Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal was a very special guest on the second day of the 160th Great Yorkshire Show.
Show Director Charles Mills took Her Royal Highness on a tour of the Show after being presented with a White Rose button hole by seven-year-old Adele Zebrauskaite.
She watched showjumping in the Main Ring and visited the Craven Heifer sculpture on the President’s Lawn and met sculptor Emma Stothard.
The Great Yorkshire Show’s Chief Cattle Steward Margaret Chapman, who was presented with one of the Yorkshire Agricultural Society’s highest awards yesterday, was also among those who met The Princess Royal.
Mrs Chapman escorted The Princess in the cattle section, meeting representatives from the three National Championships, British Simmental, British Charolais and Beef Shorthorn.
Show Director Charles Mills said: “It’s been another spectacular day and such a privilege to meet The Princess Royal and to be able to show her what we have here at the 160th Great Yorkshire Show. It’s such a celebration of farming and countryside, with some fantastic competition in the judging rings to find our champion livestock.”
The best pairs of cattle from across the 200 beef and dairy classes packed the Main Ring for one of the most popular sections of the show, the Grand Cattle Parade, before the judging for the Blythewood Pairs Awards.
The Native Beef title was taken by the Beef Shorthorn pair, Tracy and Mark Severn of Halifax’s cow, Highlee Kinder Rose and Mr GC Turton of Thirsk’s bull King David of Upsall, shown by George and John McCulloch.
Taking the Continental Beef prize was the British Charolais pair, with Michelle Hanson of Cornwall with cow Silvermere Narnia and Sean Mitchell showing Mr J Watson’s bull, Tweedale Napoleon.
There was another local winner in the Dairy pairs with David and Margaret Booth’s Holstein heifer Shawdale Atwood Pamela, shown by youngest daughter Jennie, and Mr WJ Nadin of Buxton’s heifer Milliedale Commander Rhapsody, shown by Steve McLoughlin.
David Booth, who farms 140 dairy cattle at Barnoldswick, said he had waited all his life to win a championship in the Main Ring and he credited daughter Jennie’s hard work.
The Supreme Sheep at the show was Paul Tippetts Beltex, while the Pig of the Year title went to Robert Emmerson’s Large White gilt, Maple Leaf. The Supreme Dairy Champion was an Ayrshire, Willowfields Winnie II, owned by Bill Lindsay and Howard Batty
In the Forestry section, a flood retention area at the head of the River Wharfe catchment area took the John Boddy Woodlands for Water Award at the Great Yorkshire Show on Wednesday. Landowner John Hart took the title for a scheme at Hart Wood, Swartghyll Farm, near Buckden, North Yorkshire.
The John Boddy Award focuses on a different aspect of woodland management each year and this year the emphasis was on how it could be used for beneficial impacts on both flooding and diffuse pollution.
Also announced today was the winner of the prestigious Tye Trophy for contribution to conservation and environmental improvement.
The overall winner from the seven regions across the north of England was Aikbank Farm managed by James Turner. Aikbank is part of Brackenburgh Home Farms, Calthwaite, Penrith, and has been managed by James for the past 30 years on behalf of the Harris family who have owned it for 130 years.
Over in the Cheese & Dairy section, Supreme Champion in the Dairy Product category was Dairy Crest with their unsalted butter. Supreme Cheese Champion was the Wensleydale Creamery with their Yorkshire Cheddar.
Tomorrow will be the final day of the show, with highlights including One Man and His Pig, the Great British Pole Climbing Championships and the top showjumping competition, the Cock O’ The North.