Enjoy it on video: North Yorkshire County Show

The competition was in the livestock sections, which are widely seen as a dress rehearsal for the Great Yorkshire in July. The sunshine brought out a crowd estimated at around 10,000.

In the trade stands, William Holding was working his way through hundreds of questions from people intrigued by his invitation to Rediscover Dowsing – at 80 for a one-day beginner's course, it emerged, but for free for a few minutes each yesterday.

Most people think of dowsing as water divining. Mr Holding, of Whitwell, near York, says that is only one small example of what can be done with a forked stick, a pendulum or a couple of bent metal wires. Tune into the energies of the Earth and they can lead you to almost anything you are looking for, he reckons.

It was his first time at the North Yorkshire but from experience at Driffield Show, he reckons most country people have the talent. That is why his invitation is to Rediscover It.

He works for his son, James, of James Holding Dairy Engineering, which sponsored the Ridings Dowsers' exhibition yesterday. See www.ridingsdowsers.co.uk

Among the exhibitors aiming more directly for farming custom, one man band Mike Swainston, "man and tractor for hire", had booked himself a prime spot between the Aberdeen Angus Society and Massey Ferguson.

He was made redundant from a job as a farm hand 12 years ago and set up on his own, based near Masham, looking for niche contracts he could fill with a small range of machinery.

He started out cutting anti-slip grooves in farmyard concrete and has moved into pasture maintenance.

His latest investment is an Opico "sward lifter", designed to break up the hard pan which stops grass roots going deep enough for maximum nourishment. Farmers are getting more and more interested in the theory of grass as fertiliser and feed prices go up and demonstrated a meter which showed a pan less than four inches below the surface in the show field.

"That means you waste 40 percent of your fertiliser because the roots cannot get at it, " he said.

In the main ring, show of the day was a performance by the Rockin Horse Show – a team of trick riders led by Dutchman Guido Louis and his wife, Sophie Sandow.

The team currently includes 16-year-old Ben Atkinson from Eastrington, Humberside.

Birthday present tops cattle competition

THE cattle competition saw rising star Jonathan Timm picking up more prizes with Tip Top, the Blue-x-Limo heifer he got for his 21st birthday and has been showing with success all season.

Most recently it was top beef animal at Honley last week and at Todmorden on Saturday before picking up the same honour in the North Yorkshire Show yesterday, shown by Jonathan's father, Willie, who taught him about beef.

The two of them are in between farms but expecting to settle in the Leeds area, where they are managing on borrowed space for the time being.

They are hoping for a chance for Jonathan to test himself and Tip Top at the Great Yorkshire, where his father is a veteran, but so far are still on the waiting list.

"I hope we are proving we deserve the chance, " said the senior Mr Timm yesterday.

Best dairy animal yesterday was a Holstein from an increasingly rare kind of farmer – a small dairy man, David Alderson, who runs about 60 milkers alongside some arable fields on 175 acres.

He has Ayrshires alongside the Holsteins and will show some of these at the Great Yorkshire Show.

Next page: Results RESULTS

DAIRY CATTLE: Best Jersey and Supreme Dairy Champion – cow from Miss J Almand, Knayton, Thirsk. Best Holstein – from David Alderson, Tinehill Holsteins, Scorton, near Northallerton.

BEEF CATTLE: Best Commercial Beef and Beef Champion – from J. Timms, Leeds. Best Aberdeen Angus – bull from J Brooks, Little Smeaton, Northallerton. Best Limousin – home-bred cow from Stephen & Gillian Potter & son Jonathan, Busby Stoop, Thirsk. Best Beef Shorthorn – bull from P Braithwaite, Stokesley. Best Other Continental – Blue bullock from James and Rachel Wilkinson, Leyburn.

SHEEP: Supreme champion – Texel from R Newby. Reserve – Beltex from Findlay & Ashton. Other best in breeds, Masham – M&B Allen. Teeswater – M Elliott. Mule – M & B Allen. Bluefaced Leicester – SM Peacock. Swaledale – M Bell. Wensleydale – M Elliott. Ryeland – SR Hipps. Charollais – C Dougherty. Bleu de Maine – TS & EJ Goldie. Suffolk – P Lupton. Butchers' lambs – I Lancaster. Commercial sheep – AC & SA Hutchinson. Hampshire Down – LM Chasney. Primitive breed – L Arrowsmith. Native breed – R McBurnie.

HEAVY HORSES: Supreme champion – Shire from J Oliver of Whitby. Reserve – Clydesdale from J Gorman of Tow Law, Co. Durham.

POULTRY: Best in show – White Wynandotte from Derek Agar of Grosmont. Reserve – Old English bantam from Barry Allcock and John Fawcett of Great Ayton.