GLORIOUS sunshine greeted the return of livestock to Okehampton Show last Thursday.
Huge crowds flocked to the Stoney Park Showfield to enjoy the fantastic atmosphere at the 98th Okehampton Show, which welcomed back livestock after a three-year absence following the foot and mouth outbreak.
The cattle rings drew large crowds during the morning with everyone pleased to see the animals back where they belong ? as the true stars of the biggest agricultural show in West Devon.
This year?s show president, TV and radio personality Noel Edmonds, was taking credit for the perfect weather conditions. ?I said if you give me this honour, I promise it will be 27C, blue skies and light breeze, and I have been proved right with this fantastic weather,? he said.
Noel, who lives at Jacobstowe, said it was a ?great honour? to have been asked to be president of the show, with which he had a long association. ?When I first came to the show as a nine-year-old boy, how could I ever have imagined that one day I could be president?
?I am an Essex boy but I feel more at home here than anywhere else,? he said.
Noel, who toured the showfield sporting a panama hat, told the crowd gathered round the main arena for the official opening: ?Okehampton is an exciting town. The whole community has got a really positive confidence. I honestly believe you could not be in a better place in the world today than here at this show.?
Noel?s day at the show was cut short as he had to rush to Plymouth to take to the airwaves and present the BBC Radio 2 drivetime show. He is currently standing in for Johnnie Walker on the show for two months, while the DJ undergoes treatment for cancer.
Indeed, Noel spend a good part of his programme telling listeners across the nation what a wonderful day he had enjoyed at Okehampton Show!
Noel?s wife Helen presented the trophies in the grand parade of prizewinners in the main ring. Mrs Edmonds was presented with a bouquet of flowers by Amy Chapman.
Show secretary Gilly Oliver was delighted with the success of the show: ?Gate estimates suggest this has been the most successful show Okehampton has ever had. There were large numbers of people who had travelled quite a long distance to be at the show.
?The weather was absolutely fantastic. I don?t think it could have been any better. It really was quite beautiful. Various people who had not been before were commenting on how spectacular the site is with the backdrop of the moor,? she said.
?We were very pleased to see livestock back at the show again, and we had a splendid turnout for the grand parade.?
Gilly said the Devon Food Hall, introduced last year, was again a big success, showcasing the finest quality local produce.
Show co-chairman Bill Voaden echoed the sentiment that this year?s show had been one of the best ever.
?I would think it must have been a record crowd,? he said.
?Everything was just right for the day, the weather was ideal and having livestock back after two years was a big draw.?
Mr Voaden said entries had been up in most show categories, although the number of pigs being exhibited was slightly down.
In the members? marquee, an exhibition of large farmyard paintings by North Devon artist Shan Miller was on display. Shan, whose paintings featured local farmers and their animals, said she was pleased to see livestock, in the flesh, back at the show once again.
Among the attractions on the trade stalls throughout the day was a Drive Safe test machine being operated in partnership between Devon County, the Police and Specsavers. More than 150 members of the public visited the stall to test their reaction times and learn more about driving safely.
Meanwhile on the West Devon Borough Council stall, a bird box-making workshop for youngsters was proving so popular, all the bird box kits had run out by mid-afternoon.
Steve Avenell of the Tavistock Conservation Project, said: ?It has been going really well. The kids have loved it, but it is also about telling young people more about feeding birds and looking after them.?