Yorkshire Game Fair 2012

As I have recently renewed my interest in gundogs and their training (due to starting some basics with my standard poodle, Lottie) I was keen to visit the Discover Gundogs part of the Yorkshire Game Fair near Wetherby. They are always a good day out with plenty to see, so I decided I would visit on the Sunday of the show. It turned out to be the hottest day of the year so far, which at least meant the ground was dry, which is a rarity for game fairs and country shows.

As we got near the main arena, the gundog display was coming to an end and the next display was the Birds of Prey. I always love to see these displays and was excited to have the opportunity to practice my photo skills on the birds.

It's not every day you see a vulture flying around the Yorkshire countryside.

Just as well, really. They are rather imposing and seriously ugly birds.

The second vulture did a few more fly overs.

Poser

The third vulture was a bit nicer to look at, but was very naughty. He walked around a bit and refused to fly, so had to go back in the van.

Now that's more like it. The bald eagle was a lot more photogenic.

He was a sight to behold, soaring above the arena and show ground.

Throughout the display is was bugging me why I recognised Ben who was doing the display. As it finished it finally dawned on both myself and my husband that he was the bloke we had done a birds of prey day with a few years ago. We had actually seen all of the birds on this day and it was nice to see them flying free, as they had been in their enclosures when we met them previously.

We also got to witness our first ever polo match.

3-a-side polo with a mini football, due to the constraints of the arena and the health and safety issues.

Some fierce concentration was going on.

The horses were stunning. I have been wanting to photograph some horses for a while and this gave me a fantastic opportunity. Not entirely sure what the two blobs are that must have gotten on my lens for this photo, but now have a new technique to try out, to remove them and complete this photo.

We wandered around the entire fair and managed to spend a few pennies. We had the most delicious rare breed pork pies with a chutney topping. Of course we did not disapppoint and had to try an ice cream in the baking heat. I now have a good idea of which breed of 'proper' gundog I may want in the future, so need to do my homework and see if they would suit my training requirements and be able to put up with my mad pack of hounds.

We finished the day off with the hound display. Lovely to see so many beagles all milling around and the children were so excited to be invited into the arena to meet them all.

I am hoping to attend the Northumberland Show over the upcoming Bank Holiday weekend, depending on the weather. Don't want a soggy camera if the forecast is anything to go by so will just see on the day and decide.