THE Dorset County Show has been hailed as one of the ‘best ever’ with ticket sales set to break the record.

Organisers estimate that around 60,000 people streamed through the gates to the annual event at Dorchester Showground, near Coker’s Frome.

Show chairman Peter Clark said: “It is the best show I have been to.

“Our ticket sales for Saturday were five per cent up on last year, so it will be a record.”

He added: “It has been a complete success, and that is down to the hard work of everyone that has been involved in it.”

With entertainment ranging from the traditional cows, sheep, pigs and horses, to monster trucks, gymnastic displays, and naturalist Christian Moullec with his flock of geese, visitors enjoyed a family friendly atmosphere.

James Rich, from Broadmayne , visited with wife Emily, and children Jazzy, five, Alfie, four, and Iris, two.

He said: “We’ve been a few times before and there’s always such a great mixture of things to do.

“It’s a really good family day out.”

Alfie added: “My favourite part was the goose man when he flew over.”

A host of top Dorset chefs also cooked up a storm as they appeared on the live demonstration stage alongside Apprentice star Nick Holzherr, who was promoting his online recipe shopping service Whisk.

Nick, who also did a demonstration with business partner Craig Edmunds, said he was impressed with the quality of the chefs’ dishes and their embracing of local produce.

He said: “It’s really interesting to find out how many different ways of using local produce there are.

“Everyone here has been using Dorset ingredients and it’s amazing the variety the county has to offer. It’s been lots of fun and I’ve learnt a huge amount.”

Rob Doney, from Zero Gravity extreme mountain biking display team, said they had been impressed with the turnout for their show and the scale of the event.

He said: “It’s been really good.

“There’s been lots of kids watching and they all loved it.

“I was really surprised to see how big the show was when we turned up. It’s really good.”

Inspector Les Fry of Dorchester Police said there had been a significant amount of congestion on Saturday around the showground but police and show organisers had done all they could to limit the tailbacks.

“The road was busy but the traffic management system worked extremely well. The show has had really great, well-behaved crowds, and there have been no problems whatsoever.”

MAIN RESULTS

  •  Beef Champion: Mr CJ and JLM Hutchings, with Kingsbrompton Endeavour
  • Dairy Champion: AJ Bennett and sons, with Lilylane Shuttle Effie 41
  •  Goat Champion: Mrs DM Davies, with Norbarton Daucus
  • Small Mountain and Moorland Pony Champion: Barry Gamblin, with Oakgrove Baz-bee

ENGLAND’S FINEST SHEEP SHEARER

CROWDS were thrilled to see a Dorset farmer win the English Sheep Shearing Championships.

The finals of the event were moved to the County Show when bad weather meant it had to be abandoned earlier in the year at the Yorkshire Show.

Winner Dean Nelmes, 22, from Warmwell, said: “It was amazing to win. The crowds were phenomenal.

“It was a big achievement for me, because it’s the first time I’ve won anything like that. Next stop is the World Championship.”