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“The Show
is a marvellous getting together of farming communities who through their
contribution and efforts provide a great educational spectacle – an exchange of
ideas between people from a range of rural industries. Those members of the public who visit the
Show leave with a better understanding of what farming and rural industry is
all about. It provides a social
anchorage for all the villages in the Valley and far and wide.
I am looking
forward to an excellent Hope Show on
August 26th, Bank Holiday Monday.”
First went to the Show in 1934…
Roger
Dickson’s first visit to the Show was in 1934 aged eight – he recalls “the first
time I went to Hope Show was on a pony from the farm at Calow. I set
off with a friend, Leslie Dungworth and we got ourselves home under our own
horse power. During the 1970s and 1980s he started taking
his children to Hope Show to enter
pony competitions.
“In the
early ‘90s, while Hope Show was still located at the old Show site, I brought
the traction engine “Empress” to Show Day, which didn’t exactly help the
traffic!” commented Roger Dickson. “I
needed water for the traction engine, so someone at the Show found me a tap and
hosepipe and set up a useful water supply. “ Such practical detail involved in the
backroom activities, so important to the smooth running of the Show fascinated
me - after all “hell hath no fury like a lady with no ladies’ loos”!
Gundogs followed…
Stuart
Elliott then Show Chairman knew of the United Retriever Club and invited
gundogs to join Hope Show and set up their section at the top of the Showground.
Philip
Wagland, Secretary of the United Retriever Club, devised a test format for the
Show involving 4 dogs from each breed, 2 advanced and 2 novices, in order to
produce a gundog display. The results combined
a mix of superb skill and hilarious fumble… it proved a very successful
formula. The 150 chairs along one side
of the gun dog section are rarely empty on Show Day. People come from all over the country to see
our unique display format. We have done 10 Shows with the gundogs; we
have gone from strength to strength and are now truly international in our
appeal, with entrants from Holland, Sweden and Germany
as well as from the UK. I had great fun being involved with it
all.
I look
forward to another great Show on Bank Holiday Monday.
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