THE second Midlands Equine Fair, held at Malvern over the weekend, turned out to be a runaway success.

More than 4,200 horse enthusiasts descended on the Three Counties Showground for the two-day event, twice as many as last year, and well above the organisers' target figure.

"We had hoped to attract up to 4,000 visitors," said Sandra Turner, managing director of organisers Contour Exhibitions, "but to top that was quite amazing considering this is only our second year at Malvern.

"We will definitely be back in 2004."

The all under-cover show, which was supported by the Evening News, featured two large demonstration arenas, a shopping village of more than 130 trade stands and a breed society area with a host of native and international horses and ponies.

Working demonstrations

There were working demonstrations of carriage driving, western riding and dressage and world famous three-day event rider Blyth Tait from New Zealand showed just what skills are needed to reach the top.

"One of our innovations this year that proved especially popular was a 'meet the experts area'," added Mrs Turner.

"Here horse owners could learn about many of the 'alternative' therapies available today, such as aromatherapy, hands on healing, and shiatsu, which work on horses just as well as on humans."

In the maze of tradestands, horse lovers could buy everything from a diamante-trimmed bridle to a machine to scoop up dung.

About the only item not on sale was the name of the winner of this week's Cheltenham Gold Cup.