AROUND 20 or 30 years ago there were perhaps discussions in the Alresford and District Agricultural Society about how to bring the show up to date to attract a ‘modern audience’.

The traditionalists said it does not need changing; their views prevailed and they were right.

Some 20,000 people attended the one-day Alresford Show at Tichborne Park on Saturday. Most people had a great time. Even the weather was kind, mostly.

The show is as it has always been, since the first one in 1908, a celebration of farming and the rural way of life.

The foundation is the livestock, the cattle, sheep, pigs, poultry and heavy horses. Also popular were the Meon Valley Alpacas and the ferret racing put on by the Hants and Berks Ferret Club and the donkey show. Dozens of riders competed in the horse jumping across four rings.

Popular as ever was the Alresford Horticultural Show showing gorgeous flowers and top-quality vegetables from the area’s amateur gardeners.

There was lots for children to, with Punch and Judy, tree climbing, and for the first time, go karting.

Completing the attractions were scores of trade stands from combine harvesters to clothes. But mostly with a rural theme that has proved so enduringly popular.

It was the first show for secretary Val Whatley, who said: “The trade stand secretary and horse and livestock secretary played a blinder in helping me, as did the local groups volunteering to help man the stands. Everybody mucked in; the whole atmosphere was community spirited.”

For full report and many more photos, see this week’s Chronicle, out tomorrow.