THERE’S a new feel to Monmouthshire Show this year, as crowds rush to get tickets for the earlier date of 1st July.

There are new exciting sites to look forward to, as well as the attendance of different traders now available to appear at the updated weekend attraction.

Highlights include a national tug of war championship, motorcycle leaps, and even royal representation. Visitors will still be able to enjoy their favourite parts of show day, in the form of local crafts, food and drink, cars and machinery, but where the earlier date has meant the loss of the horticultural section, new ideas have led to different features, including a specially-built pagoda of hanging basket displays.

In the main ring, audiences can look forward to international motorbike show, James Dylan’s Stuntworld, where riders perform high ramp jumps that, according to organisers, “need to be seen to be believed.”

Show day will also feature the Welsh Tug of War Championships, a spectacle involving 44 teams of eight from across Wales, that will compete in the countryside ring for the top title. The competition will be filmed by Welsh language channel, S4C.

A strong livestock entry is expected, despite challenges faced by many local cattle farmers due to bovine TB regulations.

The horse section is stronger than ever however, with 850 entries so far in the showing classes alone. This year, the county show will feature no fewer than 20 Horse of the Year Show qualifying classes, attracting equine entries from across the UK. In a special testament of the popularity of the show’s horse section, HRH the Queen has her own horses competing in the showing classes, including RoR, retraining of racehorses.

The huge one-day show will also boast local music in the form of Monmouth Town Band, and 17-year-old Rosita, who will perform on the bandstand; as well as tricks and classes from Jitterbug Circus.

Popular attraction in the main ring, the Monmouthshire Hunt, will be back this year and along with countryside ring favourites, the Woolaston Bassets, will welcome children in to meet the friendly hounds for an up-close introduction to hunting hounds. This year, the inter-hunt relay will not be running.

Kennel Club classes will feature at the show, as last year packed classes saw dogs of all shapes compete.

There will also be Rowan Working Horses on display, shearing matches, scurry driving, a blacksmith demonstration, The Society for the Welfare of Horses and Ponies (SWHP), goats, poultry, bees, the Green Meadows Community Farm petting zoo, and a children’s fun area.

Get your tickets from the Beacon office at 56 Monnow Street, on the gate, or online at www.monmouthshow.co.uk