There is so much to see and do at this year’s Pembrokeshire County Show!

Five arenas provide a wide range of exciting family entertainment, plus there’s great shopping with more than 400 trade stands on site.

A packed timetable in the Main Arena throughout all three days will be headed up by the Bolddog Lings motorcycle stunt team.

The Bolddog team travels the UK and Europe performing at shows, carnivals and motor sports events. The team is managed by one of Europe’s top freestyle motocross riders, Dan Whitby.

The team’s landing ramp enables riders to jump gaps over 75ft and perform tricks which involve the rider leaving the seat in mid-air. The show features a wide selection of freestyle motocross tricks such as the ‘superman seat grab’, ‘Indian air’, ‘heel-clicker’, ‘rock solid’, ‘double-nac’, ‘switch blade’ and many more.

If that wasn’t exciting enough, there’s also the Welsh axe team, the fast and furious dog agility competitions, the thrilling inter-hunt relay and harness racing, plus much more.

The Family Free Play Zone provides a safe ring fenced area with entertainment for families with younger children, including a clown circus, dance studio, purple routes play group, pet’s zone, picnic area and baby changing facilities.

If you love horses and livestock there are classes every day with top quality animals competing for prestigious awards.

For the first time this year, the cattle will stay and compete on site for all three days, and the sheep competitions have been extended over two days.

Show jumping this year will be bigger and better with a huge pot of prize money attracting some of the UK’s top riders.

And don’t forget to tickle your taste buds in the food hall!

The Welsh Food Hall will host top local chefs in live cookery shows, set amongst a huge array of all that’s best in Welsh food.

Excitement-seekers should head for the fairground where you can ride the freak out and speed buzz or enjoy a ride on the dodgems.

There’s also musical entertainment all day long with live acts on the Radio Pembrokeshire sound stage.

There is so much to see at this year’s County Show - why not come for the three days?! Advance tickets of all types are available now at special prices - go to www.pembsshow.org

Family focus

Once again, the Society is proud to be able to hold its ticket prices in an attempt to make the show accessible to as many Pembrokeshire residents as possible.

Putting on the show now costs in excess of £850,000 so holding prices is no small achievement for an organisation run by volunteers as a charity.

For this year’s show, there will be special deals for families and children, so be sure to take advantage.

As well as freezing all prices, the show is once again offering the £19 family ticket for an adult and up to three children. This proved hugely popular last year, plus every adult and family entry will also receive £8.50 worth of vouchers to spend at the fairground.

As a result of a long-term partnership agreed between Pembrokeshire County Council and Pembrokeshire Agricultural Society, free entry tickets and educational packs have been issued by every primary school in the county to all 11,500 of the county’s primary school pupils.

This partnership focuses on the need to teach our children about how their food is produced. It provides direct support to help primary school kids learn about the farm to fork journey in a fun way.

The packs are part of the Grown in Pembrokeshire initiative which encourages children to follow the Food Information Trail at the show. It’s simple to complete and fun for all the family.

This year, there’s a special dairy focus, with the exciting live robotic milking taking place at the Lely stand becoming part of the trail.

Every child who takes part will receive a goody bag and the chance to win a family ticket to Folly Farm or the Blue Lagoon. Two schools drawn from the entries will also receive a donation of £150 towards project materials.

The short, fun Food Information Trail ends at the family play zone where there is an array of free activities and entertainment designed specifically for families with younger children. For mums and dads there are picnic benches where you can relax and keep an eye on the youngsters.

The County Show is a must for local families and holidays-makers alike and this year the show is bigger and better than ever.

So make a date - August 15, 16 and 17.

New location for Countryside Park

This year’s show sees several exciting layout changes, bringing new opportunities for both exhibitors and visitors. The inclusion of the ground-breaking Lely live robotic milking demonstration, an important first for Wales, means a move to a more central position for the ever popular Countryside Park.

Nestled next to the Family Play Zone, on main avenue, you can also pop into the park via a ‘leafy lane’ off central avenue. Surrounding the action-packed demonstration arena, some of the most popular rural organisations will be there ready to help and advise.

