Awarding the prizes for the Shires

Otley Show, Yorkshire. 2023

The stockman

Otley Show, Yorkshire. 2023



The ferret racer

Otley Show, Yorkshire. 2023

This is a series I have been working on over the past 3 years. It is a journey into something that is particular to English country communities. I have endeavoured to look into it as an anthropological phenomenon, which is why the discerning amongst you will see some similarities to my other work about groups particularly the Modern Tribes of England project.

 

Deep in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales, the farming communities come together once a year for their local show. They include Kilnsey, Malham, Gargrave, Otley, Pately Bridge and Masham to name just a few. The shows are a mix of farming and fairs. Sheep and cows compete for the Best of Show rosettes as do shire horses. There are sheep dog trials, dry-stone wall building, farrier contests, sheep shearing, packs of hounds and ferret racing. Then there are prizes for farm produce, cake, eggs, racing pigeons, fly fishing, walking sticks and flower arrangements. Alongside these are fair ground rides, bouncy castles, fortune tellers, Yorkshire Dales ice cream and beer all to the traditional sounds of the local brass bands. There are also vintage tractors and cars. To round it off are the fell-races – something definitely not for the faint hearted.

I have been going to these shows for a number of years now. I have been documenting the people and trying to get ‘under the skin’ of what the shows are really about. They have been around now for centuries and for some farmers, they are an important part of their business. To win a best of breed rosette can enable the farmer to command higher prices at stock markets. It can even determine their survival in an ever-increasing harder business as supermarkets demand lower prices

The show is a time that occurs once a year for the local farmers in their area. Traditionally, it has provided them with an opportunity to renew friendships with their neighbours who farm the surrounding hills and valleys. I began this project in 2021 at the tail end of the pandemic. The shows had been cancelled the previous year and many people had not seen their neighbours for nearly two years due to being told to stay home. Farming is a solitary occupation and long periods spent on the farm can take its toll at the best of times. For some, it has affected their mental health. With the added ruling that people should not mix things might have been hard.

So as I walked around the livestock pens of the Kilnsey Show in the Yorkshire Dales in 2021, I could hear the compere on the tannoy saying how good it was that “we were finally able to come out on this sunny day and meet up with our friends and neighbours and catch up with the news.

My favourite part of an agricultural show are probably the sheep pens. Firstly, there are so many varieties of sheep. Secondly, there is so much to do to get the sheep ready for showing. But perhaps the best is the judging. Very early in the morning the preparations begin. The sheep have to be carefully loaded into the trailer and driven to the show. Once at the showground the work really begins. The sheep has to be prepared and in peak condition for the judging. Trimming of the coat takes place. Combing and brushing is done right up to the last moment and the animals have to be moved. Sometimes they cooperate and walk to where they need to be. But if not then they need to be manhandled. I marvelled at the way young farmers got stuck in with a stubborn animal. They were kind but firm. It was not work for the faint hearted or weak!

Preparing heavy horses starts early as well as there is so much to be done. The mane has to be carefully groomed and then plaited and bowed. The feathers at the bottom of the legs have to be washed and dried using sawdust so they are beautifully separated. The tails have to be brushed and in some cases, plaited. It can take hours of painstaking work. It certainly would not have happened back in the days when these were work horses. The horses may have been given more treatment on high days and Sundays. They are valuable animals and before mechanisation they served the same function as a tractor, pulling the ploughs and dragging the hay wagons. Nowadays they only really do that kind of work at shows.

One of the high points of a show is when a pack of hunting hounds arrive in the arena. The trumpet sounds are accompanied by much barking as a kind of organised chaos ensues. A pack is usually made up of 15 to 25 hounds. Hounds are elegant dogs and very lively. Hunting packs are quite rare now as the laws against hunting changed. But there is something rather wonderful seeing so many animals of the same breed moving around sometimes under the control of the handler but led more by the leader of the pack I suspect! Once upon a time many private schools kept their own packs of hunting hounds.

The countryside of England is an interesting place. Farming is varied ranging from growing fruit and vegetables to animal husbandry. One of the most prolific foods produced is eggs. Not only farms produce eggs. Many people keep chickens in their own gardens and as you walk along the many little lanes you will often see a small platform with boxes of eggs for sale. Eggs are also found at the shows. There are many from a range of birds, not just chickens. Judging them can be a long and involved business.

The shows attract visitors from all walks of life with all kinds of interests. It is a great day out for families, teenagers enjoy them because they can meet up and have fun on the attractions. There is always a beer tent where those who like ale can sample the local brews. Foodies can try and buy cheeses and other delicacies. It is also a time to pull out the tweeds, the check shirts and riding boots and strut your stuff. It is its own microcosm of life

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The shows are not all about farm produce. Fun things like fairground rides, candy floss and contest also feature. One such contest is the tug of war, an age-old test of strength. It is fundamentally the same as it had been for centuries except now, far more women and girls participate. The other difference is that there are international teams and championships. The aim is for the two teams to pull in opposite directions until one of them pulls the centre of the rope over their own line.

Sometimes there are things that are just there to have fun. Like The Tub for instance. This is a take on an old idea old dunking miscreants. Nowadays though the people are either paid or are volunteering for the laughs. There is a large tub about 8 feet across and 5 feet deep full of water. There is a frame supporting a small ladder, a seat and a target linked to a titling mechanism. The lad sits up on the seat and people pay to throw balls at the target. If their throw is accurate, the impact on the target moves a lever and the seat drops down depositing the lad in the water accompanied by a great deal of laughter. It is definitely one for a warm day.

One of the hair-brained, chaotic spectacles at shows is the terrier racing. Basically, the dogs are coaxed into boxes at the starting line. The ‘rabbit’ (don’t worry all you animal lovers, it is a ball of synthetic fur) is shown to the dogs. The doors are opened simultaneously, the dogs fly out in hot pursuit of the ‘rabbit’ that is pulled up the track to the finish. The job of pulling is done by one of the race officials who is the quickest on the winder. The dogs rarely catch the ‘rabbit’. At the finish the 'rabbit' is pulled between two hay bales about a foot wide where it is quickly scooped up and hidden. Standing by the official in charge of winding allows you to see the dogs come flying through the bales one at a time...except a number whizz around the outsides in hot pursuit. All this is to the soundtrack of yapping dogs!

Ferret racing is a very old and traditional sport associated with the countryside. At the show the ferrets are allowed to enter a long transparent tube. They then run to the far end (with luck) where their owner scoops them up, gives them a treat and a stroke.