The best from the West as Devon County Show returns to May spot

The best of the West’s farming and food was showcased last week at the annual Devon County Show. Thousands of people headed to the County Show, which took place at Westpoint Arena, Exeter, on May 18, 19 and 20, with farmers from the region and beyond rewarded for their tireless work. It’s the first time since 2019 that the county’s flagship fixture has been held in its traditional May slot after being cancelled in 2020 due to Covid-19 and the 2021 and 2022 shows taking place later in the summer. The cattle shed had a hive of activity as breeders battled it out to wow the judges.

Jo and Fred Power from Teapot Cottage in Glastonbury brought two British blues, two heifers, one senior heifer and one six-month-old heifer.

Fred said: “It’s been very good here today. The six-month-old heifer won best of breed, so we’re over the moon about that.

“The preparation starts from the time you look at the breeding. So as soon as our six-month-old hit the floor, that’s when it’s all about show season. The preparation is over a long period, but it’s been a busy week, washing, preparing and clipping.

“Coming to shows like this is why we do it. It’s to show what British farming is all about. Showing the welfare and how we keep our animals and doing as much as we can to do the right thing by them.”

Terry Pulsford, from Wiveliscombe, brought his Aberdeen Angus winning first prize and a second with a cow in calf and a reserve male champion.

“I’m quite pleased,” he said. “A lot goes into getting ready for a show like this. It takes work. We are pedigree, so the effort makes it worthwhile to do it. You saw an increase in price on them; for example, my reserve champion has gone from £2,000 to £4,000.

“You’ve got to do it so you can get your name out there for the public to see what you got.”

Daniel Baldwin from Middle Poleshill Farm in Wellington brought three pedigree blue heifers, two senior and one bull, one senior heifer and two juniors, and was enjoying success.

“It’s a good show to come to yearly; it’s supported well.

“There’s a real lot of effort that goes into today. It starts with the juniors in October, getting them going and ready for this year. We’ve got the Three Counties Show next, and then we will be going to many one-day shows and little ones.

“It’s a lot of work, especially when the weather is as good as today because you’ve got silaging to do.”

Meanwhile, hundreds of sheep flocked to the show, eager to impress judges.

Youngsters Ed Brown and Henry White from Liddimore Farm near Watchet brought their Texel sheep with one winning interbreed champion.

Ed said: “We’re showing these on behalf of Uncle Sam, so they are Samuel White’s sheep and his pedigree texels, so we’ve been helping him out.

“This is our second time at the County Show, and we look forward to Bath and West and Dunster Show as well as the Mid Devon Show.”

Martin Harvey from Woolly Farm in Crewkerne added: “It’s been a lovely hot day which myself and Valais sheep and my Suffolk Valais cross little lamb.

“It has been fantastic to see the amount of people that come, stop and lurk. It’s also great to get the breed out and showcase what we do and what we bring up.

“Today is the culmination of weeks and weeks of effort. Keeping sheep is more than just a one-day easy job. Now in the future, we have around one or two shows a month.”

Kathy Giles from the Brendon Hill Flock brought her Swiss Valais blacknose flock to the show. She said: “We’ve done well here and had a lovely few days,” she said. “Our lambs got first and second, one of our shealings did well, and so we had two firsts, a second, third and fourth, and it feels excellent.

“This is a vital event to promote our sheep. It’s hard work 24/7; we’ve worked all year feeding lambing, looking after them, getting the vets in and vaccinating. It’s not just a three-day job here at the show; it’s all year round.

“It’s just important for people to see what goes on in farms and how they look after their animals because they are looked after. These sheep are loved.”

Sadie Champion and David Champion from Hazelwood Flock at Highbridge, with Norman the grey-faced Dartmoor who won breed champion.

Sadie said: “We’re delighted to have won. He’s a senior ram, so he’s five years old now, so to keep winning at that age is good going. It’s an excellent start to the year.

“The main work with these is you have to prepare the fleece. He’s in full fleece, so all of the pleats must be parted so the judge can lift and see right through to the skin. They are a wool breed and traditionally are linked with Axminster carpets.

“Devon County Show is a lovely show to come to, and the breed is based in Devon, so getting the breed out there and recognised is very important.”

There was also a strong contingent of alpacas competing.

Di Davies, Alpha Alpacas in Melplash near Bridport, said: “I’ve had a brilliant show in that we brought six animals, and we’ve ended up with a champion, two reserve champions, five firsts and a second.

“We’re having a very good year with the show team this year. We’re delighted that after 23 years of breeding, our last three show years have been spectacular. For example, we won 15 championships last year with a small herd of 50.”

She said on the work needed to prepare for the show: “That’s the great thing about Alpacas as we’re not allowed to groom them because it’s their fibre that’s being judged, and if you groom them, you destroy all the character in their fibre. So other than halter training them and taking the worst of the straw off their faces, that’s the preparation apart from getting the entries done, getting us to the show and then bringing the goods we sell that are made from their fibre.

Dave Bearman from Apple Vale Alpacas based in Stawell near Bridgwater said it was ‘excellent to be at the Devon County Show.’ He said: “The weather is lovely and consistent, and it’s great to be back after a couple of years away with Pixie and Pumpkin Sweet, who has picked up a first prize, with a few classes still to go.

