WHEN Ronaldo elbowed his way to the front of the queue to get a preview of the Royal Three Counties Show few were going to argue.

Because here was not some preening Portuguese footballer, but a champion one ton Hereford bull. This Ronaldo took the senior champion title in the Hereford class at last year's show and dropped in at the Malvern showground for an early look at this year's event, which starts on Friday.

Ronaldo is from the Bounds Herd at Westons Cider Visitor Centre at Much Marcle, near Ledbury and was escorted on his comeback tour by Staff from the showground and headline sponsor Santander.

Three Counties Agricultural Society chief executive Chief Executive Ken Nottage said: "We were so pleased to welcome back a returning champion to the showground ahead of this year’s Royal Three Counties Show. He really is a magnificent beast> We are delighted to be welcoming Santander as our headline sponsor to the UK’s largest livestock and equine show and we are so proud of our reputation for the outstanding quality of livestock we attract. This year we have rebranded the Sunday of the show as Rare Breed Sunday in order to promote and support rare and native breeds of which the Hereford is one. We are very proud of our heritage, we date back to 1797 and our visitor surveys tell us that it is one of the friendliest agricultural events on the calendar.”

Ronaldo's return trip included a look at the newly improved main arena that hosts the daily highlight that is the Grand Parade. This showcases the magnificent livestock that have competed in the classes throughout the day. On the Sunday of the show (June 14) there is an additional parade specifically for rare and minority breeds, which will include Hereford bulls.