Enjoy it on video: Kilnsey Show

A FARMER who fought and won an 18-month battle with the Government to prove his bull did not have TB has paid tribute to those who backed him.

Ken Jackson, who was exhibiting at Kilnsey Show with his daughter Kate in the Any Other Pure Breed section in the cattle classes, thanked all the farmers and members of the public who had wished him well during his campaign to prove Defra had incorrectly diagnosed his bull Hallmark Boxster.

Speaking in the main cattle ring yesterday Mr Jackson said: “The battle with Defra has been a long hard slog. But we have eventually got through it and the bull is back where he belongs.

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“I want to thank from the bottom of my heart those who supported us, not just the farmers but people from all walks of life.” Mr Jackson won his class and went on to contest the Supreme Beef title, which was eventually won by John Stephenson.

Mr Stephenson accepted the trophy alongside his 15-year-old son John.

“It’s my local show,” said Mr Stephenson. “I have been showing here for 30-odd years I would imagine.

Kilnsey Show is perhaps the biggest event in the Yorkshire Dales calendar and showcases the best aspects of Dales life, from dry stone walling to one of the country’s premier sheep class competitions.

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This year’s supreme sheep title was taken by Robin Booth of Feizor, near Settle with a Blue Faced Leicester.

The show attracted large crowds and Robert Lambert, chairman of the Upper Wharfedale Agricultural Society, who organise the event said that the crowd levels remained strong despite the poor state of the economy taking its toll elsewhere.

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