Great Yorkshire Show - Media Centre

Rosemary explained how the connection came about. “I was looking down the list of show dates and thought…. ‘I’ve never done a demonstration at the Great Yorkshire Show and I really really want to, so I picked up the phone, and from that initial call the arrangements have been made and it all came together. The show’s got such a fantastic reputation I just thought “I’ve got to be there”. It’s a marvellous showcase for farmers which after all are the backbone of the food industry, and I’m absolutely delighted to be involved.”

The show’s Game Cookery Theatre in the Country Pursuits Area is where Rosemary will be based, and she’s already planning to incorporate some of the prize winning dishes from her team’s Taste the Nation success. In addition there will be plenty of audience participation to add to the fun! Rosemary will be demonstrating each morning and afternoon of the first two days of the Show.

Bill Cowling, Honorary Show Director said: “To have one of Britain’s top chefs not only at the Great Yorkshire, but sharing the secrets of her culinary success is absolutely wonderful. She’s an ardent supporter of both the farming industry and of using regional food, which fits in perfectly with what the Great Yorkshire Show’s all about. For anyone coming to the show, my advice would be to get to her demonstrations early as they’re sure to be hugely popular!

The Great Yorkshire Show is no stranger to famous visitors, last year HRH The Queen and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh were amongst the 126,000+ people who attended. The Show has gone from strength to strength, particularly over the last decade, until it is now recognised as one of the premier events on the UK’s event calendar. Its commitment to supporting the farming industry and showcasing the wonderful English food has ensured that its focus has stayed firmly intact.

With a decade of broadcasting and teaching under her belt, her role in the ITV series “Ladette to Lady” cemented her position as Britain’s best loved chef and cookery teacher. The author of numerous cookery books, she has broadcast all over the world and is the popular resident chef on “The Alan Titchmarsh Show. Her Yorkshire links are strong – her grandmother’s home was Kirby Misperton Hall, near Pickering which is now part of the Flamingo Land site, and family members still live in the county.

Seven years ago, her Yorkshire links were strengthened when she set up a cookery school which she still runs from Swinton Park, the castle hotel in the Yorkshire Dales. “Although because of my work I now spend a lot of time in the south, I always say that Yorkshire is my true home and I love working here. And technically, I could play cricket for Yorkshire!”

The Game Cookery Theatre is being co-ordinated by Stephanie Moon, Executive Chef, Rudding Park, Harrogate. The full programme of demonstrations will be announced in due course.

At a glittering presentation ceremony, Amanda West and Mark Stoddart from the Great Yorkshire Show office were presented with the award – a bronze statue – in recognition of the event’s popularity with exhibitors. The Great Yorkshire Show is one of the most prestigious agricultural and countryside shows in the UK and last year was attended by HM The Queen and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh.

The award was made following a voting procedure by BSJA members. Comments sent by members included: “One of the best equestrian shows in the country”…. “Good jumping always guaranteed in front of an appreciative audience…”They  (the staff) are so professional and even streamed it on line for those unable to go”… “Great atmosphere and a fab arena to view.”

Bill Cowling, Honorary Show Director: “We are absolutely delighted to receive this wonderful Award, and thank all those who took the trouble to vote for us. Show jumping has always been a major part of the Great Yorkshire Show and we pride ourselves on the care we take in preparing the ground and in the tremendous support we receive from exhibitors. Our crowds are knowledgeable and enthusiastic and the Cock o’the North Championship on the final day has to be one of the best competitions you could see at any show.”

Dates for this year’s event are Tuesday 14 – Thursday 16 July and, as ever, the show jumping takes place over all three days with two classes in the Main Ring each day.  Last year saw the Cock o’the North title go to Laura Stephenson of Keighley, West Yorkshire on Harvey Smith’s Sultano.  The closing date for show jumping entries is  Friday 5 June. 

The Harriers will be based in the new Hound Show area which is being created close to the existing Country Pursuits Area at the Great Yorkshire Showground, Harrogate, The Great Yorkshire Show runs from Tuesday 14 – Thursday 16 July and is one of the premier countryside events on the UK calendar.

The Yorkshire Agricultural Society’s President, Michael Bannister of Coniston Hall, Skipton, North Yorkshire has been a Master of the Harrier Hounds for 35 years and said he was delighted competitive classes for the breed were being introduced.

“The Hound Show is a long-established feature of the Great Yorkshire Show and we’re delighted to have the opportunity to introduce Harriers to the event this year. We hope they will become a regular feature on our programme,” he said.

“Moving the hounds down to the Country Pursuits area made perfect sense, and the new area will be a natural focus for countryside and field sport activities.”  Some 65 kennels are currently being made by staff at the Showground, led by joiner David Atkinson.

Tickets are now on sale for the 151^st Great Yorkshire Show, which runs from Tuesday 14 – Thursday 16 July at the Great Yorkshire Showground, Harrogate. There are savings for tickets booked in advance. Advance ticket prices are: adults - £18; concessions – £16; children (aged 5 – 18) - £8; under 5s – free; family ticket (two adults and three children) - £47. To buy, call the ticket hotline on 01423 541222 or order securely online at www.greatyorkshireshow.co.uk.  Car parking is free and extensive.

