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My first real involvement in Hope Show was when I was about
14, showing a Friesian dairy heifer calf in one of the Hope Valley Young
Farmers Club calf classes, the picture shown is a little later but not by much!
I must have been involved in every one since but the
years do start to merge after 39 shows!
It never ceases to amaze me how the Show comes together with
over 100 volunteers who devote between a few hours on the day, to the
equivalent of many days over the year. Then there are the judges who come from
all over the Country, again voluntarily, to judge the hundreds of classes at
the show – from jams to Shire horses and Vintage tractors to Highland cattle.
There would be no Show without the exhibitors who spend
hours, days and even years in the case of livestock breeding, making, baking or
preparing the perfect exhibits. Yes they may win some prize money but this is
only a token compared to the cost and time they will have incurred.
I have to say a big thank you, to those of you attending the
show, whether it is your first time or you have been more times than myself and
there will be plenty of you who have. Without you the show would not exist; it
costs over £60,000 to stage Hope Show, only if the sun shines and is forecast
to shine, do we make a profit. I thus have to say, a very big thank you to all our
sponsors without whom we would never cover our costs.
It is a huge honour and privilege to be Hope Show President
for 2016, although I will have a sense of guilt that whilst Anita and I are
enjoying the day there will be hundreds of people making show day happen.
Please enjoy!
Andrew Critchlow
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