• The Blog
  • About Square Sparrow
  • Contact Square Sparrow

Squirrel

Horses 1

7 years ago Flora & Fauna, Livestock, Scotland

From ferret racing to flower arranging… at Kinross Show. Square Sparrow reflects on a recent visit to the local agricultural show.

KINROSS-show-2015-ferret-cheeky-close

If I put on my cutest face, maybe she'll let me chase a rabbit...

Suddenly our summer (such as it was in Scotland!) is virtually over and on the arable farms here in Kinross-shire the combines have been revving up as farmers hasten to snatch their harvest in between the showers. And as another summer comes to an end, so does another showing season for all the livestock farmers for whom summer weekends mean trekking round Scotland on the showing circuit.

In the 1980s, when Yours Truly used to show Shetland ponies all summer long, the fun and friendly finale of the showing season was always Kinross Agricultural Show, which traditionally takes place on the second Saturday of August. In those halcyon days, the show used to be held in the walled garden of Kinross House – an idyllic setting, with the eponymous Neoclassical country mansion providing an almost surreal backdrop.

However, in life all good things generally come to an end, and several years ago the sale of Kinross House necessitated a move for the local agricultural show. But where on earth (or at least within the bounds of Kinross-shire!) could they hold the show that would ever compete with the previous unique location? The answer lay in an unassuming grass field, right next door to the RSPB’s Vane Farm on the shores of Loch Leven – with the Sleeping Giant (a local hill, so christened because its profile resembles a sleeping giant) as a backdrop and a breathtaking overview of the loch. It was an inspired choice.

KINROSS-show-2015-view-loch-best

Kinross Show's stunning location offers a panoramic view of Loch Leven

When the sun shines, as it did this year, there are few places in Scotland that could rival this stunning rural show setting. For any of you who haven’t been to an agricultural show before, know this: the showing of sheep, cattle, ponies, goats and dogs is taken extremely seriously by those who participate. The exhibitors will have been up since the crack of dawn to make their final preparations before loading their budding animal beauty queens into lorries and horseboxes and making their way from far and near to the showground.

Having had experience of judging classes at local shows in a previous life, I know how precisely how nerve-wracking that particular task is. One thing is a given: there’s usually only going to be one happy person after each class, and that’s the owner of the animal who received the coveted first prize rosette. Everyone else will be muttering under their breaths what a fool the judge was for failing to appreciate the finer merits of their fabulous sheep, cow, goat or horse!

Unsurprisingly, now that I attend shows purely as a spectator rather than as an exhibitor or a judge, the whole occasion is vastly more relaxing. Instead of feverishly polishing ponies or weighing up the respective merits of entrants, I can take time to enjoy these couthy* rural gatherings which are as eclectic as they are entertaining. Here’s a quick photomontage compiled at this year’s show to give you a flavour… Hope to see you there next year!

KINROSS-show-2015-horse-highland

A patient Highland pony enjoying a well-deserved rest...

KINROSS-show-2015-horse-clydesdales

A handful of Clydesdales!

KINROSS-show-2015-horse-shetland-graze

Typical Shetland - who cares about rosettes, just show me the grass!

KINROSS-show-2015-horse-ridden-sheltie

On our best behaviour - both ponies and riders!

KINROSS-show-2015-sheep-ryeland

Ryeland tup - just chillin' as he waits for the Sheep Inter-breed Championship

KINROSS-show-2015-cake-stall

Meanwhile, along at the Kinross Hockey Club stand, a cake bake sale is in full swing to raise funds for the much-needed new AstroTurf pitch surface... The chocolate fudge slice was drea-my!!

KINROSS-show-2015-hockey-mutley

The atmosphere  was tense in the keepy-uppy contest...

KINROSS-show-2015-flowers-vases

Down in the WRI tent, there's plenty of flower power!

KINROSS-show-2015-egg-shark

And the creative egg design competition looks a bit scary!

KINROSS-show-2015-goat-sleepy

This goat's evidently an old hand at the showing malarkey :-)

KINROSS-show-2015-goat-show

Pink hair, eh? Well, that's one way of catching the judge's eye!

KINROSS-SHOW-2015-ferret-racing

Which ferret did you put your money on?

KINROSS-show-2015-doughnuts-fresh

After all that fresh air, fresh doughnuts - still warm! - are essential ;-)

KINROSS-show-2015-tractor-three

And if - like Farmpa - you prefer horse power of a different variety, there's something for you, too :-)

KINROSS-show-2015-car-picnic-mo

Of course, one of the most important aspects of agricultural shows is the socialising - car boot picnics are all the rage!

* For any readers not familiar with this Scottish term, couthy (or couthie) means "warm and friendly".

Contact

Address: Somewhere in deepest darkest Kinross-shire

Email: info@square-sparrow.com

Name: Square Sparrow

From The Blog
humorous festive blog from Scottish smallholding
Festive bleatings from the Sparrowholding in Scotland
4 years ago

‘Surely it’s not that time of year again?’ I hear you cry – and I can only concur. In the halcyon days (daze?) of my youth, my dear old mum regularly warned me that each year would fly past faster as I aged matured. Only now do I realise that I should have listened to […]

clump of stunning primroses in spring in Scotland
Lambing, tubs and other signs of spring in Scotland
4 years ago

Even by Yours Truly’s intermittent blogging standards, it’s been rather a long time since my last rural bulletin, so buckle up and hold on tight for a whistle-stop tour of spring in Scotland, as viewed from here at The Sparrowholding. In my defence, one of the reasons for the paucity of posts to date this […]

shetland sheep fleeces lying on the ground
From Shetland fleece to Shetland shawl: Tufty’s coat of many colours
5 years ago

Some of you may remember that last June I posted a short video of HunterGatherer, using old-fashioned hand clippers to shear Tufty’s gorgeous Shetland fleece. Well, the stunning fleece which appeared in that self-same video has been on a rather exciting journey since the day it left The Sparrowholding later that summer in the car […]

Tags
country lifescotlandfarmingfamilylife on a smallholdinglifestylesmallholding in Scotlandsheepfoodshowinghomegrownshetland sheeplambing in Scotlandanimalsgardenagricultural show in ScotlandcountrylifesmallholdingChristmaseating out in ScotlandFifesheep shearing in ScotlandScottish bloggerScottish sheepthe good lifelifestyle bloggercountry bloggersmallholder blogShetland fleecefleeceswoolspinninggardenersmallholding blognature bloggerfruitvegetablescountrysidenaturehorticulturegrown your ownseedscountry lifestylegrowinghorses
Copyright © 2018 Square Sparrow. All Rights Reserved.

Created by Interphase