ROYAL and ministerial visits brought this year's Great Yorkshire Show to a close on Thursday.

HRH Prince Andrew was given a tour of the show, and farming minster Robert Goodwill MP visited the NFU and CLA stands, as well as the cattle lines.

Exhilarating displays wowed crowds in the main ring with the RAF Falcons Parachute Display Team dropping in, as well as the Bolddog Lings Motorcycle Display Team on Wednesday.

HRH the Duke of York saw everything from fashion to the latest in farming innovations.

He was presented with a gift by five-year-old Hannah Fox, who attends a primary school near Thirsk.

He saw part of the hugely-popular fashion show with clothes from Yorkshire designers showcased on the Kuoni Catwalk in the new-look GYS Fashion Pavilion. This included Sarina Dean, whose fashion firm Galijah is run from her family’s 190-acre farm at Oldstead near York, producing individually hand-crafted Tweed capes which are now selling as far afield as Japan and America.

Prince Andrew met two of the region’s leading agricultural machinery suppliers, Geoff Brown of Ripon Farm Machinery and Paul Russell of the Russell Group of Malton.

He watched showjumping in the main ring and met sculptor Emma Stothard who has created the Fodder 10 Hen to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Yorkshire Agricultural Society’s farm shop and café.

After lunch Prince Andrew visited the livestock lines to meet some the exhibitors and see the Lely robotic milking demonstration. He saw the game cookery theatre and visited the Military Village, where he met members of the Yorkshire Regiment.

Another visitor was Farming Minister Robert Goodwill who attended the show to meet exhibitors and farmers, seeing the NFU and CLA stands as well as the cattle lines and the food hall.

The day culminated as ever in the Cock O’ The North showjumping competition.

Show director Charles Mills said: “We have had another terrific event showcasing the best of agriculture and the countryside to tens of thousands of visitors."

On Wednesday, the Supreme Sheep title went to a Spotted Dutch sheep shown by Ali Jackson, 29, from Scotland, on its first time out.

Having won the show’s first ever breed class dedicated to the Dutch Spotted, it was also the show’s short wool and lowland champion.

The cattle competitions culminated in the ever-popular Blythewood Pairs. The native champions were a pair of Aberdeen Angus, Shadwell Estate Co Ltd of Norfolk’s bull, Shadwell Evolution, and Mr D Rankin of Perth’s cow, Kilmalaug Lady Isabelle, with calf at foot.

The Continental title went to the Supreme Beef champion British Simmental bull, Heathbrow Important, owned by David Sapseed of Hertfordshire, and David Donnelly of Ashbourne in Derbyshire’s cow, Kennox Diva’s Gena.

The champion Dairy pair made it a day of double celebrations for the Saxby family of Bawtry.

Their Blythewood Pair was completed by Thurlstone Topeka Orange, owned by JR and SE Dickinson.