RYEDALE’S farming showcase, the annual show at Welburn Park, is expected to have broken all records for crowds and entries yesterday.

Despite heavy clouds at times, the rain kept away for the 145th show.

And Peter Woodall, the general secretary who is retiring from the job after 41 years, said it had been “absolutely perfect”.

“The main highlight was the weather,” he said: “For an agricultural show you don’t need a lot of sunshine. It was a pleasant temperature so the stock were very happy and so were the crowds.”

David Cussons, director of Ryedale Show for more than 20 years, described it as one of the best he could remember in his life-long links with the event.

Judges praised the high standard in the livestock classes, with many of the exhibits having won championships at other northern shows this year, including the Great Yorkshire.

The crowd was estimated at between 15,000 and 17,000, with horse entries numbering about 1,200, together with more than 1,000 sheep and 35 pigs.

Despite the success, Mr Cussons ruled out suggestions that Ryedale Show should become a two-day event or that it should be held at a weekend.

“We rely very heavily on volunteers and a two-day show would be very demanding on everyone,” said Mr Cussons. He said farmers and supporters of the show always earmarked the selected Tuesday in their diaries and added: “They just take the day off, but if we had a weekend show, it would probably be very different. It has always been held on a Tuesday.”

A life-member of the society, Mr Cussons has been the mastermind behind the show’s operation and success for more than 20 years and recalled yesterday how, as a lad of eight he walked livestock from the family farm two miles away, to be shown at the show.

Today, his family’s links continue with his son, Richard, who specialises in showing vintage tractors, and his grandson, Robert, a keen helper in preparing for the milestone event in Ryedale’s farming calendar.

“Farming is doing well in Ryedale by and large – that was obvious in the high standard of quality of the livestock entries and the number,” said Mr Cussons. “The show is a really great shop window for farming in Ryedale. It’s a real traditional agricultural show and the fact that we have a waiting list of 50 companies wanting space on the showfield shows how popular it is.”

Diversification had proved a success for many Ryedale farmers, he said, and added: “Ryedale is a marvellous area both to farm in and visit,” he said.