Tough calls for judges at big one-day show

Mark Richardson shows one of his Shirehorses.

Judging livestock at the event, Yorkshire’s biggest one-day agricultural show which attracts about 25,000 people, is a tough task as entries include prize-winners from major shows earlier in the season.

But on a hot show day, it was the Waring family from Field House Farm in Cherry Burton who stole the headlines.

They repeated their double sweep from last year’s show by picking up both the Holstein championship and the overall dairy interbreed champion with Wintersell Mincio Mila, who only calved three weeks ago.

“I’m really pleased; it’s what we show for,” said farmer James Waring, 40, whose farm has diversified to offer fresh bottled milk from a vending machine.

Reserve dairy champion was a Holstein shown by M Southwell & Partners of Hempholme.

It was a British Blonde, Everingham Judy, shown with its first calf, Everingham Oscar, by Neil and Jess Barrett of Everingham who took the show’s overall beef championship trophy. The pair won their breed championship at the Great Yorkshire Show last week.

In reserve was a Limousin from Garrowby Estate Farms.

Sheep exhibitor Charles Marwood of Whenby returned having previously won the interbreed title for three years in a row before missing the last three shows, and he picked up where he had left off by taking the overall sheep title with a homebred Charollais ram.

In reserve was a Texel shown by Fraisthorpe’s Christopher Riby.

Elsewhere at the show a new countryside arena featured gun dogs, fly fishing and pond dipping but it had to be cleared for an air ambulance crew to land and treat a male show guest who suffered a cardiac arrest.

David Tite, chief executive of Driffield Agricultural Society, reported that the man was initially responsive to treatment, adding: “We wish him all the very best and hope he makes a speedy recovery.”

For more from the show, see Saturday’s Country Week.