Turnpike Showground’s annual extravaganza delights visitors with its farming heritage, stunt shows and deep community spirit
The tantrum-prone 2023 weather gods were kind, and the sun actually shone on Turnpike Showground.
From early morning the cattle and sheep lines were busy, the showing areas constantly moving as the important work of finding show champions got underway.
The car parks swiftly filled as visitors flooded into the ground – and they certainly weren’t disappointed! The Shetland Pony Racing was a delight, the Jamie Squibb Freestyle Motocross was addictive (and so so high!), the Lightning Bolts Army Parachute display team, the Grand Parade … it was tricky to pull away from the big attractions just in the Gritchie Brewing Co Main Ring! Sam, from sponsors Gritchie Brewing Co, took a few minutes out from the horsebox bar to speak with the BV.
‘We love to be part of the show! Being here is great – obviously it’s always good to actually get to chat to all the people who buy our beer. And it’s a good fun show – I’m looking forward to the stunt bike show and the parachutists!’
Peter Harding, from show sponsors Peter Harding Wealth Management, agreed. ‘The G&S Show is so great for the local community,’ he says. ‘We’ve got a number of wonderful clients who live within the show’s radius, so from a business perspective it’s always a terrific opportunity for us to meet up. Personally, I love seeing the trade stands, all the tractors, having a catch up with the local farmers … It’s just a great local show and a great community.’
Unique opportunities
Richard Findlay, Livestock Board chairman for the NFU agreed on the importance of the show for meeting people. ‘Shows like the G&S are really important. I get to meet the members I represent, of course, but it also gives them the opportunity to feed back into the Union. It’s particularly great for them to have direct access to myself as livestock board chairman – it means we can truly represent their views when we influence policy decisions with DEFRA and in the industry generally. As you’d expect with my day job, the bit I make sure never to miss are the cattle and sheep lines!’
In the Wool Village this year the first ever G&S Sheep Shearing Competition was an absolute hit – brilliantly entertaining, adn drawing a huge crowd who were laughing and ooh-ing (and gasping at the unexpected and spontaneously jumping sheep!) while managing to learn a few things about sheep and wool too.
Peter Beaumont, Managing Director of Cornish Mutual, said that local agricultural shows were essential to the business: ‘They are in our blood. They’re a key part of the community we support, as an insurance firm that focuses entirely on the agri sector. Meeting with your customers is a really important part of any business – and this is where it’s at! The good thing about the G&S is that it’s packed, but manageable, so you don’t have to miss anything – and I love that it’s still a proper farming event!
Helen Rogers, from Friars Moor Livestock Health, said that the whole Friars Moor team absolutely love the G&S Show: ‘It’s an opportunity to say thank you to all our farmers and our clients, have a drink and a lovely chat with them – often about non farming things, ironically! It’s just such a great opportunity to see everyone, it means loads to us that we can come here, support the show by sponsoring, and see everyone. I do make sure I get out of the tent to visit the cows and the sheep though, I never miss them!
The Turnpike Ring had a whole different set of acts to split the visitors attention; the falconry display and Jonathan Marshall’s Spirit of Freedom show were popular, and there was the terrier racing, dog agility and ferret racing. The heavy horses. Live music. A funfair. ALL the food. There were aisles and aisles of trade stands to get round (garden furniture, clothing, high street brands and local producers – it was a country high street located in a field!).
The G&S is a wonderful show; and a lot of that is thanks to the fact that it never forgets that for more than 160 years it has been an agricultural show – with farming strongly at its heart. It’s a brilliant day out for everyone, whether you’re a farmer or not!
Article first appeared in the September issue of the BV Magazine