Thanks to the weather holding out, crowds in excess of 50,000 visited the Newark and Nottinghamshire County Show over the weekend of 12th – 13th May 2012. One of the highlights was the Smyth`s Adrenaline Tour motorcycle and stunt display, which gave performances on both days of the show.
This was the 129th show, with the event continuing to grow in popularity year after year. As always, the main ring which held the motorbike and quad stunt show was packed, being the main attraction. Along with the quad bikes stunt team, J.C. Balls Dancing Diggers was also a huge hit.
Another traditional event at the show was the Grand Parade, which saw champion livestock parading around on the Sunday. Entrants to the show have grown each year and in the horse class entries have doubled over the last three years. In the heavy horse category there were 120 horses entered, whilst in the show jumping category 1,200 plus participants took part with their horses. The show jumping attracted a large crowd on the Sunday thanks to the Mattie Brown Stakes, with the lucky winner taking a prize fund of £10,000.
There was fun for the youngers by way of a fairground and water balloons, with competitions held including floral and farrier, chainsaw carvings and the shearing of sheep. As always, there was plenty of food available courtesy of the many food halls and other events, including the Blankney and South Notts hunts and the heavy horses.