Last year, around 126,376 visitors attended the Great Yorkshire Show, including Her Majesty the Queen and HRH the Duke of Edinburgh.

The female lamb owned by Mark Elliott of Providence Farm, Ferrensby, has been named “Atlas Mabel” following a competition to find the young lady a name. The suggestion came from Mrs Heidi Gleave of Middleton in Teesdale, Barnard Castle – and is an anagram of Lamb’s Tale. “Also Mabel means ‘loveable’ and I thought of Atlas because the footage can be seen via the web, around the world,” said Mrs Gleave.

Deborah Goodall, Marketing Manager explained: “The rationale behind the filming is to follow the progress of a lamb virtually from birth, through to its appearance in the show ring at the Great Yorkshire. It brings to life all that’s involved in preparing an animal to come before the judges.”

Lamb’s Tale can be seen through the Great Yorkshire Show website – www.greatyorkshireshow.co.uk

Mrs Gleave received a hamper kindly provided by Bettys by Post and a Family Ticket for the Great Yorkshire Show. Runners up in the competition were Jill Johnson of Harrogate and Betty Bates of Thornton le Dale, Pickering.

Dates for the Great Yorkshire Show are Tuesday 14 – Thursday 16 July and it takes place at the Great Yorkshire Showground, Harrogate.

Photo shows:  Young Farmer, Stephen Knowles of Boroughbridge prepares for the Catwalk

Deborah Goodall, the Society’s Marketing Manager explained: “The fashion shows are a vibrant and popular part of the Great Yorkshire Show, and have been for a number of years. For the 2009 Great Yorkshire Show we wanted to introduce a new element and involving young farmers on the catwalk in the Skipton Building Society Fashion Pavilion will do just that.

“Under the heading “From Overalls to Oat Couture”, we are launching a search to find eight models to take part in one of the cat walk shows which are held in the Skipton Building Society Fashion Pavilion. We approached the Yorkshire Federation of Young Farmers Clubs and they are happy to publicise this through their membership so we’re looking forward to lots of interest from would-be Ashton Kutchers!! Who knows, this could lead to a very different farming diversification!”

Each of the models will be professionally trained, given coaching on grooming and styling, and at the 2.30pm show on the opening day, they will take to the catwalk wearing some of the latest designs from leading names and there will be a case of Black Sheep Beer for the model voted “the best of the best” plus cash prizes for all the models, courtesy of Skipton Building Society.

The fashion shows, which attract over 5,000 visitors each year, include both cutting edge styles from the region’s fashion and design students, as well as collections from leading retail stores.  The Great Yorkshire Show takes place on Tuesday 14 – Thursday 16 July at the Great Yorkshire Showground, Harrogate.

Miss Goodall added: “This is open to any farmer aged between 18 and 35 years who is actively involved in farming. What we want is for people - girlfriends, mums, friends - to send us their nominations. Or, it can be a self nomination. There’s an application form on our website – www.greatyorkshireshow.co.uk . We will then hold interviews and whittle down the number of candidates to get the successful eight, and hopefully in July, we will have some stunning catwalk models.”

The shows are co-ordinated by Bernadette Gledhill of the Louise Morton Model Agency.

Further information about how to nominate a model candidate – please see our website or call Sally Wall on 01423 546218 or email sallyw@yas.co.uk for an application form.

Photo shows Mark Elliott with Deborah Goodall, Marketing Manager, Yorkshire Agricultural Society with one of Mark’s Wensleydale lambs (click to enlarge image)

Using video footage on the show’s website (www.greatyorkshireshow.co.uk), the various stages from the lamb’s earliest days through to the climax in the show rings will be included. Wensleydale sheep belonging to J A and F Elliott of Providence Farm, Ferrensby near Knaresborough are the focus of the footage.

With 19 breed championships under their belt, the Elliott family know better than most what’s involved in catching the judge’s eye, and coming home with yet another rosette to add to their collection.

The family has been successfully showing their Wensleydale sheep at every Great Yorkshire Show since the Second World War. Now their enviable reputation is in the hands of Mark who, following in the family’s footsteps, is steadily collecting more and more rosettes. Milestones include taking the championship at last year’s 150th Great Yorkshire Show, as well as at the 100th show. In July, the Elliotts expect to be showing in each of the six Wensleydale classes at the Great Yorkshire Show. Dates are Tuesday 14 – Thursday 16 July.

“A huge amount of work goes into showing, as anyone who has ever done it will know,” says Mark. “It begins with choosing the breeding line, bringing them on, and then selecting the right animal for the ring.

He continued: “Wensleydales are a marvellous old Yorkshire breed and we’ve been keeping them since my father and his sister bought the first ones back in 1945. For showing, they have to have a good blue head – no pink! strong confirmation, no brown or black wool, and they need to stand well. Good confirmation is everything!”

