Virtual Great Yorkshire Show starts today - featuring 13-year-old taking you behind the scenes at his farm

Annually, more than 8,000 animals and 130,000 visitors go through the gates of the Great Yorkshire Show during the three day event in Harrogate.

But organisers, the Yorkshire Agricultural Society (YAS), took the “sad but sensible” decision in March this year to cancel the show, which usually takes place during the second week of July, as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

However, the much-loved celebration of agriculture and the countryside will still be taking place in a dramatically different format this year.

The Virtual Great Yorkshire Show starts today and runs until the end of Thursday, the original dates for this year’s event.

Visitors to the YAS’s website will be able to see a series of short films featuring farm tours, livestock showcases, cookery, fashion, behind the scenes tours, gardening and beekeeping.

As many parts of the event as possible are being represented, and the show’s director, Charles Mills, said the society was “incredibly grateful” to everyone who has contributed.

Taking a starring role alongside well-known faces such as chefs Steph Moon and Rosemary Shrager, stars of The Yorkshire Vet, Peter Wright and Julian Norton, and Olympic showjumper Graham Fletcher, will be the farmers and producers who are usually in the ring.

One of the young competitors is Edward Hudson, who has just turned 13. At 2pm today, he will be taking visitors on a virtual tour of the family farm at Flaxton, near York.

Edward said he had felt “honoured” to have been asked to do the film, and added: “I will be showing people behind the scenes with our cattle, sheep and spring barley.

“I will also be showing the work farmers do for wildlife. We have a lot of wildlife on the farm and trees to help capture carbon.”

Edward, who was 12 at the time he made the film, said he had enjoyed putting the virtual tour together.

“Lots of young people are really passionate about farming and I liked being able to show that.”

Telling the story behind the show ring is also an important part of the Sheep Showcase, part of tomorrow’s line-up, which features the Stones family from Richmond.

Mary and Annie Stones, who are two of five siblings on the family farm, will be talking about their North Country Cheviot Sheep.

Mary, 18, said she thought it was important to not only promote the show, but to also give people a chance to see what went on behind the scenes the rest of the year.

“We would normally be at the show for the full week and there is so much to see even when you are there all the time, you don’t get round it all. This is a great way for people to find out a bit more,” she said.