Show ready to welcome crowds

With a host of new attractions added to the line-up of traditional favourites, organisers are confident of a bumper crowd on the showfield this Sunday, August 5.

From a Civil War re-enactment to a Best of Yorkshire pie competition, the day will be a celebration of the best the countryside has to offer, past and present. And younger visitors won’t be short of entertainment, with Sublime Science performing experiments and tricks in the Discovery Zone.

Show co-chairman Sam Blacker said: “The whole committee has been working hard for months to put together the programme for the day and we’re confident it’s our best yet.

“The show field is looking great, the gates are ready to be opened and we can’t wait to welcome visitors on Sunday.”

The programme for the day includes traditional competitive classes, displays of classic cars and vintage tractors, demonstrations in the main ring – and the every-popular inter-pub tug-o-war.

While the showjumping competitions have been cancelled because of poor ground conditions, all other horse classes will be going ahead as planned, including working hunter and pony classes.

Locally-sourced food and drink will be available throughout the day, including in the Farmers’ Market marquee and at the Tockwith Festival bar, raising funds for community events and projects.

The day will conclude with the Chairman’s Auction and Food Lovers’ Raffle Draw, with all proceeds going to show president Fiona Harris’s chosen charity, the British Heart Foundation.

Tockwith Show dates back to 1945, when it was founded as a purely horticultural event raising funds to help servicemen returning from the war.

Since then, it has expanded to include agriculture and rural crafts and, in 2004, took the significant step of acquiring its own field, securing the event’s future and allowing improvements to be made to the site.

Ticket prices have been held at 2017 levels and are £10 per adult, while accompanied children under 16 go free. www.tockwithshow.org.uk