Page 2 - Great Yorkshire Show 2017

YORKSHIRE POST SATURDAY JULY 01 2017
2/Great Yorkshire Show PREVIEW 2017
WELCOME
Come one, come all
Visitors to this year’s Great Yorkshire Show will find new experiences to enjoy in every section of the showground.
Honorary show director, Charles Mills, said there is something new in every section of the show this year showcasing the very best of the countryside. “We have livestock in all forms, which are so important to the show and the exhibitors here are some of the best in the UK,” he said.
“We are really delighted the British Charolais Ca le Society is holding its first national show here
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The livestock exhibited at the Great Yorkshire Show is some of the best in the UK.
this year which will be a highlight of the Beef section.
“The Lely robotic milking demo was very popular last
year and this year calf feeding using the robotic milker will be demonstrated. It is an innovation which will help improve livestock management.
“Agriculture and the future of farming is very much at
the heart of the show and the farming seminars will look at issues concerning the farming community including Brexit.”
Investment is continually being made in the showground and its facilities. Last year the new £11.5m exhibition hall was opened and transformed for the show into the new food emporium.
This year equine competitors
in the main arena will be able to warm up for their classes in the new £70,000 collecting ring which has an Olympic standard all- weather surface.
“The new collecting ring is
a long-term investment, made to bring it up to international standard. World class facilities means we can not only a ract the best riders and horses to the show, but competitors and
MARCHING ON TOGETHER: The grand ca le parade is one of the biggest spectacles of the entire Great Yorkshire Show.
Cream of the crop
National ca le societies are lining up their summer shows at the Great Yorkshire where just stepping out into the rings means so much.
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exhibitors at Countryside Live benefit as well.” The exhibition hall will again host the two cook-
ery theatres where chef, Rosemary Shrager, will be leading the demonstrations. She will be joined by
a host of the region’s top chefs who will be cooking with the best local produce from the Food Hall.
Home-grown a ractions will also be taking centre stage as Atkinson Action Horses from Goole, bring the equine stars of Poldark, Victoria and Peaky Blinders to the Main
Arena. The first British
stunt horse team to appear
at the Great Yorkshire
Show, Charles said it was
wonderful to have such
brilliant home-grown talent
taking centre stage.
Other highlights will include the British Pole Climbing Competition
which has a £5,000 purse up for grabs.
CHARLES MILLS:
A spectacular showcase for the countryside.
It just does not get any bigger than this for the ranks of show teams that will line up their animals in the rings at the Harrogate showground.
The Great Yorkshire Show is the ultimate display of the very best livestock from across the UK.
Farmers bring their ca le, sheep, horses, goats and pigs in their thousands to compete for some
of the most prestigious and hard earned rose es in the business.
It is no exaggeration to say dreams are realised here, with many farmers parading animals they have bred, reared and meticulously prepared themselves in front of huge crowds that are unmatched elsewhere.
For many, just stepping out at
the show is the realisation of an ambition held since first a ending as wide-eyed children. For others it is a mandatory and proud upholding of family tradition dating back generations.
It is the exhibitors and their entries that make the show what it is. Many only stump up the confidence to compete here a er proving their livestock’s credentials on the one- day show circuit and they will hope to impress the most experienced of judges from across the country here.
Key highlights of the show are always the dairy, beef and sheep
supreme championships, with the winners declared on the Tuesday and Wednesday.
Other standout competitions include the British Charolais Ca le
Society’s first ever National Charolais Show on the Tuesday. A record 72 entries will be travelling to Harrogate from as far afield as Cornwall to County Down, as well as a contingent from Yorkshire and the North.
Also in the ca le section, Beef Shorthorn breeders are scheduled to turn out an entry to match their 2016 record as it stages its annual UK championships once again this year.
There will be a television camera crew trailing around the beef rings
‘Many farmers will be parading animals they have bred, reared and prepared themselves.’
capturing footage for the From
Skye With Love documentary and following competitor Donald Rankin from North Skye, Scotland. He will be showing his Aberdeen Angus ca le a er achieving great success at shows throughout Scotland.
There will be an international flavour in the sheep pens where shearers will go head to head
in a thrilling England versus New Zealand ‘test match’ on the Wednesday.
Meanwhile, visitors can take a virtual pig tour every day of the show, at 11am and 2pm, with East Yorkshire pig farming sisters, Vicky Sco and Kate Moore, and the British Pig Association will stage its national Pig of the Year competition on the Wednesday.
Live milking returns at the
Lely stand where visitors will see calves being trained to feed on an automated calf feeder. This will be the first time that calves fed on an automated system will have featured at the show in a move which will show to the public how calves can be reared away from their mother.
Possibly the most impressive spectacle of the entire show is the grand ca le parade which takes place in the main ring on both Wednesday and Thursday at 2pm.
During Wednesday’s parade the prestigious Blythewood Beef and Dairy Championships, for pairs of native beef, continental beef, and dairy ca le, are decided.