This little sheep didn't want to go to market...

This wee sheeplet didn't look like it wanted to be dragged into the Showing Ring - but Grandad and Grandson had other ideas:

Ballymoney Agricultural Show, 2019.  Hasselblad, HP5+, ID-11, Adox paper, Fotospeed WT developer

From what I could see, most of the Showing of animals is something the younger members of the farming community take on, with the Dads, Mums and Grandparents all helping out.  It's a real team effort and winning or losing is met with the same stoicism.  I think it's fair to say your average North Antrim person is fairly reserved in nature and to be honest I don't think there's much wrong with that.  The girls and boys I saw all had an air of quiet confidence about them - perhaps born out of the fact that they've been working with animals all their lives and they know what they're about.  Like the young man in the shot above, they know when to roll their sleeves up and get in there, rather than hang back and wait for events to happen.  As you can probably tell, I was mightily impressed.