JUST like the temperature, takings on the gate at Chepstow Show were soaring.

It is estimated that gate receipts were up 20 per cent on last year.

The show was held for the first time at Broadwell Farm, Crick, and the move was good news for one section in particular.

Organisers of the horse classes were delighted with an entry that was 25 per cent better than last year. Entries at previous shows at Chepstow Racecourse had been hit by a requirement for animals to be vaccinated.

For the first time in three years cattle and sheep returned to the show, although entries were hit by the weak state of the dairy sector, and bovine TB in the region - Monmouthshire and Gloucestershire are particularly badly hit.

Six trophies for dairy cattle were not awarded because there were no entries in those classes. Goat competitions were also absent this year, but section secretary Pam Manning was pleased by the response to the exhibition of animals that was put on by local breeders and keepers.

The top award at the show - the Guy Bown Gold Cup - was this year in the home and handicraft section.

Each year the cup is awarded in a different section, and this year it went to photographer and artist Sheena Ellis, of Garden City, Chepstow.

She also won the Barry Watkins Cup for photography. The cup was given to the show in memory of her father, a well-known local photographer, following his tragic death in a road accident.

It was also a good show for Noel Dickenson, of Sudbrook, who won 11 trophies in the horticulture competitions - including the South Wales Argus Challenge Shield for most points in the vegetable section.

The crowds also enjoyed a varied programme in the main ring, including a display by tractor enthusiasts of the Chepstow Vintage Club.

Later this month the club is organising a world record attempt by having 2003 tractors working in a field in Wiltshire.

Show chairman Lyndon Edwards: "The show has been a success in several ways and gate receipts are up about 20 per cent."