“There’s a few shell shocked faces in our office tonight - some showing relief that the first day is over, others exhausted and surprised. Show organising is a little bit like childbirth I’ve been told, and after the event, you forget the pain. Joking aside, we’ve had a hugely successful first day and the show is now well and truly under way.

There’s a rumour that someone has installed a magic carpet under the main ring as the horses are jumping out of their skin, and the competition has been fantastic. Geoff Luckett stormed to victory in the Bunn Leisure Derby Salver, followed by Shane Breen in the Bunn Leisure Derby Tankard. The Bunn family were obviously delighted at our brother-in-law’s success, but our sister, his wife Chloe, slightly less delighted when Shane held their daughter Lorna aloft in the prize presentation – he’s determined to have her competing internationally before her fifth birthday I think!

Elsewhere on the showground, the hot topics of conversation (and the source of much illicit gambling I suspect) is whether Ben Maher and William Funnell will be able to score the magic hat trick in the Speed Derby and Derby proper respectively this weekend. As always with this sport, and perhaps with the Derby classes particularly, the excitement lies in the fact that despite form and odds, and the best laid preparations, it really is true that on the day anything can happen.

Likewise there are a lot of very excited boys dying to meet Phil Packer when he arrives on Saturday and are keen to bombard him with questions about his time in Iraq and his incredible achievement climbing in Yosemite. The boys in our office have been arguing furiously about whether they too would be capable of climbing a mountain using just their arms.

Finally, I feel that I must mention the incredible outpouring and support that our family has received from everyone at the show; from officials and competitors to loyal members of the public who have been visiting the show for decades. The first show day without dad was obviously going to be incredibly emotional, but it felt very special, and there are more than a few people who are convinced that dad had something to do with Shane’s win!

Right, enough from me, I’m off to the exhibitors’ party to let my hair down after a long day, and try out one of our new mobile Pimms bars - if only I had one of those with me at all times!”