Caithness County Show: Organisers are delighted with 'phenomenal' turnout at Wick
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Organisers were delighted with the "phenomenal" turnout at the 180th County Show on Saturday as a crowd estimated at more than 6000 made their way to the Riverside and Westerseat venue in Wick.
There was a sense of relief as heavy rain cleared to give sunny and warm conditions for the far north's biggest agricultural event, showcasing the best of Caithness produce.
Champion of champions was Grace of Alltnacailleach, a Highland pony owned by Amanda McLennan of Garth Farm, St Ola, Orkney. Kris Sutherland of Dunbeath took the reserve supreme champion of champions title with She's a Belter, a cross Limousin heifer.
As had been forecast, the heavy overnight downpours continued into Saturday morning but by noon the clouds had given way to sunshine. Wellies proved to be the sensible choice of footwear as the main walkways became increasingly churned up with mud, although generous quantities of bark chippings were applied to the worst-affected areas to aid progress around the showfield.
Speaking during a brief break from his official duties, Caithness Agricultural Society president James Barnetson said: "It has turned out fantastic, considering the morning it was. The crowd is phenomenal, really.
"Everyone is happy that we managed to pull it off. We can't help the weather, but thank goodness the sun shone from midday onwards. The afternoon turned out really good and everyone has enjoyed themselves."
Lord Thurso, who hosts the show at Thurso East every second year, is one of the society's honorary vice-presidents.
He said: "It's a great day because when I looked at the weather forecast earlier in the week I thought this was going to be a pure mud bath. Well, we've got quite a lot of mud, but we've also got bright sunshine which none of us expected and it has brought people out.
"I love it when it's over in Thurso because I just go out my back door – but the great thing here with the riverside is you really do feel that you're right almost in the town, and it has a tremendous atmosphere all of its own.
"I was with my wife and son and daughter-in-law and grandson and we headed for the produce tent first, so we stripped that bare. There is some great produce in the county.
"I spent a little time just having a look at the stock and seeing a few people I know. There are some very good sheep in particular that I've seen.
"It's a wonderful day and I haven't been able to make much progress going round because I keep bumping into people I know.
"It's one of those days in the calendar of Caithness when we all just put everything aside, come and relax and have a bit of fun."
There were more than 900 livestock entries.
The main ring attraction was the Stannage Stunt Team and show-goers were entertained by a mix of motorbike jumps, fire runs and high falls before an explosive finale.
The Northern Quality Produce marquee was packed with food, drink and craft stands and it attracted a steady stream of visitors throughout the day.
Other attractions included Caithness Junior Pipe Band, the Caithness HAS Got Talent competition, a vintage tractor and machinery display and North Coast 500 Animal Farm Time.
Halkirk won the tug-of-war contest, beating Forss after three hard-fought pulls.
- Results to follow, along with more photos including champions from the livestock classes
