TITLED landowner and farmer the Earl of Malmesbury has been appointed president of the 2004 New Forest Show.

The Earl, who lives at his Greywell estate in Hampshire, also owns the Malmesbury Estate at Hurn near Christchurch and the Sydling Court estate in Dorset.

Educated at Eton and Queens College, St Andrews, he was a chartered surveyor with the firm of Austin and Wyatt before taking over the management of the family estates and inherited the title on the death of his father, the sixth Earl of Malmesbury, four years ago.

His numerous farming and countryside interests include being a governor of the Hampshire County Agricultural College at Sparsholt near Winchester, chairmanship of the Committee for Rural Hampshire, president of the Herpetological Conservation Trust and president of the South Avon and Stour Agricultural Society.

New Forest Show society chairman Geoff Morgan said: "We are delighted Lord Malmesbury agreed to accept this invitation, as he is not only highly respected across the whole country, but is also known for his commitment to the area as a whole and the New Forest Show in particular."

This year's show takes place at New Park near Brockenhurst for three days from Tuesday July 27 with a number of improvements funded by a record £150,000 profit achieved from last year's event, despite wet weather.

And provision of wet weather tracks to avoid a repeat of the mud bath conditions in 2003 is one of the first priorities.

Buoyed by the success of last year and the security of a 25-year lease on the showground, organisers are confident of another bumper show this summer with the band of the Royal Marines, Shetland Grand National and sheep dog displays among the main ring attractions.