Young and old arrived in their droves to enjoy the delights of the 100th Kent County Show .

Braving the heat, visitors were able to meet the livestock, watch performances and get to grips with the area’s rich agricultural roots at Detling Showground, near Maidstone, on the first day of the annual three-day event.

Among the attractions were Cliffe-based Bolebrooke Beagles, who showed off their hunting skills to the crowds, and American miniature horse Nero who cantered and danced to hits from The Greatest Showman.

Youngsters from Kent Youth Trials Club were showing off their bike skills and horses from across the county demonstrated their showjumping prowess.

Natalie, 56, and Tracey, 52, had travelled from Gravesend to watch the In Hand horse displays, having participated as children.

Natalie said: “We’ve been coming for years and years. We love watching the jumping and In Hand.

“It’s great to get dietary advice from the experts on the stalls and buy new food and equipment for the horses at home.”

Little horse Duke the Unicorn made his second appearance at the popular show, much to the delight of six-year-old Isla Linkins, from Ashford.

Gun dogs were showing off their fetching skills, despite their hot weather, while visitor dogs were invited to join in with practice speed trials over haystacks.

There was also a welcome chance to cool off for the furry visitors as K9 Aquasports had set up a pool for dogs to jump in.

Later the same pool was used for the super competitive aquatic dog sport of dock diving – also known as dock jumping – which sees teams from around the country battling to be the first to complete their relay.

As well as enjoying the farming animals and displays, visitors also put their hands in their pockets to buy wares from the hundreds of stalls around, including Barney’s Doggy Treats which was attending for the second year running.

Trevor Weller, who helps his wife Claire run the online company, said: “We loved it last year and it seems to have got even bigger this year.”

With hundreds of the country’s children out of school because of teacher strike action, many grandparents had taken the opportunity to spend some quality time with their grandchildren.

Gill Clarke, from Bexley, said her granddaughters had been twice before and knew what they wanted to see.

“Isabelle is looking forward to seeing the horses and Abigail loves the sheep-shearing and pig shows,” she said.

And there was plenty to get involved in too, with Naughty Norse setting up an axe-throwing arena for the public to have a go at.

General manager at the Kent County Showground, Nikki Dorkings, said it has been one of their busiest Fridays on record.

“We have definitely sold a lot more tickets than normal on a Friday which is probably due to the teacher strikes, as we have seen a lot of children today.

“And that’s great as this is a family event and we have our Education Living Land Village where they can continue their learning and dig for vegetables.”

Among the displays to watch were an impressive collection of working tractors from the last century as well as pre and post-war cars and old-fashioned buses and military vehicles.

This year’s event includes a number of special moments to mark 100 years of the Kent County Show, including an educational display telling the story of the last century of farming, plus a daily aerial show involving a vintage bi-plane which looked to be tumbling from the sky as it performed its acrobatics.

The Kent County Show runs from today (Friday) until Sunday, July 9. Book tickets online here.

Adult tickets cost £22 when booked in advance and £24 on the day.