Great Yorkshire Show was ‘tonic’ everyone needed, say organisers

Organisers of the Great Yorkshire looked back on the first ever four-day event and proclaimed it was the ‘tonic’ that everyone needed post-Covid.
Royal Visit... The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, visit the Great Yorkshire Show, Harrogate... Prince Charles is pictured on the sheep lines at the show..15th July 2021..Royal Visit... The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, visit the Great Yorkshire Show, Harrogate... Prince Charles is pictured on the sheep lines at the show..15th July 2021..
Royal Visit... The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, visit the Great Yorkshire Show, Harrogate... Prince Charles is pictured on the sheep lines at the show..15th July 2021..

While admitting it had been a huge challenge in putting on the show while still very much under the shadow of lockdown restrictions, Show Director, Charles Mills said the work had been well worth it.

And the week was made all the more special as Prince Charles and Lady Camilla made their first visit to the showground since 2015.

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“This has been such a heart-warming show,” he said. “It’s been an important step back to normality for everyone and I think we appreciated it all the more after the most difficult 18 months.

“To welcome our Patron, Prince Charles, and the Duchess of Cornwall was a day I shall never forget and was just the tonic we all needed, adding that extra sparkle to the show which we all wanted so much.”

Nigel Pulling, Chief Executive of the Yorkshire Agricultural Society, added: “It’s always a huge amount of work to stage this event and this year, because of the pandemic, it’s been all the more challenging.

“We’ve worked closely with NYCC Public Health and Harrogate Borough Council to meet strict criteria and it was terrific to see so many people having such a great day out.”

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The show also welcomed the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, George Eustice MP, who saw livestock competitors in action and met representatives from rural organisations.

Welcomed by Show Director Charles Mills, he watched classes in the cattle and sheep rings, before visiting the NFU and the CLA stands.

The prestigious dairy cattle classes at the show culminated with the Blythewood Pairs in the Main Ring, with the title going to James Lawrie and Bill Lindsay, both from Scotland, with Ayrshire pair Helltower Modern Marcie and Harperfield Queen Elizabeth II.

James, who was at the Great Yorkshire for the first time, said: “It is a tremendous show, one of the best I’ve ever been an exhibitor at.”

There was a first-time triumph for showjumper Lisa Jones in the International Stairway.

The Supreme Sheep title went to Michael Alford of Devon’s British Charollais shearling, Foxhill Vermin.