The tantrum-prone 2023 weather gods were kind, and the sun actually shone on Turnpike Showground.
From early morning the cattle and sheep lines were busy, the showing areas constantly moving as the important work of finding show champions got underway.
The car parks swiftly filled as visitors flooded into the ground – and they certainly weren’t disappointed! The Shetland Pony Racing was a delight, the Jamie Squibb Freestyle Motocross was addictive (and so so high 
), the Lightning Bolts Army Parachute display team, the Grand Parade … it was tricky to pull away from the big attractions in the Gritchie Brewing Co Main Ring!
But there was so much else to see and do.
In the Wool Village the first ever G&S Sheep Shearing Compeititon was an absolute hit – brilliantly entertaining, with the huge crowd it drew laughing and ooh-ing (and gasping at the unexpected jumping sheep!) while managing to learn a few things about sheep and wool too.
Up the other end of the showground, the Turnpike Ring had a whole different set of acts; the falconry display and Jonathan Marshall’s Spirit of Freedom show, the terrier racing… Then there was the dog agility and ferret racing. The heavy horses. Live music. A funfair. So. Much. Food. There were aisles and aisles of trade stands to get round (garden furniture, clothing, high street brands and local producers – it was a country high street located in a field!).
SO MUCH to do and see!
It’s a wonderful show; and a lot of that is thanks to the fact that it never forgets that for more than 160 years it has been an agricultural show: with farming strongly at its heart, it’s a brilliant day out for everyone, whether you’re a farmer or not!
A few images from the 2023 Gillingham & Shaftesbury Show:
