Member Article

Stoneleigh Park sponsors new country & livestock show

The inaugural Stoneleigh Country and Livestock Show has received a major boost from its host venue.

Stoneleigh Park is a main sponsor of the show which is being held on the Warwickshire estate on Saturday, August 3 and Sunday, August 4 with the aim of “town meets country”.

Organisers say the sponsorship has mirrored an overwhelming response from livestock and trade exhibitors to the first-time event which could see visitor numbers top the expected 5,000.

The show aims to encourage young people to remain in and enter the livestock industry and to educate the wider public about farming, as well as promoting the survival of endangered native breeds.

Money raised from the event in the future will help fund scholarships to enable young people to study at agricultural college.

Show Secretary Julia Sibun said: “The interest in bringing livestock back to Stoneleigh Park for an event of this kind has been overwhelming and we are delighted at the national and local response to support the livestock classes and exhibit in the countryside area and around the showground.”

Mervyn Forster, chairman of the organising team, will be bringing two of every breed of animal from his South Warwickshire farm to create “Mervyn’s Ark” as an attraction for younger visitors.

He said: “We have got livestock exhibitors coming from the length and breadth of the country. There is a real fondness for Stoneleigh Park in the farming community and that has been shown in the great goodwill towards the Show.”

The show rings will feature hundreds of entries from sheep, pigs and pygmy goats and displays and demonstrations of poultry, geese, milking goats and milking sheep. There will also be competitions for the British Pig Association Young Handler Championships.

Colin Hooper, Stoneleigh Park Estates Director, said: “We’re delighted to be a principal sponsor of the first Stoneleigh Country and Livestock Show.

“With our development of Stoneleigh Park as a centre for agricultural and rural excellence, it is fitting for us to be hosting and supporting an event that will promote farming and in particular, endangered livestock and poultry.

“One of the many agricultural associations based here at Stoneleigh Park is the Rare Breeds Survival Trust and Alan Hunt and Debbie Dann, who manage our farm, also breed rare and native cattle on the estate.”

The British Pig Association and Guy Salmon Land Rover join Stoneleigh Park as main sponsors of the event which will also showcase country pursuits, traditional rural crafts and fine food.

The main arena will feature displays of falconry, sheep dog handling, Pony Club mounted games, heavy horses, Bagot goat racing, vintage tractors, dog training and hunting hounds including bassets, beagles and Sealyham terriers.

The show will be opened by Jeremy Wright, MP for Kenilworth and Southam, and attended by its President, the Marquess of Salisbury.

It will be open from 9am to 5pm on both days with admission £8 for adults and £4 for children, aged five to 16 years, and free parking. Discounts are available in advance from www.stoneleighcountryshow.com

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Alison McConkey .