There was a bumper turn out for the Borrowdale Shepherds’ Meet which was staged at a new venue on Sunday.
This year organisers utilised the Yew Tree Farm field – between the Borrowdale Institute and the Flock-In cafe – and decided once again that the event would be restricted to the Herdwick breed.
There was a great turn-out of high-quality Herdwick sheep, fell runners and visitors to make it a very successful day for everyone.
Representatives from the Borrowdale Story – Vivienne Coleman, Anne Grindley and Sally Philips – had stalls which offered a range of products from pencil drawings, sheep related craft work, energy saving chimney sheep and the history of the valley. The mission of the Borrowdale Story is to enhance the experience of visitors to the valley and the local community by sharing its history and identity through the creation and distribution of interpretive materials and resources.
David Thompson, of Torver, and Patrick Fitzsimmons, of Ulpha, had a challenging day judging the extremely well supported Herdwick classes, with John Bland, of Yew Tree Farm, eventually winning champion Herdwick with his ewe, which had also been successful at the Wasdale Show the previous week. Johnny Bland went on to take 13 class wins, not quite as good as the 17 of last year. The best tup belonged to Peter Edmondson and Jason Loan of Seathwaite Farm.
The best male and female sheep bred and owned by a Borrowdale farmer class was won by Shaun Richardson of Fold Head Farm, Watendlath.
Will Rawling, chairman of the Herdwick Sheep Breeders’ Association, provided an informative talk from the show ring on the breed and its historical importance within the Lake District.
The young handlers class was won by Stanley Rawling who received the Stephen Relph Memorial Cup plus a prize donated by Carole and Stanley Jackson.
The shepherds’ working dog classes were judged by Patrick Fitzsimons, with Andrew Harrison and his dog Chance being awarded champion and The Scafell Hotel Cup . The shepherds’ working stick class was won by Stanley Rawling.
The Dale Head Fell Race went off without a hitch, the morning rain giving way to clear views, but the ground was slippy underfoot.
The British fell running relay championships had been held the previous day at Braithwaite but 59 runners – some of whom had competed the previous day – still toed the line at the start.
The race was won by Keswick AC’s Harry Bolton (50-32) who was closely followed home by team mate Matthew Atkinson (50-47) who won the race last year, with Howgill’s Alistair Thornton (52-28) in third. Keswick’s Simon Netherway (55-53) was first MV40 while Borrowdale’s Michael Fanning (58-01) was leading MV50. The first LV60 and 70 was Keswick’s Lesley Malarkey (92-49).
Carole Jackson again organised and ran the cafe in the Institute building and local people kindly provided the home-made cakes and flapjack, which along with tea and coffee generates the main income for staging the meet.
“We were concerned about the change of venue for this year’s Shepherds’ Meet but it proved to be a great success,” said secretary John Postans. “Having four sheep related trade stalls plus the Borrowdale Story, which promotes the history and heritage of the valley, added significantly to the visitor experience and demonstrated that Herdwick wool is a tremendous product.
“The sheep show was one of our best, with the number and quality of Herdwicks in particular giving the judges a lot to think about. We congratulate Johnny Bland for his incredible achievement this year.”
Chair Stanley Jackson, said: “I’d like to thank all those exhibiting sheep for supporting us; all the members of the committee and volunteers for the hard work they put in to putting the show on; and our visitors for making it all worthwhile. I hope a good day was had by all.”
