
100th Anniversary Show, Three Counties Showground, Malvern, Worcestershire
The first Royal Three Counties Show since 2019, was back with a bang last weekend and full of fun and fresh country air at Three Counties Showground in Malvern.
Record visitor numbers flocked to the much-loved countryside celebration with royal status, showcasing the very best of the three counties of Herefordshire, Gloucestershire and Worcestershire, the annual event featured food, farming, thrilling entertainment and special guests galore!
New for 2022 was a regional Food & Drink Festival packed full of local artisan produce and featuring a new Cookery Theatre, hosted by celebrity cook and author Mark Diacono, a jam-packed line-up of local chefs and drink specialists. Giving visitors the chance to try something new and learn new skills, including how to cook the perfect steak with Matt Slocombe from The Crown at Woolhope, alongside Indian cookery insights from Suki Pantal and samples galore in chocolate and gin masterclasses.
Clarkson’s Farm star and agricultural comedian Kaleb Cooper entertained a huge audience with personal appearances and buddied up with Hereford’s very own farming star Ally Hunter Blair. Show Ambassador, farmer and rural TV presenter Adam Henson was busy across the showground for the whole of the three-day event, sharing his endless agricultural knowledge with visitors young and old and championing British farming traditions.
The Main Arena audiences were kept on the edge of their seats with both The Red Devils and Bolddog Lings Motorcycle Stunt Team, plus tractor displays, show jumping, heavy horses and carriage driving demonstrations.
Everyone enjoyed getting to know the very many animals onsite, with over 6,000 furry and feathered new friends, including bees, rabbits, alpacas, pigs, cows, sheep, horses and birds of prey and the largest, rare breeds show in the country. Thousands of animals competed across the three-day event and several accolades were secured, including the new Tommy Manns Memorial Cup, presented by show stalwart Rose Manns, in the section for the best pair of Hereford Cattle by same sire, to MJ Ludgate, from Thame in Oxfordshire.
A major highlight was the TIMBERSPORTS® British Championships in the STIHL Arena with high octane action each day of axe, hot saws and chainsaws with competitors from around the world. The competition stakes were high, with the first British Women’s Championship and sibling competitors Glen and Zoe Penlington from Knighton in Powys, named the Men & Women’s British champions.
Jane Edwards, Shows Manager said: “Our 100th anniversary event was a comeback show like no other. We programmed over 150 activities and events, 6,000 animals and hundreds of exhibitors and welcomed record numbers of visitors, competitors and 54 Horse of the Year qualifiers, plus the first ever British Women’s STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® Championships, all live at Royal Three Counties Show.”
Next year’s dates for the diary are – 16th– 18th June, 2023