The Yorkshire Post columnists prepare to take part in 161st Great Yorkshire Show in Harrogate

Julian Norton, one of three columnists for The Yorkshire Post who will be appearing at the 161st Great Yorkshire Show in Harrogate this week. Picture by James Hardisty.

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Jill Thorp pens a weekly column - 'Life between the lanes of the M62' - in The Yorkshire Post and will be showing sheep and ponies at the 161st Great Yorkshire Show in Harrogate. Picture by Gary Longbottom.

Star columnists from our Country Week pages will be exhibiting at the show, filming footage for television and even commentating.

Visitors to the Harrogate showground - where the 161st Great Yorkshire Show takes place over three days, starting on Tuesday - may just spot some recognisable faces, including:

Jill Thorp

Jill farms with her husband Paul and young son John-William at 2,500-acre Stott Hall Farm, where they have lived since 2008.

The M62 in West Yorkshire as it splits past Stott Hall Farm, home of the Thorp family, and snakes up Moss Moor over the Pennines. Picture by Tony Johnson.

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If you have travelled over the Pennines along the M62 then you will have passed their upland farm - their farmhouse is located between the lanes of the motorway at 1,100ft above sea level.

Jill joined The Yorkshire Post as a columnist last year and ever since, she has been documenting life as sheep farmer from her unique location.

This week, the Thorps will be showing sheep and ponies, and will be hoping to vie for a prized rosette or two.

Jo Foster

Jo is The Yorkshire Post's longstanding equestrian columnist and over the years she has shared her stories of the ups and downs of life at Brookleigh Farm in Menston, as well as of her adventures from riding and training horses.

From her stables and with the help of her dedicated team, she has trained more than 100 winners, both under National Hunt rules and previously in the Point to Point field.

Jo will be at the Great Yorkshire Show this week showing hounds, while some of her family members are involved in the livestock classes.

Julian Norton

The Yorkshire Vet co-star has been writing about veterinary life in rural North Yorkshire since 2017, with his weekly columns inspiring two books 'The Diary of a Yorkshire Vet' and in May this year, 'On Call with a Yorkshire Vet'.

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Julian, who works as a vet at independent mixed practice Rae, Bean & Partners based in Boroughbridge, has become a household name through the hit Channel 5 TV series, The Yorkshire Vet, produced by Daisybeck Studios of Leeds.

Now a regular at the Great Yorkshire Show, Julian will be returning to the agricultural showcase event this week to guest star in new Daisybeck show, Today at The Great Yorkshire Show. The two-part series will be broadcast on Channel 5 on Wednesday and Thursday at 8pm, featuring highlights from the Yorkshire Agricultural Society's big summer event.

Thirsk-based vet Peter Wright, The Yorkshire Vet's other headline star, will also be involved in filming for the new show.

Chris Berry

Chris has been writing for Country Week since its inception and will be commentating at the sheep rings on Tuesday and Wednesday, while on the Thursday he will be helping to stage the People's Choice Award. Judged by the public, is now in its 20th year, it gives the exhibitors the chance to have some fun with fancy dress.

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