THE FIRST sheep shearing contest organised by Ryedale Young Farmers has raised £5,000 for a charity set up in memory of one of its former members.

The Swede Shear was named after Rob Stephenson, who was called Swede by his friends.

All five clubs which make up the Ryedale Young Farmers joined together to organise the fundraiser earlier this month

Robert Stephenson, of Pickering, was 21 when he died on March 26, 2016, after being involved in a road collision on a night out in York.

His parents Patrick and Nicki and elder brother Sam set up the Rob Stephenson Trust to help young people participate in sport.

Rob, who was a rugby player with Malton and Norton Rugby Club and a cricketer with Thornton-le-Dale Cricket Club, was in the third year of an agriculture degree at Newcastle University.

The sheep shearing evening included an open and a young farmers’ class, and finished with a party.

Rob Wilkinson, one of the event organisers, said: “Well over 250 Young Farmers and their friends gathered at Coultas Farm, Great Habton night to enjoy the first Ryedale Young Farmers sheep shearing event to be held in the valley.

“The Swede Shear was named after Rob Stephenson, who was called Swede by his friends because of his large head and mop of blond hair.

“Alex Bulmer kicked off the event with a time of 61 seconds. The event was hosted by Alex’s family and he is an active chairman of the Amotherby Young Farmers.

“After two hours of sheep shearing the event was finally won by Anth Rooke, a local lad who took the £150 prize money sponsored by arableadvisor.com.

“Alex Chapman took the honour of the Ryedale Young Farmers Club Shearer 2019.

“The Swede Shear was followed by a mega afterparty hosted by DJ Stephen Jarmuz.”

Neil Adams, who also helped organised the event, said: “We organised this event as we knew Swede from our school, rugby and university days.

“It has been a brainchild of ours for some time as we wanted to raise money in honour of our close friend.”

Neil said: “Finding a different way to raise money was the challenge as many other friends have already undertaken a wide variety of challenges in Rob’s memory.

"However, nobody has yet organised a shearing event so we thought it was perfect. A great chance to get together and have some fun, whilst also spreading the good name of the trust.”

”We would like to thank all the sponsors in the area who kindly supported them. Also, Tim Easterby for his donation of the sheep. In addition, we would like to thank all the Young Farmers who helped organise and run the evening.

“In total the ‘Swede Shear’ raised a whopping £5,000.”

For details of the Rob Stephenson Trust, visit robstephensontrust.com.