The Royal Bath and West of England Society hosted a very successful Royal Smithfield Christmas Fair at the weekend. The historic show was held at the Bath and West Showground for the second time, again sponsored by Merial. Mr Neil Gourlay, Chairman of the Royal Smithfield Club commented "the team at the Royal Bath and West Society once again put on a tremendous show for us and we are very grateful to all of them for their organisation of this event. We could not be more pleased with the 2008 show, which was very much enjoyed by exhibitor and visitor alike".
Representatives from all sectors of the industry arrived at the top West Country venue to enjoy what is one of the most important shows in the livestock farmer’s calendar. The livestock competitions were once again at the heart of the show and included some of the top animals from across the country. There were classes covering fatstock, suckled calves and sheep and as the culmination of all the major national winter fair competitions, there was prize money of more than £50,000 and trophies valued in excess of £100,000.
The Merial Overall Royal Smithfield Supreme Championship was won by Divine Diva, shown by A & E Vance, bred by R and M Scott, Brampton, Cumbria and the Reserve Champion was Limited Edition shown by S E Sellers, bred by B Griffiths of Newtown, Powys. The show hosted the traditional Livestock Auction conducted by Paul Gentry of Newark Livestock Markets seeing brisk trade and watched by a large crowd with the Champion Beast fetching £15,000 the second highest price ever achieved at the Royal Smithfield Show.
The Supreme Champion Pen of Lambs was won by A.D. Bishop of Gloucester with a pen of two pure breed Beltex lambs, weighing 85.5 kg which achieved £800 at auction and were purchased by Alan Davies of Newtown, Powys (who judged the Beef Ribs Competition). The Reserve Supreme Champion was a pen of two Beltex cross lambs, weighing 79 kg, won by R. Hall and Son of Carlisle for which Paul Slater of Macclesfield, Cheshire (who judged the sheep championships) paid £760.
The Meat Industry Dinner and Reception sponsored by Lloyds TSB Agriculture, ABP Sainsbury’s and the Meat Trades Journal was held on the Friday evening and attended by 300 guests. During the Dinner the Royal Smithfield Club Bicentenary Trophy for 2008 was presented to Dr Basil Lowman, who was a popular winner of this prestigious award. The Dinner saw the Champion and Reserve Champion Beef Ribs auctioned off for the Addington Fund, the Champion Ribs fetching £680. Three fibreglass painted sheep were also sold each fetching in excess of £700 in aid of the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institute.
The Pig Demonstration Area also proved to be very popular, with the British Pig Association showing many different breeds of pedigree pig, from Tamworth to Mangalitza, it was enjoyed by all as breeders demonstrated the different strengths of their animals. The BPA’s National Pedigree Sausage Competition was won by Mr and Mrs Hinds from Buckinghamshire, with their chili and coriander speciality sausage.
The Chief Executive of the Royal Bath & West of England Society, Dr. Jane Guise said "we are proud hosts of this event in the West Country. The livestock show was superb and visitor numbers very respectable at 14,000. Local support from Somerset County Council enabled an elegant display of Somerset food and craft which added much interest for visitors".
Trade stands offered a wide range of services and products for livestock farmers and meat traders across several halls and sections of the Showground. They included specialist services for beef and sheep producers, equipment suppliers and retailers specializing in rural and agricultural products. The Food Hall featured a wide range of local produce with meats, cheeses and Christmas goodies.
