Country shows are very British. To visit them enables us to delve deep into our national heritage. They are nostalgic, especially wandering through the classic car section, and seeing a car that your father owned. I saw my very first car, a MG1100, which cost me £100 in 1976.
On Saturday, August 20, the Rye and District Country Show took place in Icklesham, raising funds for St Michael’s Hospice in Hastings. The outdoor event was a perfect outing for all the family. There was a traditional horseshow, a fun dog show, classic cars and tractors and many craft and food stalls. One added bonus was a wonderful 62 Key Dutch Street Organ, called Tulip, playing as you arrived.
Acromax, a gymnastic and performance group gave an exciting display of complicated lifts and turns. They were very precise and lovely to watch, drawing a great crowd around the arena. Next to them was a horse show with a variety of classes. The horses and riders were beautifully groomed and against the backdrop of the rolling East Sussex hills they all looked splendid. There were many musical acts throughout the day including the Ryebellion drummers resplendent in their eye catching outfits.
As we walked through the display of vintage tractors, Darren Smith from Fairlight was sitting proudly on his 1958 Fordsun Dexter. He said he had loved tractors and machinery since he was a little boy and this love had developed into a career on his family’s farm.
Rebecca Futrall, Fundraising Manager for St Michael’s Hospice, spoke with me at the end of the day. She said: “We are so incredibly grateful to the Rye Show committee that put this event on in aid of St Michael’s Hospice. It is one of the biggest highlights of our events calendar and we are so thrilled with the numbers of people and companies supporting it this year. We very much look forward to seeing how much the event has raised to support the vital services the hospice offers to those across Hastings and Rother.”
Image Credits: Kt bruce , Paul Anderson .