The heat is on at Okehampton Show

The heat is on at the Okehampton Show today (Thursday, August 13) – as temperatures top 36C.

People have turned out to enjoy the atmosphere, despite many livestock classes having to be cancelled due to bluetongue.

While the sheep, cattle and goat classes could not go ahead, there were pig and equine classes along with exotic hens.

The exotic bantams and other poultry were being shown by members of the Taw and Torridge Poultry Club in open pens in a shady marquee.

Ashley Hooper, from the club, was keeping the birds topped up with water.

He said: “We haven’t had a show for a while due to bird flu so we decided to do an exhibition like this because there’s more public engagement and it’s better for the birds’ welfare. It’s a mixture of pure breed and rare breed birds. The ducklings and chicks are popular. A lot of people are saying ‘this reminds me of when I was a kid’.”

Pigs were keeping cool in their marquee, before taking their turn in the showing ring.

Pig section secretary Deborah Custance Baker explained that there was a new sow and piglets class this year, a new class.

She said: “We have an extra class for a sow and litter so we have got four or five sow and litters that we wouldn’t have had and it was done purely to please the public ,to give them something to look at. It was something we had never done before. It just came up that the public are coming and they need livestock, and everyone loves a piglet.”

In the Okehampton Beekeepers’ tent, bee section secretary Suzanne Maxwell was pleased with the number of entries at 163, with honey, beeswax and honey biscuits and other home-cooked honey delicacies.

The beekeepers’ vice chairman Ruth Stainer-Smith said: “We have had a very cold wet spring followed by a hot summer so it has been a challenge, but people have really worked hard to put in their entries.”