Awards and Accolades at Great Yorkshire Show

The breadth and depth of rural life was on display at the sell-out Great Yorkshire Show today with the finest examples of cheese, pigeons, and goats taking centre stage for their own championships.

Spectators were treated to the second day of the first ever sheepdog trials at the Show, with competitors demonstrating their skills in the Main Ring.

The new GYS Stage welcomed popstar turned farmer JB Gill, who also met pigs and their handlers including two-year-old Joshua Kirby from York and his family. JB then found out more about the School Veg Box competition, which annually challenges primary schools across Yorkshire to grow British produce from scratch. This year’s champion entry came from Flyingdales C of E Primary School near Whitby who embraced the Best of British theme. Peter Wright from the Yorkshire Vet also took to the stage and will feature every day this week at 1:30pm.

The Supreme Champion Cheese title went to Bradbury’s Cheese of Buxton, Derbyshire, with a soft cheese called Vallage Triple Cream, with Saputo Davidstow Creamery’s Extra Mature Cheddar in reserve. The Supreme Champion Dairy went Ryeburn of Helmsley for their Blueberry Pannacotta Ice Cream while the Reserve went to Longley Farm for Strawberry Whole Milk Yoghurt.

Top pigeon at the Show, the Best Fancy Pigeon, went to a Jacobin, shown by David Graham of Durham, while Reserve was a Black Long Faced Tumbler, owned by Michael and Joseph Morrow of Houghton Le Spring.

A host of awards were made during the show, including to land-based students and some of the Yorkshire stalwarts who have worked the land for decades, totalling 942 years between them.

Some of the best farms across the north of England competed for the Tye Trophy, which recognises the contribution of farmers to conservation and environmental improvement. The winner was Jamie Wood of Pendwick Farm near Alnwick, who received the trophy from Show President Margaret Chapman. Jamie, who has worked hard to regenerate heather on the farm, said: “When the judges visited, I showed them what we had done but I am quite shocked to win!”

Forestry was covered with the presentation of the John Boddy trophy, with the Yorkshire Agricultural Society, Royal Forestry Society and Forestry Commission joining forces to seek out the best new woodland in Yorkshire. The title went to Broughton Sanctuary near Skipton which featured 160 hectares of new native woodland planted on the Broughton estate during the 2020-21 planting season.

A special guest for the day was Chelsea pensioner Peter Fullelove, who served with the Black Watch, who met junior soldiers at the Army Foundation College’s Operating Base. The young soldiers assist with Main Ring logistics throughout the week.

The Yorkshire Regiment’s Best Soldier of 2022 was also recognised. This year’s honours go to Private Joe Kelsall, 23, whose passion for soldiering and sporting ability combined have proven him to be a formidable and motivating presence within Alma Company.

Charles Mills, Show Director, said: “Today was a real celebration of a variety of different aspects of rural life and we had some wonderful winners as always.”

Don’t miss a three-part series dedicated to the Great Yorkshire Show which will be back on national television. Today at the Great Yorkshire Show will be on at 8pm tonight and tomorrow with a 90-minute highlights package at the weekend on Channel 5. Last year’s episodes attracted over 3 million viewers which was incredible publicity for the show and our wonderful competitors, team and supporters. Leeds-based production company Daisybeck Studios will once again be making the series for Channel 5.

The Great Yorkshire Show has become a four-day event after a raft of changes were implemented at the 2021 show due to Covid 19 regulations.

Tickets for the show have now sold out. Tickets will not be available on the gate. The opening times are 8am to 6pm on all four days. To see what is happening on which day, go to: https://greatyorkshireshow.co.uk/whats-on/

EDITOR’S NOTES

• The Great Yorkshire Show is England’s premier agricultural event, organised by the Yorkshire Agricultural Society (YAS), a registered charity supporting rural Yorkshire.
• YAS supports and promotes the farming industry through health care, business, education and scientific research.
• The Society is supported by its family of businesses including Fodder, Yorkshire Event Centre, Pavilions of Harrogate and the Harrogate Caravan Park as well as events Great Yorkshire Show and Springtime Live.
• Businesses and events held at the Great Yorkshire Showground in 2019 contributed £73.7 million to the economy.

CONTACT

Jo Francisco
PR Manager
Direct Line: 01423 546215 | Mobile: 07954 007414
Email: jof@yas.co.uk

Sara Lamper Press officer
Mobile: 07759 795990
Email: sara@saralamper.co.uk