Huby & Sutton Show returns to Sutton Park in Yorkshire with a modernising approach

James Edgar won’t actually be singing it if he does. He’d be doing a Peter Kay and miming to a classic song that in James’ case has brought much merriment as he adopts his own cheeky mannerisms to go with the innuendo-laden song.

Huby & Sutton Show is James’ local show and he believes he has attended every year it has taken place since he was born, a fact that his mother Margaret confirms. His father showed sheep there and a few years ago James got the call from the now late Willie Anderson, the local vet who for a long time was one of the mainstays of the show.

“Willie was a real character,” says James. I remember him telling me, ‘You should be bloody well getting involved’ and when Willie said something like that you not only listened but you did what he said. It was him that got me to go to a meeting and his reasoning was that they didn’t have any younger people on the committee.

“I’m mainly involved with the setting up and taking down with a number of others. For many years another farmer, Graham Thompson near Goosewood, has been involved. I’m just one of the many people that puts posts and pens where they are hopefully supposed to go, at least that’s the general idea.

“The show chairman and vice chairman are both farmers, Graham Sparrow is an arable farmer from Stillington and Andrew Grainger is the new vice chairman. We also have a brilliant new show secretary, Jess Green, who is driving things on social media and has been putting up all the signs for the show.

Huby & Sutton Show is bringing a modern twist or two to this year’s show by incorporating such as the Fusion Extreme team that specialises in such as free running, Parkour and BMX mountain bike stunts alongside the livestock classes, equine classes, classic cars and classic tractors.

“We wanted this year’s show to have something for every family member,” says Jess. “The Fusion Extreme team will bring that to the show, but we’re also involving our two local schools in Design a Bumble Bee artwork beforehand and then a trail of their work all as part of the Save the Bees campaign.

“We have a new cattle steward Andrea Todd-Atkinson who farms at Huby and who is being assisted by previous cattle steward Steve Johnson; and we have various sheep classes including Texel, AOB Continental, Ryeland, Native, and Rare Breeds, including Shetland. We’ve pigs back at the show too with Tricia Horsley bringing rare breed weaners, and we’ve alpacas from Stockhole Alpacas in North Lincolnshire, plus heavy horses from Liz Darley.

James has been a steward of the native cattle breeds in the past and has a herd of 60 Limousin cows at the 240-acre High Bohemia Farm that he farms in partnership with his uncle Robert, James’ father John having passed away seven and a half years ago.

“There’s no chance of me showing cattle,” says James. “It’s a bit time consuming to do it right. I’ll occasionally enter the Christmas Primestock Show at York Auction Mart if I have anything that I think looks good, but that’s not the same as showing at agricultural shows. I leave that to the experts like Steve (Johnson) with his Beef Shorthorns.

James has recently reintroduced sheep to the farm, but he won’t be following in his father’s footsteps by showing those either.

“Dad showed Texel-cross sheep at Huby & Sutton. I’ve 45 Mule ewes and use a Suffolk tup. I started with them two years ago and I really enjoy them. There’s times in the middle of the night when you’re chasing around a field thinking why and I get a bit of good natured ribbing about it from Steve, but it’s a change and a learning curve. I fancied a change, but I’m still not going to get around to showing them, at least not any time soon.

James puts on that grin of his once more, near to his George Formby song mime, as he talks about where he is more likely to be spotted on the showground on show day.

“I’ll more than likely be seen having a pint around the bar on show day especially as it is run by my local pub landlord and landlady and good friends Rikki and Lisa Brown of The Mended Drum in Huby. Maybe if there’s a job going as a bar steward I should take that on.

“Huby & Sutton Show is a great day out. I look forward to it every year and it attracts a lot of farming people as well as the general public. What’s happening with it this year with new stuff and things to entertain new and younger people is great. The show used to be at the back end of July and that was always time when we were busy harvesting. Now that it is at the beginning of July it provides an opportunity for those who want to give their livestock a good little practice before the Great Yorkshire Show.

James was also instrumental in the rebirth of Easingwold YFC recently, of which show vice chairman Andrew Grainger is the new chairman.

“It was important to a lot of us that it continued and we’ve got it back going again. I had everyone round at the farm last week for an evening, playing rounders and they will be back involved with the show too.

Entries are still open for the cattle, sheep and equine classes.