free massages to visitors.

They have a base in Bayston Hill, near Shrewsbury, and also at Guilsfield, Welshpool.

Tessa Kirk, business owner, said it was its first year at the show.

Angela Dunning, completed the team in the massage tent to promote her Equine Reflection business. Her sessions involve interacting with horses to explore how people approach relationships and learn innovative techniques to gain self-awareness.

A fresh face at this year's show was Dan Thurston, who has only just launched his new company, The Real Mash Co, based at High Ercall.

Mr Thurston has been putting his own spin on the humble mashed potato by giving it flavours such as leek and thyme, root mash, black pudding and rosemary and garlic.

Many visitors were lapping up the potato with samples being handed out in the food tent at the show.

Shrewsbury town crier Martin Wood, who helped open the event on Saturday, said that he believed the show could return to the halcyon days of the West Mid Show within two years.

Mr Wood, who at 7ft 2ins tall is the world's tallest town crier, said: "They have got a lot of stalls here this year and I think it's going to carry on getting bigger and bigger.

"Shows like this are the backbone for Shrewsbury and it helps put it on the map. People come here from all over the country and long may it continue to be part of Shrewsbury's tradition."

The man in charge of ensuring the show gets financial backing from Shropshire businesses has claimed a decision to revert the show date back to May has been a stroke of genius.

Chris Jarrett, sponsorship co-ordinator, said: "I came into the job in January. The reason the show moved from June to May was the fact they aren't now clashing with any other shows.

"We're now one of the early ones so people like to come and put up trade stands," he added.

"My main brief has been to bring in extra sponsorship and the support from local businesses has been fantastic.

"It won't be a quick fix but a case of building up everybody's confidence and I think next year will be even bigger and better than this one."

By Russell Roberts, Sam Pinnington and Chris Burn