This year is the 90th anniversary of the New Forest Show.
The show attracts, on average, 95,000 visitors every year and brings together a celebration of traditional country pursuits, crafts, produce and entertainment. It's a major date in the New Forest calendar. Everyone from the forest goes, from businesses to local volunteer organisations and charities. It is also a major equestrian and livestock event. There is a bit of everything there!
Blessed by fine weather, the New Forest Show was flooded with visitors. Fr Rod and Revd Dr Caroline took the opportunity to meet with and engage with lots of local people. Rod and Caroline, pictured with Jim Green of the Hampshire Fire Brigade and well loved New Forest horse trainer Sarah Weston, who was part of the display team.
Rod and Vivian Reid discussing plans for the launch of The Park – a new radio station for the New Forest,
which Fr Rod and Revd Caroline have been invited to volunteer their help to.
Fr Rod demonstrating the Community Engagement Exercise designed to
find out what the listening public would like from their community radio station.
The ECC+C Animal Welfare Chaplain, Revd Dr Caroline sharing a bit of love with one of God's lovely creatures,
a very lovely New Forest stallion called Elton. He even gave her a kiss!
Fr Rod with Catherine Lake (Cat), Managing Editor of The Park,
New Forest community radio station.
Revd Caroline at the New Forest Corner – a part of the show that showcases local voluntary organisations.
Fr Rod with friends – a local councillor and his wife.
And here he is supporting the Diabetes UK initiative. Volunteers were administering free diabetes risk assessments, so he was happy to be seen volunteering to encourage others to take part.
Revd Caroline bringing love and comfort to a cow. As a vegan, she wasn't particularly happy to see cows being
displayed as milking and meat generation stock. Nonetheless, she wanted to share love with the cow
and whisper an apology for what mankind does to cows.
The New Forest has a pioneering Animal Rescue department within their Fire and Rescue service.
This unit performs a lot of animal rescue, particularly the rescue of horses and cows out on the New Forest.
Revd Caroline with Sarah Weston (left).
Sarah has worked with Caroline and her horses over quite a few years and is author of a fantastic book about force-free horse training called “No Fear, No Force”, a guide to handling and training semi-feral foals in a gentle and effective way. The autumn sees 1,000’s of wild native foals changing hands at the sales. Many of them have had little or no handling. For the new owner it can be a daunting prospect taming their new foal. Beautifully illustrated, the book will make an incredible difference to the lives of foals that are trained using the gentle and effective methods described. 
Link to view the website and her book
Sarah is a Recommended Associate of Intelligent
Horsemanship and the Holder of the Monty Robert’s Preliminary Certificate in Horsemanship.