Confident Driffield ready for the crowds

While the Great Yorkshire Show counts its losses and organisers have begun the unenviable task of getting the showground back in order, the county’s largest annual one-day show is gearing up with confidence.

The 137th Driffield Show takes place next Wednesday and the organisers were in bullish mood earlier this week. “It’s going ahead come what may,’ said a spokesperson for the show.

“We’re fortunate that we are on chalky land and it drains well both on the showground and the car parks. We have also not suffered with the weather in quite the same way as Harrogate and we obviously sympathise with the situation they faced on Tuesday evening, but our assurance is that we will definitely not be cancelling.”

Having long been established as the East Riding’s premier agricultural event Driffield Agricultural Society has made several changes to the show in recent years. The most significant of these was three years ago when the livestock entries were moved to a new area on the showground. Increased numbers had not been possible where they had been situated previously and the move was met with wholesale acceptance from both livestock competitors and the general public.

The popularity of the livestock classes continues to attract new competitors and even more breeds and this year is no exception.

Twelve-year-old Lucy Steele will be showing three of her Oxford Down flock for the first time with her mother, Ruth of Redhouse Farm, Weeton, just four miles from Spurn Point.

It’s not only Lucy’s debut in the show ring, but her mother’s too. They were both taking tips from their fellow breed colleagues at this week’s ill-fated show when I caught up with them.

“I’ve been pressuring mum about it for ages and we’ve been trying to get our preparation right. We’ve been halter training the three we are taking – Sumo, Stella and Sean – and we’ve practiced trimming. Two of them can now stand properly and we’re working on the other one. Mum does all the preparing and I do the showing.’

Mrs Steele moved to Weeton with her husband 10 years ago. They have 1,700 pigs on a bed and breakfast contract with Easipigs and a few Simmental cattle as well as the Oxford Downs. She is all-set with her own answers for those who take a look at their stock next week.

“At first I told Lucy that we couldn’t go because we didn’t have a trailer. She told me to buy one. Then we didn’t have the right truck, so she told us to get one. She’s been very persistent, but we’re now both looking forward to next week. On the day when somebody says ‘Oh my God’ who prepared that? That will be down to Lucy! If they say ‘Wow!’ that will be when I tell them it was me!”

The Steeles started out with their breed in 2006 and are just beginning their own show pedigree this year. Rugby playing farmer Sam Beachell of Beswick Hall Farm began both his Texel flock and made his show debut at Driffield just six years ago and had immediate success, although he’s not getting let it go to his head.

“I’d always fancied a few pedigree sheep and the Texels were the breed for me. I’m looking for big, powerful commercial sheep with plenty of back end to them. It’s the shearling tups that I’m really keen on improving and you always dream of selling that big one. That might not come about straight away, but we’re trying.’

“We had our first lambing in 2006 and we were lucky enough to have a good lamb that only competed twice and won both times. One of those wins was at Driffield.

“We’ve had a few steady years and then we won at Lincoln a couple of years ago. I’ve got the showing bug now and I’ll be taking a team of six to Driffield including shearling ram and ewes, a ram lamb and a ewe lamb. It’s our local show and has good, strong classes, but nothing like the numbers in the classes at the Great Yorkshire. That’s a different league and we’re not ready for that just yet. One day we hope to be there and mixing it with their big classes.”

“At the moment we get to Driffield, Malton and Lincoln but find that we can’t get to a lot of others as they clash with harvest.”

Mr Beachell, who plays at number eight for Driffield RUFC, farms in partnership with his father, also Sam, and the farm runs to 500 acres which is mixed between arable and livestock, including 30 pedigree Texels, 120 commercial ewes using predominantly Texel sires; and a herd of 40 commercial cattle. There’s another Sam too, as Sam and his wife Sarah have two sons – Charlie and Sammy.

“We’re still a solid, mixed farm with no diversification. I’ve always been brought up to appreciate and produce good stock and that’s what we’re constantly aiming for with the Texels.”

While he is keen on showing Mr Beachell is always conscious of keeping up a standard, and he’s fully aware of how names can be made and lost in the breed circuit.

“Showing sheep is a very good way of marketing what you produce, but if you don’t take quality with you it can also work against you. We didn’t have such a good year in 2011, but we’re looking to do better next week.”

Show facts and figures

The Driffield Show attracts more than 25,000 every year – making it the largest one-day agricultural show in the country.

Kelleythorpe Showground is south of Driffield and is wholly owned by the Driffield Agricultural Society.

The website – www.diffieldshow.co.uk –currently features video of the show from 1962, recorded by Brian Sutton of Molescroft, near Beverley.

Its past presidents include Lord Haskins (2011); Howard Petch – former principal of Bishop Burton College (2009); Jim Bloom – Limousin breeder (2005); Raymond Twiddle – current president of the Yorkshire Agricultural Society (1988).