It’s nearly time to saddle up, strap in and hold on tight as the equine stars and stunt riders from the BBC Poldark series are set to stampede their way to the Royal Cornwall Show on the 9th, 10th and 11th June.

Having spent many months in Cornwall filming Poldark, Atkinson Action Horses, who have spent the past twenty years training horses and riders for Film & TV, are returning to the county to perform at the county’s largest annual event.

The stunt team’s performances at the Wadebridge showground will see the talented horses and riders demonstrating astounding acrobatics normally reserved for the television and cinema screens. Their repertoire of tricks will include Roman riding, drags, falls, pick-ups, flips and rearing horses.

On top of their Poldark exploits recent credits include Victoria, Peaky Blinders, The Living and the Dead and Hippopotamus. So it is likely these talented horses and riders have at some point invaded your TV screen.

The horse that plays Ross Poldark’s trusted steed Darkie in the popular series will also be at the show. Arguably the co-star of the show, Seamus, a 15 year old Irish draught horse, will swap galloping across the rugged Cornish clifftops with Aidan Turner to meet, greet and feature in selfies with visitors to the Royal Cornwall.

Mark Atkinson, founder of Atkinson Action Horses, was the horse master in charge of the action during the filming of the Poldark series and is looking forward to returning to Cornwall.

“We recently finished filming the second series of Poldark in March. We spend five months in total per series in Cornwall and bring down 20 horses and 5 riding doubles to stand in for the main characters.

“We really enjoy our time in Cornwall and have found the people to be really friendly and helpful, just like back home in East Yorkshire.”

The stunt riders appearing at the Royal Cornwall, including Mark’s son Benjamin who doubles for Aidan Turner, much prefer performing to a live audience.

“The riders are really looking forward to performing for the crowds at the show. They get a real buzz from a crowd that they just don’t get when filming.”

Mark will feel right at home at one of the leading agricultural shows in the country. Before falling in to the stunt horse business he was a full-time dairy and arable farmer. The equine side of things grew to such an extent that the family gave up farming commercially 20 years ago.

“Our 120 acre farm is now used predominantly for grass keep for all of our horses to graze on.”

There’s one thing that Mark isn’t so keen on when he’s in Cornwall.

“The very narrow Cornish lanes have caught us out on a few occasions and we’ve got our horse lorry jammed. We’ve learnt not to trust the sat-nav too much!”

Christopher Riddle, RCAA secretary, is hoping the Poldark theme will prove a hit with visitors at the event.

“We are very much looking forward to seeing the equine stars from Poldark perform in the main ring.

“The ‘Poldark effect’ is attracting even more visitors to Cornwall and we hope some of them will take the opportunity to join us during their stay to enjoy the show for a day, or possibly three.”

For more information about the Royal Cornwall Show and to buy tickets online visit: www.royalcornwall.co.uk.