ORGANISERS of Malton Show are confident of building on last year's success, when the event was held - controversially - on a Sunday for the first time and attendance almost doubled as a result.

Chairman Charlie Breese said: "It was an experiment which paid dividends, even though it did mean additional costs."

Despite the extra overheads the show's historic debts were drastically reduced because of the success of the day and hopes are high that this year the show, on July 22, could not only break even but may even end up in the black, if the weather is in its favour.

There are 30 additional trade stands compared to last year, when the switch from the traditional Thursday fixture resulted in a drop in stands. And entries in virtually all classes are well up, Mr Breese said.

More than 460 entries have been received in the horse and pony classes, 240 in the sheep section and the number of cattle entered at 60, is double last year.

In addition, the show will have a strong goat section with big turnouts in the fur and feather classes and the popular heavy horses sections.

A new attraction this year will be an impressive show of Irish Draught horses in which competitors will be seeking a place in the NFU Mutual Irish Draught championships at Lincoln on September 15 and the Blue Chip £2,000 Challenge.

Even entries in the horticultural classes are expected to be well supported despite the inclement weather this summer.

Another first will be the involvement of local Young Farmers' Clubs in stock judging competitions.

A big exhibition of vintage tractors and machinery will be a highlight along with a host of children's attractions and rides.

The Malton Agricultural Society which runs the show - this year's will be the 121st - have decided to bring back the grand parade of trophy winners in the livestock classes. Sheep dog trials, terrier racing, vintage tractor parade, horse driving, and show jumping will be among other features.

"We feel that Malton Show is still a traditional agricultural show with a strong farming theme, while at the same time we have introduced new attractions. The result is an event which is an excellent day out for all the family in one of the most beautiful parks in Ryedale."

He is hopeful that the attendance could top 7,000 for the first time for several years.

"The show has continued to evolve over the years, trying to widen its appeal while at the same time retaining its core as a truly agricultural show serving one of the leading farming areas of the country."

Commentator Christine Moore of Tadcaster will again be in charge of the main ring events.

Parking at the venue, Scampston Park, will be free, and admission charges to the show are £7 for adults, £5 for children aged five to 16, and £20 for a family of four.

Concerns that holding the show on a Sunday might cause traffic problems on the A64 were allayed last year thanks to good planning and police work.

The show has a new secretary with Alex Stott taking over from the long-serving Jenny Bird.


Reward for lifetime's work

The name of Jack Bulmer has been synonymous with sheep breeding and showing for decades.

Now he is being honoured by Malton Agricultural Society by being made a honorary life member of the society and Malton Show, the prestigious award which has been made to only a handful of people in recent years.

Mr Bulmer, now 82 and wheelchairbound, started his exhibiting career when he was just nine - showing rabbits and guineas.

"It was a good way of making some pocket money!" he recalls.

But it was not long before Jack followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather in the world of Leicester sheep and modestly remembers being able to hand-clip 35 ewes in a day when he was just 12.

Two years later he left the village school and began working on the family's Coultas Farm, at Great Habton, his home village where he still lives, at The Manor House.

He worked in the fields with horses but always his love was for sheep and it was not long before he developed his father Alec's skills in breeding, trimming and exhibiting.

He recalls how one of his early successes was at The Yorkshire Show at Malton in 1951 when he won the Leicester sheep championship.

From then on his career in the sheep world has become a legend, winning championship after championship at the Royal, Great Yorkshire and Royal Highland Shows.

At Malton he won the Suffolk championship 13 times out of 14 years. But success came with some intriguing techniques to put the beasts in the best light, including adding gunpowder to boiling water and carefully applying it to the sheep's wool to give it a smart steely-look.

Princess Anne once asked him how he managed to get the faces of his sheep so white and he coyly admitted that it was all down to Johnson's baby powder!

The year 1980 was one of his most successful, winning the Champion and Reserve Championship with his Suffolks at the Royal Highland, the female championship at The Royal, and the male and female at the Great Yorkshire.

Mr Bulmer has also enjoyed major successes at the Smithfield Show - "I have now clocked up 100 first prizes" he said. He was the first to exhibit Cheviots at Smithfield and only the second with Wensleydales, as his reputation as one of the country's top sheep farmers gathered momentum and with it the top honour from The Suffolk Sheep Society when he became president in 1989.

He is optimistic about the future not only of sheep farming but of agriculture in general. "I think it will get better, especially with farmers turning to producing fuel. I would still go into farming if I was 21 - and I'd certainly still be sheep breeding."

Ironically, the Suffolk breed with which he has so much success came about by accident some 120 years ago when it was the product of a cross-breeding between two old breeds, Norfolk Horn and the South Down. But he fears for the long-term future of the breed.

It could he says, go the same way as the Oxfords, a breed rarely heard of today.

"I'm delighted to be honoured at Malton Show because I have been part of it for so many years, " he said. "I can remember as if it was yesterday going with my father to show Old English Leicesters as a boy?"

Hot wheels set to turn a few heads

Entertainment highlight at Malton Show will be the Bolddog Lings Freestyle Team, the latest in extreme sports action based on competitive racing and freestyle motocross.

The team put on a unique non-stop show using the most innovative ramps, equipment and talented riders, a spokesman at Peter Johnson Entertainments explained.

The show features a freestyle motocross competition using the world's largest, most spectacular mobile freestyle ramps and includes technically demanding mid-air free-style tricks such as superman, heel clicker, nac-nac, switchblade, lazy boy, double can-can and others.

The all-action show also includes jumps over-cars, a demo motorcross race, wheelies, and slam dunking balls in baskets at more than 30ft in the air.

Outside the main arena, the team invites the public to its interactive stand where they can meet the riders and find out about motorcycling.