AN agricultural society is planning its 107th show, following the success of its online show last year.

Plans by the Wensleydale Agricultural Society for the Wensleydale Agricultural Show are starting to take shape, although the format is as yet unknown, and will depend on Covid-19 and the regulations for events and public gatherings in place at the time.

Early in June 2020, the society decided a conventional show on the August Bank Holiday Monday would not be possible, but they wholeheartedly embraced a bespoke ‘one-off’ online event.

Ele Acaster-Law, Alex Welch and Sarah Liddle – all longstanding committee members – were tasked with bringing the show to fruition and were supported by the show committee and sponsors who came on board.

The involvement of local agricultural businesses, which included the Co-op as the headline sponsor, meant a monetary prize of £100 for each section champion, with the section winners going forward to compete for the title of People's Champion. A three-night stay at Aysgarth Lodges was awarded to the winner chosen at random from all those who voted.

A bespoke dedicated website for the online show was created where all entries and results can still be viewed at www.wensleydaleshowonline.co.uk.

Classes that lent themselves to virtual judging were devised including best working vintage tractor, a novelty decorated birthday cake and the best backyard laying hen. One particularly popular section was the new novelty section that included the best agricultural or rural photograph featuring a Co-op carrier bag or logo.

The Peoples Champion, nine-year-old Joseph Booth, was a clear winner with his photograph of a Tractor at Work that also won the Young Peoples section.

The People's Champion, nine-year-old Joseph Booth, was a clear winner with his photograph of a Tractor at Work that also won the Young People's section.

There were 686 entries for the 12 sections, which included horticulture, cookery, young people's, horses, poultry, sheep, beef cattle and dairy cattle, comprising a total of 66 classes. The poultry was the best supported section with 149 entries, closely followed by the sheep with 135, and one section received no entries.

As always, there was a familiar entry from locals with many regulars embracing the new show format, but entries also came from as far afield as Jersey and Cornwall in cattle classes, while the pride of Wensleydale was held intact with the Section Champions being locals. The show even caught the imagination of local celebrities with Amanda Owen, the Yorkshire Shepherdess, being the guest judge of a couple of local classes.

The section champions were: Novelty, Ben Spence and the Home Farmer team; Horticulture, John Dale; Handicrafts: Judith Johnson; Cookery: Amy Harrison; Poultry: Richard Brittain; Horses: Etty Bratley, The Bratley family and Candy; Sheep: Nick Oliver; Dairy: J Pratt & Son with Studdah Fitz Rita; Beef: Mudd & Bentley with Black Magic; Vintage: Steven Handley with his 1972 Mk1 Capri 3000e; Young People: Joseph Booth (age nine).

There were nearly 3,000 visitors to the online site during August, peaking at 996 visitors on August 29.

The People's Champion, nine-year-old Joseph Booth, was a clear winner with his popular photograph of a Tractor at Work that won class C1 in the Young People's section.

For this year's show, Katie Collin is settling into her new role as one of the three show secretaries, a new show website is under construction, the Wensleydale Agricultural Society Education Bursary award is undergoing a revamp and plans for the 2021 show are being crafted.

The show is set to return to its regular venue on the Moor Road, Leyburn, on August 28, 2021.

  • For general show enquiries, visit www.wensleydaleshow.org.uk or email Katie Collin at katie@wensleydaleshow.org.uk.