We headed out to our first midweek County Show on Wednesday 1st and Thursday 2nd June 2022 at the Staffordshire County Show. It was also the start of a long week (well 5 days!) of trading over the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee weekend.
Wednesday 1st June
Day one was a rapid learning curve for Kyle – the site was a lot bigger than he was expecting. Being sent off on errands to find other stall holders we knew were attending took most of the morning! This did allow time to stop and grab photos of a number of exhibits and some of the livestock rings.
From a livestock/animal perspective we did manage to catch some of the youth horse riding in the main arena, sheep showing, sheep shearing competition, and Kyle saw the prize awarding in the livestock parade in the main arena. Clara missed most of these – but she did attempt to wander into the indoor Cattle ring mid-competition while looking for the toilets. Oops.
Outside the main rings we loved the effort many of the stallholders had put into their Jubilee Celebrations. From the tractor cab full of red, white and blue balloons; to the telehandlers flying union jacks there were some amazing displays. Nothing, however, could compare to the unique Massey Ferguson Platinum Jubilee Tractor. We are looking forward to seeing her again at the Newport Show in July.
We were also super surprised to discover that the falconry display was being run by K & H Falconry. The flying being done by Karsten. For those who know us well it was Karsten who provided Owlivia the barn owl who delivered our wedding rings in the church! It was lovely to have a catch up with the amazing work of T.A.P. Dogs (Facebook & Instagram). Mancub & Penny really seemed to bond as well.
Thursday 2nd June
Day Two started early (again), but with much better weather prospects. Thanks to our neighbouring trade stand (Kyle is sorry he didn’t write the name down to link here) we discovered some amazing game sausage baps for breakfast. We were also blessed with heat and sunshine! The show was a lot busier today. In fact the overflow car park overflowed causing massive traffic jams. This meant we were kept really busy and didn’t get around to as much of the show.
We did get a chance to catch some of the amazing monster truck show by the Big Pete Monster Truck Team. Seeing Big Pete himself flying 15ft through the air was truly awe inspiring. Kyle then found the indoor cattle rings that Clara tried to enter the day before and captured a couple of photos before having to rush back to the stall. This was because Clara needed to run off to join the Parade of Hounds.
All that is left to say is a massive thank you to the organising team, and to anyone who came along to see us. We will be back for the Staffordshire County Show 2023.