In the arena, Pembrokeshire Falconry will head up the programme, with their superb and spectacular birds of prey. Alex and Emma continue to develop their team, showing the work needed to care for these special birds, and you can meet them during the day.

Forest skills of the highest order will come from the hugely experienced axemen. Traditional woodland and timber work, with a competitive edge, will have woodchips flying! Back by public demand, Simon and the ‘furry gang’ from Ferret World are bringing lots of ferret facts and black country humour.

More traditional country skills come from Meurig with the BASC gundog display. Obedience training of the highest order, he’ll also be putting some young dogs through ‘nursery tests’.

Around the picnic area there will be more from Ceri and friends, showcasing the art of dry stone walling. Farm conservation and practical advice is on offer from FWAG Cymru, canine welfare support from Dogs Trust, rivers and their wildlife will be the focus of the volunteer-led Rivers Trust and there will be help on offer to anyone with an interest in bee-keeping.

All in all, a great mix of family entertainment, fun and country knowledge at the new home for the Countryside Park.

Live robotic milking

Pembrokeshire Agricultural Society Ltd is delighted to announce a live robotic milking exhibition at this year’s Pembrokeshire County Show.

It will be the first ever live milking event at a show in Wales. The Society has teamed up with agricultural technology company Lely to host the new attraction.

Show visitors and dairy farmers will have the opportunity of experiencing first-hand how a robotic milking system works.

Forty Holstein cows from a local farm will stay on site for the three days of the show. They will be housed in a straw yard on the Lely stand, near the J.E. Lawrence Livestock Arena.

Lely area manager Gareth Jones said: “We are delighted to give the project the go-ahead. The live milking demonstrations will no doubt be one of the main attractions at this year’s show.”

Crafts and Horticulture Show

The Crafts and Horticulture Show is held in the Prendergast Building over the three days of the show and has always been a must-see for many visitors.

Once again, this year’s show promises to deliver some fantastic exhibits, with a huge variety of classes for both adults and children. 

New classes have been added in cookery and in the drinks section, including a selection of sloe gin and a bottle of liquor. 

In the craft section, competition is expected to be strong in the walking sticks, woodwork/metalwork and other handicraft classes. 

There has always been keen competition in the children’s section and it is hoped that exhibitors will forward their entries as soon as possible to the show office. 

We understand that the weather is a big factor, especially with cut flowers and vegetables, but late entries may be accepted, or adjustments made to entries.

The team of stewards is looking forward to meeting exhibitors and friends old and new at what is regarded as one of the finest shows in Wales.

Dog agility

Dog agility is fast, furious, exciting and a great favourite with spectators as well as competitors. This year the event is in a new location on the south side of the showground adjacent to the member’s car park.

With two arenas and great spectator viewing, this is top quality dog agility and entertainment throughout each of the three days. So, go along to see some of the nation’s happiest dogs in action, see them achieve their potential on the high level courses while earning some great prizes on offer.

This year, the competition has one of only 10 qualifiers countrywide for the Royal Canin Dog Agility Challenge. Expect top quality competitors with more than 80 classes for this prestigious event taking place over the three days of the show.

The animal’s fitness and the handler’s ability to train and direct the dog over and through various obstacles are tested to their limits. There are also classes for young handlers, so make sure you take some time out during the show watch this exciting and entertaining sport - you won’t be disappointed.

INTERHUNT GOLD CUP RELAY

One of the many highlights at this year’s County Show will be the Interhunt Gold Cup Relay competition taking place over two days with 16 top relay teams competing to be the fastest clear over a series of demanding cross country jumps.

Held on the Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons in the Grand Arena, this is a great opportunity to cheer on your favourite team and watch horses do what they love best. There will be riders of all ages entertaining us with their ability to control and navigate at high speed.

For those unfamiliar with the relay format, two teams of four riders line up to simultaneously jump an identical course set out on each side of the arena. As the flag drops, a rider from each team gallops off to complete the course as quickly as possible, before handing over to the next member of the team.

The first team to complete the course wins. It’s a simple format but very exciting to watch from anywhere around the arena. The final will take place on Wednesday with the top teams from each day running against each other for the Gold Cup.