Bumper Royal County of Berkshire Show celebrates welcome return of livestock

An air of excitement surrounded The Royal County of Berkshire Show 2008 (September 20-21) as crowds welcomed the return of livestock at the show for the first time in two years.

Arenas were packed around the Livestock Area as cattle, sheep, goats and pigs stepped out before the judges at the last major outdoor county show of the season.

Thousands of spectators converged on the show, basking in the Indian summer sunshine and soaking up the party atmosphere. Organisers put the final gate figure as 11 per cent up on last year. Advanced ticket sales were also brisk with many outlets selling out in the final days before the show opened. There was also a surge in applications for membership of The Newbury and District Agricultural Society, organisers of the event, in the build up and during the two day show itself.

As well as the colourful sights and sounds of the livestock arenas where the Supreme Championships went to Boddington Estates’ Simmental Sterling Michelle’s Rhapsondy (beef), CB Cooper Partnership’s Holstein, Noremead Millennium Carmen (dairy) and Mortimer Farms Ltd’s Charolais, Mortimer’s Eurovision (local), there was some spectacular show jumping action in the Vodafone Main Arena.

Enthusiastic crowds packed the grandstand to watch the final of the Renault Show Jumping Series, one of the highlights of an enthralling display of horsemanship over the two days involving more than 1000 horses and ponies.

There was standing room only as the cream of British show jumping lined up to contest the grand finale of the Renault jumping series which has seen qualifiers at county shows throughout the country this season.

Tension was high as the competition went to the wire, Laura Renwick, second to last to go in the final round with Limelight de Breve, cutting all the corners to sail home, leaving Geoff Luckett, who had been in the lead until the last, no choice but to follow suit. His round looked good until the last when the last combination fell sending Geoff back into seventh place and giving Laura the perfect end to a brilliant season - in the shape of the top prize a Renault 4WD Koreos.

On Saturday show jumping aficionados lapped up a thrilling Wendy Green Six Bar Competition, held in memory of the late Wendy Green, former chairman of the Show’s Light Horse Committee, and which was won jointly by Dale Burnham (Quattro Two) and local rider Paul Crago (Unique The Third).

Stalls were piled high in the Food Fare which offered a real flavour of the countryside with producers enjoying the rising interest in local food from farm to table.

Local food suppliers had reason to celebrate – winning a host of awards from the judges. Susie’s Preserves from nearby Hermitage carried the honours taking the Silver Challenge Cup and earning the accolade of Best Exhibit. One stallholder, Jimmy's Farm, from Suffolk reported a sell out - having sold 80 per cent of stock on the first day of the show alone.

Business was brisk on the tradestand avenues with more than 500 stores, great and small to browse among. Stores reported good business with shoppers shrugging off the credit crunch.

Hatter John Halifax said: “It has been a great success for us. This is the fifth time we have been to The Royal County of Berkshire Show and it has been is one of the best.”

Gentlemen’s tweed supplier Fowler Brothers said: “The footfall has been very good and we have been busy throughout the show.”

For many tradestands, there was the added bonus of a dry weekend. One stall holder said he had been to 30 shows over the summer and this was the first when he had not got wet.

Exhibitors also enjoyed the challenge of entry into the popular tradestand competition where winners were Butterflies and Dragons (Very Small), Breeze House (Small), Newbury College (Medium), West Berks Council (Large), Lister Wilder (Agricultural), Automotive (DVLA), Rivar and Gravel (Local).

Away from the Main Arena attractions, thousands of people enjoyed the fantastic range of family fun on offer. New innovations included the Sports Zone and the Elegant Wedding Marquee. Fun events included a WI best-dressed pants competition, judged by the show’s chairman, Rosemary Balsdon, and a BBC South Strictly Come Dancing Contest, entered by presenters and reporters from across the region.

The Cookery Theatre, introduced two years ago was a popular venue, while for the green fingered, the expanding Horticultural Area offered a feast of inspiration. The RHS-supported Show Garden Award, was won by Geoff Alsford of Peppard Common near Henley, while the hotly contested inter-village competition went to Kingsclere Gardening Association.

But towards the close of the show the focus turned again to the Vodafone Main Arena and following the grand parade of livestock there was not a dry eye in the house as The Musical Ride of the Household Cavalry and British Legion Romford Youth Band concluded, leaving the stage set for a dramatic mass ascent of hot air balloons the signature climax to a brilliant and memorable Royal County of Berkshire show 2008.

Cattle expert Terry Draycott told crowds banked around the arena during the grand parade that the livestock entry this year had been particularly impressive: “The quality has been superb with entries from across the UK underlining that British farming is in very safe hands. The message to take away from this show is ‘buy British’ – and support your farming industry, you will find nothing better.”

Richard Fuller, President of the Newbury and District Agricultural Society for 2008 said: “We had a fantastic show this year with visitor numbers up 11% on last year. The return of the livestock was welcomed by everyone and gave the show a wonderful atmosphere. For me the highlights were the Household Cavalry Musical Ride and the grand parade of livestock, which was a great shop window for our farmers and proved that farming is in really safe hands. The education area where local schools had done some tremendous work on projects for local farms underlined the aim of this year's show, to promote education about the countryside to young people across the county. The Newbury and District Agricultural Society which organises the show will be moving this forward over the coming years."

Rosemary Balsdon, The Show’s Chairman, said: “It was a tremendous honour for me to be only the third female chairman of the show in its 99-year history. Standing to take the salute from The Household Cavalry was so memorable and something you can only dream about.

“This was a special year for the show. The return of livestock in such great numbers was achieved in part thanks to the hard efforts of the team who work behind the scenes to put on such a great show. We are grateful to them and all the hundreds of volunteers across the area who get involved and give their time to create such a unique occasion that is enjoyed by so many people.”

The Royal County of Berkshire Show 2009 will take place September 19-20.

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