Family farming between M62 hoping for success at The Great Yorkshire Show

Every year is the same, the mad panic to locate our show smocks, the last minute shop, washing the sheep, loading the vehicles, etc.

We’ve never got the sheep looking their absolute best or at least that’s how we always feel.

Paul is usually blamed for bringing the wrong tup home and leaving the best one in the field and I get blamed for shrinking all the white show smocks in the wash.

This year, we went one better or at least, I did. I’d given up worrying about the colour of the Leicester sheep, the splodges of dye in the wrong place, dirty bums that just won’t come clean or my trimming disaster.

The simple fact is I need to practice more and put significantly more hours in. The time just isn’t there though and with the little guy’s horse competitions taking up most weekends, the sheep tend to take a back seat.

So until I really dedicate myself to preparing the sheep properly, I have to accept I’m not quite there yet.

The real nightmare began on the morning we were due to set off when I woke up with an unbearable pain in my neck. A physical pain that is, not the husband variety!

As the hours ticked by I realised I could no longer turn my head and the trapped nerve in my neck was not going away. The slightest movement sent a searing pain down my arm and back, leaving me yelling in agony.

Following a broken back many years ago, I’ve suffered terrible pain and like many people do, I’ve ignored it and just carried on.

It quickly became apparent, however, that there was no way I was going to be able to drive the wagon to Harrogate.

We always take the horsebox to sleep and cook all our food in whilst the sheep go in the cattle wagon, so both wagons were needed.

I think the pair of us could have given up there and then, we were so frustrated and disappointed and the little guy was crestfallen.

The only solution was for Paul to drive to Harrogate with the sheep and then come back for the horsebox.

The days of us sleeping in the back of a cattle wagon are long since gone.

Whilst it might be fun when you’re young and have a skinful of beer to keep you warm, we’ve both reached the point where we need a bit of comfort!

It put a real strain on things for us and meant that the little guy would be showing all the Leicesters on his own as I wasn’t capable of doing anything.

These things happen though and you’ve to just make the best of an awkward situation and keep smiling.

Perhaps we’ll come away with plenty of rosettes and all the hassle, pain killers and extra driving will be forgotten about.