The show must go on

In a changing countryside, county and agricultural shows are as popular as ever, providing a platform to showcase the best of rural life. Long may this continue, says Rupert Uloth

- Andrew Gorman

THE MAIN RING is surrounded 10 deep as the finest cows, sheep and pigs, all beautifully groomed and scrub-bed, make their way purpose-fully round this bustling arena. Itis a sight that swells the chests of farming folk with pride but is also a compelling pageant for those not born and raised in the countryside.

I have been watching this spectacle at the Royal Bath & West, which has been in existence since the mid-18th century and moved to its per-manent home in Somerset in 1965, for more than 40 years and I never tire of it. Neither, it seems, do those who regularly visit nor those who are beginning to come to shows for the first time. Indeed, dozens of county and agricultural shows of all sizes take place every year, mainly in the spring and summer, and remain impor-tant for contemporary rural Britain. It adds up to around 400 days of events. Far fewer people take part in traditional farming than they used to yet the country show is as popular as ever. The Association of Show and Agricultural Organisations estimates that 10% of the population (seven million people) attend agricultural shows on a regular basis.