Livestock's on the move at Driffield

There is one big change at Driffield Show this year. No longer will the cattle and sheep occupy their familiar position at the rugby ground end of the showground, instead they have been moved to what has often been referred to in the past as "the other field".

Some may question the move and wonder if the livestock will prove the spectacle it once did with the main ring activity going on in the background while the cattle and sheep classes take place in the morning.

But David Tite, the show director, reports that there has been no unrest from members and livestock competitors and points instead to the benefits that the new livestock area will bring.

"We have moved the cattle and sheep to a brand new facility occupying four lanes of grass, surrounded by a good deal of hard-standing and with its own grandstand.

"We are particularly proud of the quality of entries we attract here and we believe that this new area will allow us to bring in even more in the future.

"'Access for livestock and the general public will be a great deal safer and we feel that the changes we are making will give a bright new look to the show this year.

"We see the show as all being on one site rather than being in one field or another and we certainly don't want an 'us and them' feeling.

"We are also very pleased to be bringing back pigs for the first time in quite a while."

The main reason for the livestock switch is a proposed new Driffield Event Centre.This purpose-built facility, due to open next year, will accommodate 1,200 people theatre-style and 400 for functions. The Driffield Agricultural Society's progressive approach means the showground is now one of the busiest outdoor venues in East Yorkshire and the aim is to match that with an indoor facility for agricultural events, concerts and conferences.

Driffield Show notched up its highest ever attendance last year – 31,296 – at the Kelleythorpe showground. It was just after schools had broken up for the summer and brought gridlock.

"We now have 40 per cent more car parking than last year and that means we should be easily able to accommodate everyone comfortably and safely," says David.

The East Riding is primarily agricultural but many diversification enterprises have flourished and this will be acknowledged by the first Farm Diversification Award, sponsored George F. White.

New last year was a national fencing competition which brought

competitors from as far afield as Devon and Cornwall and this will have a second run this year.

Tomorrow, July 18, in the footsteps of the Great Yorkshire Show, is the

97th Aldborough & Boroughbridge Show in Langthorpe, just off Skelton Road in North Yorkshire, a show which always attracts strong cattle and sheep entries.

CW 17/7/10