Farmers bid for triple crown at Swaledale sheep shows

FARMERS are being encouraged to enter three of the smallest Swaledale sheep shows of the year – with the chance of carrying off the prize for overall champion.
After a successful introduction last year, a prize is being offered to the farmer who gains most points at Mungrisedale, High Force and Stainmore spring shows.
Mungrisedale, 16 miles from Penrith towards Keswick, hosts the first show of the year on Wednesday, May 17.
It starts at 1pm and entries are taken on the day, with refreshments, sandwiches and homemade cakes on offer to visitors.
Then on Saturday, May 20, the action switches to High Force, starting at 11am, with refreshments available from the pub.
The series concludes with the Stainmore Show, at North Stainmore Village Hall, on Saturday, June 3.
This is the larger of the three shows, with a dog section plus industrial, stick and children’s classes in addition to the sheep. Judging starts at 11am and homemade refreshments are available.
Points are awarded in the open sheep classes at all three shows with three for a first place, two for second and one for third.
In addition, any farmer who shows at all three events will be awarded ten bonus points – even if they don’t win a prize.
The overall winner will receive a £250 voucher courtesy of Eden Farm Supplies’ Geoff Tunstall.
Claire Tunstall, secretary of the Stainmore Swaledale Sheep Show, said the introduction of an overall prize was an effort to promote all three and get more people interested in entering the classes.
“Geoff Tunstall made the decision to support three of the smallest shows to help motivate both exhibitors and spectators to keep the tradition of showing at these established and unique shows,” she said. 
“He has customers in all three areas and wanted to encourage people from the three different areas to support the other shows and increase the ‘friendly’ competition between them, whether people already enter and bring a couple more sheep or it makes someone else think about entering another one or two of the shows.”
Although all three shows are long established events, Ms Tunstall said no-one was quite sure why they were staged at this time of year.
“The general consensus is that it may have something to do with the social aspect after winter and lambing time and farmers needing a break before hay time and clipping.
“They are high quality shows. We get some exceptional sheep. It is the first time people can show them, and show what they have bred. It sets them up for showing later in the year.”
She added: “All three have passionate committee members determined to drive each of the shows forward and continue the long running tradition in each area, and all thank Geoff for his continued support in this way. It created much discussion and chatter last year.”