So for E (Event) in H (Hampshire), I headed to the New Forest Show. As my family will happily confirm, I’ve always loved the idea of a proper country show. I don’t know why—perhaps in an alternate life I should have been a farmer—but I’m very much drawn to them.
In my experience, country shows tend to fall into two categories: the smaller, slightly underwhelming ones full of jam and chutney stalls, and then the genuinely agricultural shows. The New Forest Show is most definitely the latter. It’s absolutely enormous. I even managed to persuade Lou and Thomas to camp the night before, which they weren’t thrilled about at the time, but it all worked out in the end.
The scale of the show is impressive. This isn’t just a place to buy preserves—you can buy tractors, speedboats, cattle, sheep, and just about everything in between. There was a huge section devoted to hunting and hunting dogs, including a working dog display, as well as old agricultural machinery: threshers, logging equipment, and all sorts of beautifully engineered kit.
One of the real highlights for me was the Shire horses. They looked absolutely magnificent, and I came away with a newfound appreciation for them. I’m now half-convinced that a future “E for Event” needs to involve a Shire horse show somewhere in the country—they’re just incredible animals.
What also really struck me was the sheep. We see sheep all over the countryside—usually small, fluffy white ones—but rare-breed sheep are genuinely beautiful. The same goes for the cattle in the dairy section. Seeing that variety has convinced me I need to seek out a proper sheep show at some point.
All in all, I really enjoyed the New Forest Show. Even Lou and Thomas seemed to enjoy it—at least a bit. If I’d been on my own, I’d probably have stayed longer, but it was still a cracking day out and a great Hampshire event
MAP