A County Durham farmer spoke of his delight at meeting Princess Anne at the Great Yorkshire Show during celebrations for a shorthorn cattle breed landmark.
Dennis Craig, president of the Dairy Shorthorn Society, who comes from Westgate in Weardale, showed off almost 200 shorthorns to the Princess Royal during a special parade on Tuesday.
The World Shorthorn Congress is taking place during the show in a year which is also the 200th anniversary of shorthorn cattle being registered in Coates’ herd book.
As well as meeting and chatting to exhibitors, Princess Anne presented ribbons to the Supreme Champion in the Beef Shorthorns – two-year-old bull Charles Bury MacDonald, owned by the Baird, Edwards and Timbrell partnership of Tetbury, Gloucestershire, and shown by Richard and Emma Edwards. Emma said: “It feels incredible – things like this don’t happen very often.”
The Princess Royal during a visit to the Great Yorkshire Show at the Great Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate
The partnership only began breeding shorthorns three years ago and were part of the World Shorthorn Congress.
Mr Craig, of New Park Farm, who has been farming since leaving school at 15, said the royal, who is patron of the Beef Shorthorn Cattle Society, “made everyone feel at ease” and was “down to earth”.
His granddaughter presented her with some flowers after the parade. “I think everyone in the cattle arena was overawed by the occasion – what an honour to meet Princess Anne," said Mr Craig.
"When I was a lad and used to come to the show with my parents, I always dreamt of staging something like this."
HRH The Princess Royal at the Great Yorkshire Show Picture: SARAH CALDECOTT
Mr Craig describes dairy shorthorns as "low maintenance" and a "grazing" breed, which are coming back into fashion as farmers look to cut input costs in the light of huge rises in feed prices.
H added: "Beef shorthorns got a lift when Morrisons announced their support, that has helped the popularity of the breed. They finish on grass and a lot less grain than some of the continentals."
There have been shorthorns on Mr Craig's family farm since 1812, a decade before the start date for the society, but they weren't registered until the 1940s. He stopped selling milk 15 years ago.
It had been hoped to have a total of 200 beef and dairy shorthorns present at the Great Yorkshire Show for the 200th anniversary, but in the end, complications with TB movement regulations for one exhibitor meant the tally fell just short.
This did not detract from the spectacle though, said Mr Craig. "I was in the ring, but for anybody standing in front of the sheds, seeing along that line of cattle, it must have been something to remember. I will not forget it.
"The first year of my presidency was a washout, but this has been an absolute bonus."
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