Huby & Sutton Show: Meet the woman who works in the background to keep Yorkshire county show going

There are hundreds, as each show can have several covering all classes from cattle, sheep, pigs, horses, goats, poultry, rabbits, guinea pigs, young handlers and more, to farm and garden produce, home produce, arts, crafts and children’s entries.

Alison Kitchen is an entries secretary for Huby & Sutton Show that takes place once again in the magnificent backdrop of Sutton Park, home of the Sheffield family in Sutton on the Forest next Sunday, June 23, and was ‘on deadline’ three and a half weeks before the show.

“I’ve lived in Sutton on the Forest for 20 years,” says Alison. “My work as an agronomist brought me here and farming has been my life. I spent a great deal of my time visiting farms and helping farmers grow their crops and for the past six or seven years I have been involved with the show.

“I’m the entries secretary for the farm and garden produce, home produce and crafts entries that are all held in the Yorkshire Countrywomen’s Association marquee. We get hundreds of entries and come in, as they always do, mostly right on the deadline. Locally, everyone does their bit from entering knitted toys to needlework pictures. We have a lot of photography and children’s entries.

“Huby & Sutton on the Forest Show is very community oriented, just like the two villages and others in the area. Everyone supports the show and, If you live rurally, that’s what you do.

“I’m also involved in making sure the judges are doing their job during the day and I am a judge for the farming classes.

“Sutton on the Forest is a small but very active village and has lots of different societies here that meet throughout the year, including the gardening club together with Huby, the Yorkshire Countrywomen’s Association and a very active church. Huby has a shop that is now a community shop that has just opened in a completely new format as a much bigger place and I work there. Everyone comes together for the show.

That involvement between the two main villages and other surrounding villages and hamlets is nurtured by Huby & Sutton Show, particularly through education of children about the countryside and farming, as show committee member and Yorkshire Countrywomen’s Association local chair Barbara Jacobs explains.

“The aims of the Huby & Sutton on the Forest Show Society are to promote agriculture and the countryside, and our committee has made a fantastic effort to encourage even greater focus on education about the countryside and farming this year.

“We have projects with five local primary schools who will all be showing what they have been up to in their classes with a non-competitive display in the marquee called Into the Forest, where they have involved everyone in the community.

“Of course, the mainstay of all agricultural shows, and a highlight, are the livestock classes and this year we have 23 cattle classes including classes for commercial beef, continental, Aberdeen Angus and other native breeds, as well as two classes for our popular young handlers, the future of all shows. And we have seven sheep classes that include rare breeds and Shetlands. These all educate everyone as to why we have different breeds and where food comes from.

“Our equine classes are another major draw for entries with the heavy horses always harking back to farming’s past history before mechanisation and also our horse showing and unaffiliated show jumping. We’ve also another education and highly entertaining display with Equistry that will perform history on horseback in the main ring.

“Agricultural shows like ours and much bigger shows like the Great Yorkshire Show attract thousands of people who have nothing to do normally with farming and often have no idea what goes on. We will have all manner of information available on the day that will help explain more through handouts, quizzes, stickers and other literature all supplied through the AHDB.

“Our show president, Robert Sheffield of Sutton Park is very keen to encourage all aspects of farming at the show, and we are delighted that he offers the grounds for it to take place each year.

Barbara says that where there are no classes for such as pigs or other more exotic creatures the show is fortunate to have two local people bringing their mobile farms and exotic zoos.

“We have Purple Pig Company coming from Pocklington and also Joe’s Exotic Mobile Zoo from Great Ouseburn, which will include meerkats, tortoises and birds of prey. Ryedale Dog Rescue are coming too, to run the Fun Dog Show for all those who bring their pet dogs with them.

“And we’ve also a number of agricultural machinery trade stands including Grange Trailers from Thormanby, another local business, plus The Mended Drum our wonderful pub in Huby, run by Ricki and Lisa will once again be running the bar. We are also extremely grateful for the financial support given by our sponsors and our major raffle. We would not survive without all of this.

Alison was head down when we spoke, trying desperately to get all entries in to meet her deadline for the printing of them all in the show catalogue, but shared one very specific comment about her time in agronomy, working with farmers, that is as much part of the education about farming today.

“We used to do demonstrations on farms and those farms would help us with trials of new products that would help growth of crops, but the worst decision made for arable farmers in recent times was the neonicotinoids ban that did not help growers of oilseed rape counteract flea beetle damage. The ban, in my opinion, was absolutely ridiculous.

“Anyway, back to the show. What I love is that it is all about local people entering local things in their local show.”