Whitby’s sheep farming finest brought home the rosettes, cups and the kudos after a successful week at the Great Yorkshire Show.
For some it was their first time at The Great Yorkshire Show (GYS) – hailed as the UK’s premier agricultural event – for others, they have been making the trip to the Harrogate showground for one week in July since they were babies.
This is the case for Amanda Cass, the fourth generation to farm at Mitten Hill Farm at Hawsker.
She inherited her the Billerhowe Flock of Shetland sheep from her grandparents who started the breed class at The GYS and has pushed it on from being a teenager.
Amongst the rosettes this year for Amanda were breed female champion with the same Shetland ewe which won breed champion last year.
Amanda said: “It was total surprise to win this year with the way the grass has been. The lambs have not done as I wanted them to, but everyone is in the same boat. She is a good ewe and has twice won here.
“I do the local shows, but The Great Yorkshire Show is always the one you want to win.”
Chris and Alice Ford, of Glaisdale took a week out to spend at The GYS as Alice showed for the first time with Herdwicks.
She said: “We come every year to the show but have never brought animals to show. It is great how many Whitby farmers are here, it is good for the social.”
After taking two, fifth places and a sixth with the Glaisdale Flock, Alice will be back.
“I have had sheep since 2022”, said Alice, “a really good friend of mine had Herdwicks and I wanted some after that. I love the breed, they are absolutely wild and very spirited. I wanted to give showing a go.”
Building surveyor by day, Louis Stainthorpe breeds best in show Hampshire Downs when he is not in the office. After having re-seeded the arable land around Mortar Pit Farm at Sneathonthorpe with grass leys for the Whitby Flock, he says what started as a hobby has become an obsession.
Louis is also now head of breed development for the Hampshire Down Society after getting into farming to recapture the enjoyment he had as a youngster helping out on family farms.
Before The GYS last week, he said he hoped the technology for precision breeding, being used more and more in livestock farming, would get him a winner.
It got him more than one.
Louis, his wife Becky and the family came back to Mortar Pit with first place ram lamb, first and third place ewe lambs, first place older tup, second place shearling ewe, first group of three, second in the pairs, champion male, champion female, reserve champion and overall breed champion.
The Horner family from Danby were also loaded down with rosettes as the week drew to a close.
With their Howe Wath Flock of Teeswaters, they won first ram, first ram lamb, second and third in the Hogg class, first shearling ewe, second and third ewe lamb, pairs second, first group of three.
They had success in the wool and fleece classes but it was young Ollie Horner, seven, who stole the show as an up and coming young handler.
Jack Harland from Glaisdale was also showing Teeswaters with other farms represented at the show being the Turnbulls of Kildale with Blackface sheep, Borrowby’s Allen farming family with Mashams, the Valentines of Lingdale showing Llayn sheep, Drews from Glaisdale with North Country Cheviots and the Findlays from Westerdale with Suffolks.
