Good weather drew in a great crowd and a very high standard of entries across all classes created the perfect atmosphere for a truly memorable 128th Skelton show. The picturesque location at Hutton-in-the-Forest was the setting and despite a wet weather forecast at the start of the week, the sun shone all day making it the perfect combination for ‘a great day out for all the family’.
Competition was intense in the livestock lines with the Agricultural Champion of Champions going to the overall Livestock Champion owned by Mr Neil Slack for his Limousin Heifer which won the commercial cattle class, whilst the Supreme Horse Champion went to Mrs Elizabeth Quinlin and her magnificent Coloured horse. The overall Sheep Champion and Reserve Overall Champion of Champions was out of the new class ‘any other continental breed’ which was won by K Dodd and was a splendid Blue Texel ewe.
Elsewhere on the field, the crowds enjoyed the large industrial marquee exhibits, the dog show, Cumberland and Westmorland wrestling, the Fur & Feathers show was back after a four year absence and the outstanding parade of almost 100 vintage vehicles was just another one of the many highlights of the day. Of particular note was the amazing and ever-growing taste@Skelton food festival with every sort of local food and drink available as well as several cookery demonstrations.
Four local hunts took part in the ‘inter hunt challenge’ in the main ring – which was frantic and great fun for the crowds to watch. Over a course and a combination of runners with dogs, a quad bike and horses, it was the agility of the Northumberland’s Haydon Hunt who took the prize, closely followed by the Cumberland. In addition, the show had an invasion from the North East by the Biking Vikings who entertained the crowds with their drumming and many eager children keen to assist them!
Whilst sheep classes reached a record 700 entries this year, it was also a record in the horse classes with over 450 entries. The newly implemented unaffiliated show jumping class produced some good entries and everyone said how much they enjoyed it. On a gentler note, the Concours d’Elegance class proved very popular with both riders and horses beautifully decorated and the winner was once again awarded to Alison Figg on ‘Hamish of Blengside’.
Philip Cranston, this year’s President, said how amazed he was by the effort which had gone into all aspects of the show. “The many trade stands who’ve planned out their stand from the biggest with agricultural machinery down to the smallest in the craft tent, all takes time and planning down to the last detail”.
He continued “of course agriculture is still at the heart of this show and as we all know there has never been a time when it’s been more important to keep up with the changes that are coming our way, or better still to get ahead. With the wealth of knowledge within the farming community, the show is a great opportunity to share a good idea and I’m sure the opportunity wasn’t wasted!”
As President, Philip was asked to choose the most ‘outstanding exhibit on the showfield’ and much to the delight of C D Braithwaite, he chose his Clydesdale mare Marshall Meadow Lady Ester with her foal at foot, Corney Mill Astrid (photo shown at top of this news item, courtesy of photographer Paul Martin).
Chairman, Nina Oxley was also delighted with the day and said “for my first year, it was splendid to see how well the show day went – after months of detailed planning, when I saw the sun rise this morning I relaxed as I knew we were going to have a great day. We all work so hard to provide a great show for our traders, exhibitors and our visitors so to see the showfield full with happy, smiley faces made me feel very proud and honoured to be their Chairman. At the end of the show day, we’d erected a big screen to show the Euro24 England match and many people brought chairs and rugs and with a pint in hand, watched England win – the icing on the cake!
The show would not be possible without the support of the many volunteers who freely give their time. I’d also like to convey my sincere thanks to all the judges, stewards, exhibitors, sponsors and most importantly the public for turning out in their thousands to make our show truly special – thank you!”
GRAND PARADE TROPHY WINNERS
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