Breeder takes a rare break from ring to enjoy the show

Today it is the turn of Penistone Show, but next Saturday the spotlight is turned on Stokesley before the climax at Pateley Bridge for Nidderdale Show the following Monday.

If you’ve never been to Stokesley Show I would urge you to make amends. Delightfully situated at the foot of the Cleveland Hills and very much in North Yorkshire it attracts an attendance in excess of 20,000.

David Evans farms in partnership with his wife Penny at Tree Bridge Farm, Nunthorpe and has been the show’s chief cattle steward for nearly a decade. The Evanses are also respected Aberdeen Angus breeders having entered the pedigree world back in 1995. They show their cattle regularly and with great success, but this year David will be concentrating on his stewarding duties.

“Penny said that in all the years we had attended the show she had never seen much of it and wanted to do so this year.”

David grew up in Devon. His father bought Tree Bridge Farm in 1977, which at the time consisted of 65 acres and what is now the Tree Bridge Hotel.

“Penny and I have lived in what was originally the cowman’s bungalow since we were married in 1984 when we bought it from my father. We met at Stokesley Young Farmers Club.”

Penny comes from a farming family too, her late father being Guy Richardson who farmed at Brimham Rocks.

There are two strands to the D & PA Evans farming regime – growing wheat, barley and oilseed rape over 110 acres and the pedigree Aberdeen Angus herd that now runs to 55 cows.

Success came fast for the fledgling Tree Bridge herd.

“We had AI’d the cows because we couldn’t justify purchasing a bull at the time, but we made sure that we used semen from quality bulls and we were lucky. The first show we attended was at Borderway Mart in Carlisle and we had both the champion and reserve champion on the day. It was a big boost to our ego.”

Although David and Penny may not be showing at Stokesley this year you can guarantee he will always have his eyes peeled for talent in the show ring. That’s also how he and Penny took their breeding to the next level.

“We were at the Royal Highland Show in 1997 or 1998 and were watching the cow class when a cow called Nicks Delia came into the ring. Colin Davidson of Orkney had imported her and we both knew there and then that was the type of cow we wanted to have in the future.”

They made their way to Colin Davidson’s farm where they purchased a bull called Skaill Duplo, a son of Nicks Delia. “He did a fantastic job for us. We’ve bought from Colin since too. Skaill Delta, otherwise known as Del Boy also performed very well.”

One of David and Penny’s best moments in the show ring was at the Great Yorkshire Show after they had bought another bull, Chapelton Mahmoud.

“We bought him from another fantastic breeder, Donald Biggar, and out of Chapelton Mahmoud’s first crop of calves we took three yearling bulls to Harrogate. In the yearling class they came first, second and fourth. We won the progeny pairs title, the group of three title and one of them was male reserve champion overall.”

David will become President of the Aberdeen Angus Cattle Society in 2015 and is presently junior vice president. Next Saturday his attention will be wholly on Stokesley Show.

“We have over 200 cattle entries this year. But you know the people who we owe the biggest thanks to are the men who set up the Stokesley Agricultural Society over 150 years ago. They purchased this wonderful show field and without their foresight the show would not be in the position it is today.”

Stokesley Show takes place on Saturday, September 21.