Masham Sheep Fair: Meet the man following in his father's footsteps to judge local lambs

It’s a throwback to the days when Masham Market Square, reputedly the largest market square in the UK, was home to an annual sale of over 70,000 sheep each autumn, equivalent in sheep numbers today to twice the size of Hawes and Kirkby Stephen livestock markets’ biggest annual autumn sales.

Masham Sheep Fair is not a sale, it is very much an event that has rightly earned its place in the calendar. It sees hundreds of sheep once more occupying pens in the centre of this wonderful market town, but this time not necessarily for the price they will make, although there is often buying and selling between breeders, but for the honour of a rosette, sash or cup.

One man charged with perhaps the most onerous judging duty this year is Raymond Johnson of Summerfield Farm, Felliscliffe. Raymond will be judging the town’s own-named sheep breed – the Masham.

Raymond has had a long association with Mashams having followed his father Maurice into the breed when just a teenager.

“I bought my first Masham gimmer lambs when I was 15,” says Raymond. “My father had Mashams. He used to buy them in the autumn and sell them in the spring.

“How it all started for me was when I was told that a farmer at Roecliffe near Boroughbridge wanted some sheep on his land for winter. It came about through my sister who worked at a chartered accountants. She said ‘he doesn’t want paying for them grazing, he just wants his land cleaning up for his cows’.

“I went to Skipton, bought 10 lambs for £5 10s and then some more, setting off with 20. Throughout the rest of my life I’ve kept increasing and increasing and this last year myself and my son Robert, who now farms more than me, had 1200 gimmer lambs bought.”

Sadly, the Masham breed no longer sells in the vast numbers it once did, due to having been overtaken in popularity by the North of England Mule and other variations of the Mule and that is reflected in the Johnson flock today, but Raymond says the Masham still makes up 20 per cent of the flock.

“We buy in September and we’ve bought 500 gimmers in this past week. They all go to the tup. For every 500 we buy there will now be 400 Mules and 100 Mashams. These hoggs will then be sold at spring with a lamb at foot. We run at around 1200 overall.

“The Masham lasts two years longer than a Mule, but the downside for the Masham is that butchers have generally complained that the lambs off them had too much wool. I’ve always thought that was a load of rubbish because when it gets to the slaughterhouse it comes off, but perhaps that why these days Mashams can generally do best going off the deadweight price.

“Mashams were once the big thing in sheep farming because of the breed. It’s hardy, grows well and they last longer. I remember that coming towards Michaelmas in Otley there were always butchers that loved to have the Masham, as it killed out a lot better. A lot of the love that there is for the Mule today is down to fashion.”

Raymond is a highly respected and in-demand judge. Two years ago he judged at the Great Yorkshire Show and he has judged at many other shows in Yorkshire including Nidderdale Show, Ryedale Show three years ago, and over in Lancaster and at marts in Bentham and Hawes.

“The last time I judged at Masham Sheep Fair was 15 years ago, which I remember only too well as we lost my father that same day. I had a call earlier this year saying it was time they had me back again.

“On my first visit I was amazed what it was like. There were so many people and a fantastic show of sheep. I hope they have a lot for me to judge next weekend as I always prefer to have quite a few in front of me. I was judging Teeswaters at Westmorland County Show last week. They are fantastic animals and are of course the rams that combined with the Dalesbred ewe makes the Masham.

“I’ve heard people say either around the ring or before judging starts, ‘Oh, he’s big friends with so-and-so, so he’ll win, but it’s not that at all with me. You have to judge the sheep, not the person, whether you might like them or you don’t.”

Raymond says he’s looking for the basics to be right first.

“I like a good long sheep with a good skin on it and that stands well on four good legs, a leg at each corner as is often said. That’s what I go for to start with.

“Also, in order that it is in keeping with the way the Masham should look I want it to have a nice black and white coloured face. After that it’s down to all the little things, but at least you’ve got the sheep you want in front of you.

“People must think I know what I’m doing because a few years ago at a dinner at How Stean Gorge the Masham Sheep Society presented me with a cup for my efforts.

"I’ve always had a good eye for good sheep. I am a stockman first and foremost and love to see good sheep and good cattle."

Raymond will be accompanied by his wife Christine who was from a farming family in Bishop Thornton.

Masham Sheep Fair includes a plethora of sheep breeds from the commercially popular to the extremely rare and winning at the show is another feather in the cap and in some cases another step towards receiving a higher price for the owners.

It’s also about fun and raising significant funds for charity.

Sheep racing, a craft Market, fleece stalls and sheepdog demonstrations keep the sheep theme going.

There are also performances from hand bell ringers, Morris dancers, an art exhibition and tours of the town’s two breweries, Theakstons & Black Sheep, as well as a children’s fair and a flower display in St Mary's Church.

It started as a one-off to raise money for farmers in Africa, as Sheep Aid. It has since become an annual event, raising money for local charities and its total raised now runs to £158,700 for Yorkshire charities.

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