Ryedale Show "could not have gone better"

With 1,000 sheep, 230 cattle, 78 fleeces, 37 pigs and 27 goats, Ryedale Show, which took place yesterday at Welburn Park, is one the largest one-day agricultural shows in the country.

“It has been a wonderful day with perfect weather and the numbers look superb, in excess of 15,000 people,” said show secretary Tom Watson.

“We have had lots of really good comments from people including those running the stalls and produce stands as well as the excellent range of trade stands.

“As well as being an enjoyable show, it is pleasing to see that it is good for business and for the local area and economy.”

More than £5,000 will be donated from this year’s show to local groups and charities including Farm Community Network, Welburn Hall School and the Derwent and Sinnington Hunt pony clubs.

“This is something we want to build on in future years,” Tom said.

“Ryedale Show is going from strength to strength – it really could not have gone any better.”

Heavy rain and thunderstorms had flattened some of the showground marquees earlier in the week, but the damage had all been repaired when show day dawned and occasional showers throughout the morning did not deter visitors or competitors.

Show vice-chairman Christine Thompson said they had been expecting bumper visitor numbers.

She said: “By the number of calls we’ve taken in the last few weeks we knew it was going to be a good day. We sold out of showground parking tickets last week.

Helping Christine in the secretary’s tent was her mother Kathleen Vasey – trophies secretary and the person responsible polishing all 40 cups before they are presented each year. In the cattle lines, Thirsk farmer Greg Bentley was exhibiting Limosin, Belgian Blue and Blond cattle.

“It’s 20 years since I first came to Ryedale Show. It’s one of the few we never miss. Come hell or highwater, we’ll come here,” he said.

With him showing in the young handlers and calf classes was five- year-old Matthew, and Isla who at just six weeks old could have been the youngest visitor at the show.

Mum Rachel Mudd said: “We were determined to get here. She came to the Yorkshire Show when she was not even three weeks old.”

This year’s show president was farmer Paul Dunn, who said: “I’ve been involved in the show all my life so to be here as president is a very good feeling.

“I’ve attended a lot of one day shows, and I know I am biased, but I think it’s the best.

“I have been round the tradestands already and told them all how pleased we are to have them. I think the show is looking better than ever.”

Shows like Ryedale are important to promote farming at its best, Mr Dunn added.

“We have been busy setting up the showground for a week now, and I was up at 4.30 this morning milking my cows so there’s no rest.”

As ever, the show attracted equine entries from all over the country.

Long time heavy horse competitor Francis Richardson, from Bewholme, near Hornsea, has been bringing Shire horses to Ryedale Show for nearly 40 years.

“It’s a nice show, and it’s quite an achievement to win at Ryedale,” he said.

His six-year-old mare Bewholme Moonlight Sensation has already won at Otley and Lincoln shows this summer.

A “really good feeling” and optimism after coming through a difficult and horrendous winter.

That was the message sent out by farmers through the NFU’s Ryedale Group Secretary Rob Hicks based at Pickering.

However, dairy farmers are still struggling because of low milk prices relative to production costs and upland livestock farmers face uncertainties following reforms to Europe’s Common Agricultural Policy which could see further cuts by the British Government to the support they receive.

Mr Hicks said at the NFU stand at Ryedale Show: “This is giving the Government the ability to withold a lot of money and it worries farmers they might be penalised because other countries are going to be paid more money.

“Farmers here realise that in the current economy they are not going to get paid more money from the taxpayer but the country and the public want better quality food and the recent beef scare (with horsemeat mixed with beef) showed the folly of buying cheap food and the public want to know about food and its quality so there is a definite need for a playing field if farmers here are to be able to compete fairly.

“The horrendous winter meant crops and the landscape looked totally barren with crops failing and farmers having difficult decisions to make about which crops to keep or take out.

“In that sense things have recovered remarkably well and while it might not be a bumper harvest, it looks as if it could be respectable with no disease pressures.

“Here at the Ryedale Show there is, in general, a good feeling about the industry and a lot of people are interested in how their food is grown and farmers are proud to to show them what they do.”

Day at the show brings a boost

IN a struggling industry, a day at the show provides a much-needed boost for dairy farmers, said Ryedale Show’s chief dairy steward.

Stephen Stonehouse has been involved in Ryedale Show for 40 years. And despite giving up his own dairy herd four years ago, is in charge of the dairy cattle classes.

“The milk industry is surviving at the moment, but they are not making any money,” he said.

“The show means farmers can get out for a day, talk to other farmers, see some good stock on show and know they are not on their own.”

Even though the number of dairy herds around Ryedale is falling every year, the show organisers are keen to see as many different breeds on display at the show as possible.

“Even if we only have one in a class, we want as many as we can because people want to see the old breeds,” added Mr Stonehouse.

“We are very keen to encourage young people as well, with calf classes and young handler competitions.”

Over in the sheep lines, almost a thousand animals were entered in classes.
Chief sheep steward Chris Leckenby said: “Entries are up on last year, it’s very pleasing to see that. Some of our classes – especially the Rylands – are bigger than the classes at the Great Yorkshire Show.”

In 43 years’ involvement with the show, he has seen the sheep area grow considerably.

“We are indebted to the Shaw family for giving us such a lovely site. We spend six nights and one day setting up and have a lot of help from teams from Helmsley and Kirkbymoorside Young Farmers’ Clubs,” he added.

Fur and feather pulls in crowds

“RYEDALE is what I call a natural show– it doesn’t have any displays or anything like that. I think that’s why it is so popular,” said Steph Myers.

Steph, from Rosedale, is the secretary of the show’s fur and feather section, and was delighted to see so many visitors flocking to the site for the 147th show.

In her own section, entries were down by around 15 this year, but she was pleased to see that every entry turned up on show day.

“All the cages are full, and that’s nice to see. We’ve got a huge variety of breeds and classes for visitors to look at,” she said.

And competitors for the smaller animals are not afraid to travel long distances to take part at Ryedale.

“People don’t mind coming a long way for a day out here. We had one young boy take part who’d come from Scotland to show Shire horses, and had gone home with Best Pet as well. He was absolutely capped with that.”

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