Great Yorkshire Show sheep steward preparing to don the famous bowler hat again

“Mum and dad had what was originally an all-grass farm with a herd of pedigree Herefords and crossbred commercial cattle,” says John.

“As time went on we had a few pedigree Murray Greys from Australia and pedigree Charolais. I was keen on the cattle, but when I left school and started helping my father John, I thought could get more sheep for my money. I started off with pedigree Texels in the mid-80s.

“I started my Loxley flock in 1990 and was fortunate enough to win the butchers lamb championship. I also had Texel breed champion in 2000 with a homebred gimmer shearling that won her class as a ewe lamb the year before. We called her Fancypants because she was a cocky, cute, sharp little ewe, and she was always fancy, it just suited her down to the ground.

John’s sheep pedigree had been extended even further a few years earlier having met his wife-to-be Alison.

“Alison’s mum and dad Margaret and Mike Perrings were noted pedigree Texel breeders too and Alison knew all about them. We’d met at the Great Yorkshire while showing. We now have our pedigree Texels and a small flock of pedigree Suffolks, but my showing days at Harrogate came to a close when I was asked whether I would like to come on to the show’s sheep committee.

John says that his late father would have been so proud to see his son take up the bowler hat.

“I’m not really a bowler hat type of person,” says John. “I didn’t have to take it up all the time straight away anyway, because I was initially only involved on the championship days. I was still showing in the sheep classes earlier in the show.

“My dad was a really proud Yorkshireman and as passionate about the Great Yorkshire Show as I am. I’d been showing for a lot of years when Bill Cowling and Raymond Twiddle asked me to come on the committee and I showed for another couple of years but then couldn’t keep stewarding and showing.

John’s calmness dealing with situations that occur frequently through show days and knowledge of what exhibitors have to go through when showing is invaluable and it was those qualities that were no doubt noted when he was asked to take on the two roles he holds within the show’s sheep section today. John is suitably self-effacing about it all.

“As time has gone on, I was asked to chair the sheep committee and become joint chief sheep steward. It’s a position I hold with the unflappable Richard Tasker. We took it on after Susan Cunliffe Lister, who did a great job for a number of years. Richard and I make a good pair, but it is all of the other stewards who make the team.

“It is such a large section that it’s all about having a team and working well together. This last three years I think we have built a fantastic team. Myself and Richard have our positions, but there is absolutely no way we could do any of it without everyone else. The senior and assistant stewards really make the show tick. We have quite a few coming through from the Young Farmers Clubs and from the Yorkshire Agricultural Society’s Future Farmers of Yorkshire organisation and that is really great.

This year’s sheep classes are already at a new record for entries, beating last year’s record. It’s a great headache to have, as John explains.

“Last year we had 3228 entries, this year it is 3522 including the wool section. That doesn’t mean you’ll see that number of sheep though, as some are entered in individual classes and then into group classes or others such as the Wool on the Hoof. Either way though, there are still thousands of sheep on the showground.

“It just keeps growing, and its success kind of makes it harder for us, but we don’t mind at all. It proves the popularity of the show that more want to come to the Great Yorkshire Show. We’ve put up more pens, we’ve extended a marquee. When these sheep buildings were put up the thought had been they would be enough for the numbers we attracted, not any more.

“This is a show where many exhibitors, whether in the cattle, sheep, pigs or horses decide that it’s their holiday. They come for the week or just a few days, and they come in their droves.

There are breeds that start off in the Any Other Breed sections and then make their mark so much that they have their own individual breed classes. The largest of those to make the leap in recent years has been the Dutch Spotted breed that started with just one sheep entry in an Any Other Breed class about six years ago and last year had the third largest entry on the showground.

“This year we have two breeds that have been given their own classes at the show for the first time,” says John. “They are the Badger Face Texel and the Castlemilk Moorit. Last year the Valais Blacknose had its own class for the first time.

John’s involvement with the show, like hundreds of others, is not limited to the four days of the show.

“I participate in health and safety show meetings and others that come up. It all depends on whether everything is running smoothly or there are changes that need to be made. For the sheep section we have two main meetings. One prior to the show, one just after and maybe a couple more.

“You know exactly how you’re going to feel on the Friday night and Saturday morning after four days at the show, but it’s important to remember those people who work in the show’s offices. I have such respect for them. I’m always on the phone regarding the sheep section and in the couple of months prior I’m probably on the phone three or four times a week or more.

John has also been on the Yorkshire Agricultural Society council since 2013 and was elected on to the Trustees Board in 2021.