August is the highlight of the agricultural calendar in Orkney. Many parishes and outlying islands host their summer shows before the county show in the capital, Kirkwall, rounds off the festivities in a grand finale, where the very glossiest cows, curliest-horned rams and fanciest ducks vie for champion titles.
The county show is a major local event – many shops, offices and cafes in the town close for the day (a sign on a glass door: “Gone to see the pretty coos”). But for the islands’ equestrians, it is but a warm-up for the eagerly awaited Riding of the Marches that takes place the following afternoon, when dozens of riders and horses – manes plaited and hooves oiled – gather in front of St Magnus’s cathedral before clattering through the town streets.
