Danby Show still going strong

Harry, who turns 89 next month, has been to every Danby Show since he was 10 years old. "I remember coming with my father. We were showing Scottish Blackface sheep. We used to put them out of the wagon and into the main street in Castleton. We would then drive them over where the bowling green is now in Castleton to the next field which was where the show was held before it moved to its new location in 1953."

The Boococks have always done pretty well at Danby and the other local shows in the area and Harry's son Colin still shows the same breed. "Colin hasn't shown since the year before foot and mouth in 2001 but he has some very good lambs this year and with it being the 150th show I think he wants to be a part of it."

John Randles of Westerdale is the show's sheep steward and has also attended many Danby Shows. "I remember walking the five miles from Westerdale to the show when it was held behind the Downe Arms in Castleton.

"There was only a very narrow entrance for folk and livestock to get through to the showground itself. All of the sideshows were in the street in Castleton and that made it even more difficult to get through. When it was moved to the new showfield in Danby, it gave the show chance to expand."

Dan Thompson hasn't seen much of the show since he took on responsibilities for the ever popular sheepdog trialling section. "The sheepdog trials use our own sheep and I'm involved with them so much that I don't get to see the rest of the show. My children always used to say that I could only be found in two places – either with the sheep or in the beer tent!"

Danby Show is set in a beautiful, tranquil dale and prides itself on being a traditional, friendly agricultural show which gets its fair share of visitors and holidaymakers, usually about 7,000, but is still a dyed-in-the-wool rural show.

Jean Blacklock of North End Farm, just a quarter of a mile from the showground, won here for the first time at just five years of age, showing a calf. Today, Jean is one of the secretaries, with particular responsibility for the produce and handicrafts section. "The only show I've ever missed was when I went on honeymoon 23 years ago. Myself and my two sisters used to show a calf each year." Jean's mother, Myra, lived near the coast in the 1930s, but never missed Danby Show even then.

"I've been to nearly every Danby Show there has been. We used to live near Robin Hood's Bay when I was little and our annual outing was to come to Danby Show by train. I came to live here in 1938." Myra was involved, like many of the wives and other ladies connected with the show, in providing the refreshments for the judges and stockmen, but in 1959 she started taking part in the produce sections. "I had never shown anything before but in 1959 I was determined to win a rosette with it being the 100th show." She won three rosettes including a first prize for her teacakes.

Harry recalls that there were some "tricks of the trade" in the sheep showing world of Danby, and others, some years ago: "You sometimes would drill holes through sheep's horns and put springs in place to widen them if they were too close to their face during springtime, but when it came to show time you would fill those holes up with wood filling or putty. There also used to be a bit of painting going on so it would look right when showing. We never did that, but I know some who did."

The man who John, Dan, Harry, Jean and Myra feel deserves most praise for his involvement with Danby Show over the years is John Dowson. He was chairman for many years and is also a past president. "John did so much for Danby Show," says John Randles. "We are very fortunate here that so many of the community get involved, and John's nephew Shaun is our current chairman."

The first Danby Show was held in 1848 when Canon Atkinson, the local cleric founded Danby Agricultural Society, and it is only World Wars and foot and mouth (in 2001) that have interrupted it.

The 150th Danby Show takes place Wednesday, August 11.

CW 7/8/10