“It’s brilliant to get out to shows as it means the public can get to know alpacas and why we breed them, which is primarily for their fleece. We get to meet other breeders from across the region, get our alpacas judged against each other and see how our breeding programs are developing.”

Based in Chard, Susie Blight attended with her three pet alpacas but was also showing on behalf of Patau Alpacas from Wellington, who brought seven.

“It’s been a good day with some very stiff competition here. My pets have come second, and the mighty Patau herd have a reserve champion in the junior form which is amazing as it is his first competition, and I cannot be prouder of him.”

On the importance of being able to showcase the alpacas, she said: “Obviously, we want to grow the herd numbers in the UK, and people can get up close and personal, so they can appreciate what they’re all about and what we use the fibres for, and all the properties related to fleece and how they can be used for multiple purposes. We must get that message out to everyone.”

Elsewhere, there was something to savour in the food and drink tent, with many local traders bringing their tastes to a broader audience.

Julie Hoskings from Hettie Hen based in Kilmington said: “It’s really busy, but great to be at a local show. Trade has been reasonably steady.

“It’s good for us because we supply Greendale, which is just on the road, so it makes our brand more accessible and people aware that they can buy our eggs not just at the show here today, but they can buy them just down the road.”

Hullabaloos from Glastonbury was keeping punters refreshed with lemonade and other drinks.

Chris Baker said: “It’s a fantastic show; it’s nice and busy, the sun is out, and people are enjoying themselves.

“We’re able to put our name out there. It’s all very well selling to distributors but coming here, you’re getting your name out, you’re getting the product seen and tasted, and people are coming back who came back last year and became returning customers.

“They can find out about our great lemonade, come and have a nice little chat, and smile.”

Nigel Stewart, Bridge Farm Cider based in East Chinnock near Crewkerne, also served something to quell the thirst. He said: “We’ve been here for 30 years, so there must be something about it that brings us back. The people and organisers are always friendly, and it’s always been that way.

“It’s slightly out of our immediate retailing area, but we’ve always entered the cider competitions. We’ve been successful over the years, but I was the judge this time, so I couldn’t join.

“The quality of cider this year was pretty good. There are one or two slightly off-the-edge ones, but generally, it was pretty good. It’s always difficult to pick one winner, though.

“It’s always great to showcase the variety of cider and how you can do so much with what appears to be just an apple. There’s a variety, and we’re doing it here in the South West.”

Holly and Andy Heggadon from the Exmoor Feasting based on Withypool were kept busy throughout the event. Andy said: “It’s marvellous to be here today; we’re having a great day, we’re swamped, but this is everything for us, it’s our business, and we live and breathe it. Things have been manic, but this is our reward for our work, and it’s good for business, and now I must get back to serving the queue of what seems to be 40 people behind you.”

Emergency services at the County Show were invited to a Road Safety Village to unite services across the South West.

Devon Somerset Fire and Rescue Service, watch manager Chris Boston and road safety lead for the brigade explained: “We are part of a collaborative partnership with Vision Zero South West which is incorporating National Highways, Devon Air Ambulance, South West Ambulance Service Trust, the police and all emergency services to drive down the number of road collisions and fatal injuries.

“Our message this year is all about safe towing and safer driving on our rural roads.

“This is the first-ever collaborative road safety village, and I’m proud to be part of it. If we can get that message across and save just one life by reiterating the fatal five, our day will be successful.

“After today, we’ll be taking this message to other shows across the region, including Bath and West and Somerset County Show to spread that message about driving carefully on the roads.”

He explained that while there were many good drivers and motorcyclists on the road, accidents happen. “We need to just put that little bit more care into it,” he added.

Sami Burkitt, the patient engagement events and projects facilitator for the South Western Ambulance Service, said: “This is our first big event for SWAS since we reinstated all of our events after Covid-19 and with staff shortages. We’ve now got a full patient engagement team, which means that we’ve got resources now to go out and attend events like this, and we’ll be at the Bath and West, Torbay Air Show, Hellifest, Bristol Harbour Festival and many more, so it’s an exciting time.

“We’re trying to get back to engaging with communities, finding out feedback on our services as well as what people’s experiences are, positive and negative and how we can improve what we are doing to get the best for our patients.

“Another important aspect of being out at events is education. Today we’re teaching CPR, which is a vital skill to learn. We all hope that we never have to use it, but it’s something that everybody should know. We also have a new interactive display, which makes it fun.”

Other groups and organisations could also share their messages and promote themselves, such as South West Water. Si Wilkes, from South West Water, said: “It’s massively important for us to be here as it’s an opportunity where customers can genuinely ask us any questions. They can learn lots, and many of the games we offer here are interactive so that they can learn about wastewater and blockages. They can also come and get a glass of water.

“It is about them being able to see us as a visual community group and shows that we go out and speak to people.

“We’re also celebrating after winning the silver award for best stand over six meters, which is amazing and unexpected. We will take our stall across 25 show events, including at the Royal Cornwall, Honiton Show and Mid Devon.”

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