Once Mark has made his choice for either the ewe lamb or ram lamb classes, visitors to the Great Yorkshire Show website will be invited to suggest a suitable name… with the winner receiving a Bettys Easter Selection Box as well as prizes for two runners up. Great Yorkshire Show tickets will be given to all three winners.

For further information please contact the Show office on 01423 541000 or look at our website www.greatyorkshireshow.co.uk .
 

Making the announcement the Honorary Show Director, Bill Cowling said: “We are very much looking forward to welcoming harrier packs to the show. The classes will be held on the first day, Tuesday 14 July and I am sure they will prove hugely popular with both exhibitors and visitors alike.”

The harriers will be based in the new Hound Show area which is being created at the south west side of the showground, close to the Country Pursuits Area. The new area will form a natural focus for the show’s countryside and field sport activities which are an integral part of the event, said Mr Cowling.

The opportunity to stage classes came as a result of the cancellation of the 2009 Lowther Driving Trials and Country Fair and it is anticipated that the harriers will become a regular feature on the programme of future Great Yorkshire Shows.

This year will be the 151st Great Yorkshire Show, and will take place at the Great Yorkshire Showground, Harrogate. As in previous years, classes for beagles will be held on the first day, the foxhound section will be judged on the Wednesday and terriers on the final day.

Last year some 126,376 visitors attended the Great Yorkshire Show, including Her Majesty The Queen and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh. 

Some 126,376 visitors attended the region’s largest annual countryside event.

The figure was one of the highest of the last decade. The record of 135,111 was established in 2006.

Crowds flocked to the Showground at Harrogate over the three days (Tuesday 8 - Thursday 10 July) with the highlight being a visit by HM The Queen and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh.

Show Director Bill Cowling, who escorted the Queen during her visit, said: "We have had an excellent show and it was a real honour, not just for the show but for Yorkshire, to have a visit from the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh. They spent five hours with us and thoroughly enjoyed their stay. They were able to get a real sense of the region's agriculture and our heritage generally. It was clear that they have genuine interest and empathy with country life, and that showed throughout the day. The 2008 Show has been hugely successful and we're now looking forward to next year."

The royal couple toured the Showground separately in the morning. The Queen toured the show rings, seeing cattle, sheep and equestrian exhibitors as well show personnel. She then unveiled a plaque at the site of the new Regional Agricultural Centre. Meanwhile, The Duke of Edinburgh visited the Renewable Energy area and Education zone as well as the machinery lines, chatting to exhibitors. After lunch, the Royal couple watched the judging of main equestrian class - the Cuddy Supreme Championship and then the Parade of Cattle in the Main Ring before leaving the Showground.

The weather stayed predominantly dry throughout the three days, though heavy rain on the Wednesday night forced the cancellation of some equine classes on the Thursday. The crowds made the most of the many attractions, including the hundreds of trade stands, enjoying music from the Black Dyke Band and watching horse master Lorenzo in the Main Ring.

The winner of the Ripon Select Foods Cock o' the North Championship, the culmination of show's show jumping classes, was Laura Stephenson of Keighley on Harvey Smith's Sultano, whilst Mrs Enid Lord of Preston, Lancs. took the top equestrian title - the Cuddy Supreme In-Hand Championship.

In the cattle classes, this year's Individual Interbreed Beef Champion was a beef shorthorn, Cairnsmore Thrasher, from Mark Holmes of Wolverhampton. The six-year old bull also took the Native Breed award. The Supreme Dairy Championship was won by an Ayrshire, Sandyford Clover 10, bred and shown by Mr Blaise Tomlinson of Loughborough.

The Pig of the Year Award went to Chris Impey of Mid Glamorgan with a year-old Berkshire gilt, Fairoaks Farwell 18, while the Supreme Sheep was a British Charollais, Sulwood Gracious Lady, bred and shown by Geoff Watson of Kettering, Northamptonshire.

The Flower Show boasted a stunning display of arrangements, from arrays of local produce to a Peter Rabbit themed entry in the new Small Gardens competition. The inaugural winner of this contest was Askham Bryan College of York with their Urban Life display, while both the Millennium Best in Show Award and the Best Exhibit Excluding Roses prize went to the National Farmers' Union.

The prestigious Tye Trophy, organised by the Yorkshire Agricultural Society and the Farming and Wildlife Group (FWAG) was won by Mr Michael Willoughby of the Birdsall Estate near Malton, North Yorkshire. The trophy recognises the contribution of farmers in the region to wildlife conservation and environmental protection.

The title of Yorkshire Fashion Idol 2008 went to Ryan Heard of Huddersfield with an outfit inspired by Victorian coal miners and the Industrial Revolution. His outfit was modelled on the catwalk in the Skipton Building Society Fashion Pavilion along with stunning clothing from a number of designers and fashion students. Hannah Custance of Huddersfield won the Yorkshire Fashion Idol Designer of the Day award on the Tuesday, while Hayley Foster of Shipley was Wednesday's Designer of the Day.

Dates for next year's Great Yorkshire Show are Tuesday 14 - Thursday 16 July 2009.