Call it a show or a fair, country people coming together to show off their stock once a year is a universal concept. The similarities made this farm girl feel completely at home. There are several such events in our area. The Nidderdale and Ripley Shows are with in a few miles of our house and Great Yorkshire Show happens in Harrogate.
The Nidderdale and Ripley Shows are great one day event that is truly about the local community.
The Great Yorkshire Show is much more like a small state or larger regional fairs in the States. This year the Great Yorkshire Show saw 135,000 guests at the three day show and 8000 head of livestock. Lots of fattening fried food, stuff to buy and rides to ride. The livestock shows were really enlightening for this American, but I was most impressed by the cheese and ice cream competitions!
The Ripley show is hosted by Sir Thomas Ingilby Bt. on the ground of his castle. It’s a rather amazing back drop for the sheep dog trials.
I learned A LOT about the sheep industry here. The genetic emphasis on meat production is very different than anything I saw in the States or Australia. Many of sheep breeds the States are named after regions in this country and those breeds are hard to find here. The Suffolk, Hampshire, Dorset, Leichesters, etc. are no longer mainstream breeds in this part of England. I will be on the look out for a sheep historian who can tell me that story!
Sheep in this country are bred exclusively for the meat industry and the quality of the wool has degraded over the years to the point that much of the wool in this country is of no value to the clothing industry. Research is being done to find industrial uses for the fiber. I spoke to farmers who lamented the cost of shearing, as well as the cost of disposing of the fleeces, since there is a limited market for them. The wool market body (British Wool) is focusing on industrial uses for the fleeces, including insulation. There is also a growing interest in the few breeds that shed their fleece and would eliminate the need to sheer.
The cattle breeds are significantly different as well. The breeds that Americans refer to as English breeds (Hereford & Angus) are quite common along with the ever-lovable highland cattle, along with the continental breeds, Charolais, Limousin and Simmentals, etc.
It only takes a quick glance to see the big genetic differences in the cattle on opposite sides of the Atlantic. The extreme double muscling in cattle like British Blues and Piedmontese has changed the shape of British cattle. My first guess was that the double muscling had occurred through cross breeding, but a bit of research taught me that double muscling occurs in a similar way to the polled-ness trait, and that there are different variations of this myostatin gene which causes double muscling. I won’t bore all my non-beef nerd friends with the details, but you can get a bit more info at the is link if you’re interested. Beef-up-your-breeding.pdf
Guernseys and Jerseys show against each other in a “Channel Island” class. The large black and white dairy cattle that dominate the American dairy industry are here as well but known as Friesians.
Horses are a big part of a show, but the events and classes are a bit different. There isn't a western pleasure class, but there was a fox hunt!
Of course, farm equipment will be on display anywhere farmers gather!
No show in England would be complete without a sheep dog trial.
The greatest commonality in fairs and shows are the people.
