Just as I remember it, says handler of national champion

“This is how I remember it,” said Jane Haw as she manhandled the British Charolais supreme champion through the mud of cattle ring four and into the shed.

She had come from Swanage in Dorset for her first Yorkshire Show, because the National Charolais championships were being staged here for the first time. The event used to be a fixture at the livestock event in Birmingham but now it is nomadic.

“First time here and a supreme champion,” said Ms Haw, whose father was from Beverley. Balbithan Iona, which took the supreme award having been judged female champion, was also the national winner two years ago.’

“She is judged on size and power - and she’s very feminine,” Ms Haw said.

This was the fourth travelling Charolais event, attracting a record 72 entries in 11 classes.

Peter Phythian, chief executive of the British Charolais Cattle Society, said the show was a “great opportunity” to introduce the breed - the first of the continental varieties to be brought to Britain in the 1960s - to a wider audience.

The society’s new chairman, Chris Curry, put its popularity down to its growth rate.

“In terms of weight for age, no other breed performs as well,” he said. “We have developed cattle that will mature very young.”

The Harrogate showground is also home to the UK Beef Shorthorn championships, which attracts the largest field for any cattle breed. A record-matching 118 animals contested the 99 classes.

Beef Shorthorns have seen a sizeable increase in popularity in recent years, prompting Morrisons to market the breed in its “Best” range.

Sally Horrell, president of the Beef Shorthorn Cattle Society, said it had seen a resurgence “because it meets the current demand from producers”.

The breed champion was Millerston Jester, owned by hobbyist Tracy Severn, from Barkisland, near Halifax.

“He knows how to show himself,” she said. “He has good locomotion.”