THOUSANDS of people flocked to Upton over the weekend for the fifth annual Poole Town and Country Show.

A large number of displays took place at the Upton Country Park venue, which boasted a main arena and numerous other attractions.

Among the crowd favourites were a medieval ‘Swords of Chivalry’ demonstration and a display of two Suffolk Punch heavy horses, called Bruce and William.

Event organiser and director of Oakleigh Fairs, Emma Owen, said: “We probably had the best Saturday we’ve ever had and Sunday was pretty much as we would have expected.

“I think the weather has been in our favour, and the fact that we’ve been doing this for five years means people know what to expect.

“We’ve had lots of familiar faces and lot of new ones. The great thing is that most of the people attending are local.”

Emma said the crowds were particularly thrilled by the heavy horses display. Each of the horses on show stood 18 hands tall and tipped the scales at 1.2 tonnes.

“These Suffolk Punch heavy horses are on the endangered list, they’re actually higher on the list than pandas,” Emma told the Daily Echo.

“They are native to this country, but hardly anyone knows much about their endangered status. Their ongoing welfare is supported by shows like ours.”

Other attractions at the two-day event included a companion dog display, a working dog demonstration and a birds of prey demo – where members of the public had the chance to fly the birds.

Emma said: “The great thing about the weekend was that everything on show in the arena also appeared at stands around the ground, making them accessible to the public for the whole time.”