7 June 2002: The Queen and Prince Philip honour the farming industry with a visit to the South of England Show at Ardingly, West Sussex Despite heavy rain, a crowd of over 17,000 turned out to welcome The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh when they visited the largest agricultural show in Sussex. It was The Queen's first visit to the show since 1984. After a difficult year in 2001, The Queen's presence provided special recognition of importance of the farming industry. The 2001 show had been cancelled because of foot-and-mouth disease. In Jubilee year the show had been restored to its full glory. There were 1,500 trade stands at the show from across South East England, some 300 cattle, 60 llamas and alpacas, and 22 pigs. The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh arrived at the showground in a horse-drawn landau. They then donned boots to walk around the muddy showground, chatting with stallholders, viewing some of the livestock classes, and meeting some of the show's organisers. After lunch in the President's marquee, The Queen and Prince Philip took separate routes around the exhibitions. The Queen viewd agricultural machinery, poultry and rabbits, cattle and conservation, while Prince Philip toured displays by the National Farmers' Union, Eurolink and the Country Land and Business Association. There was also chance to view displays representing other organisations in Sussex, including charities involved with the social and caring services in West Sussex, the environment and transport in East Sussex, the arts in Brighton and Hove, and education and young people in Surrey.   At the end of the day The Queen and Prince Philip left the showground by helicopter for Windsor Castle.      Back to June index