We welcome up to 100 cattle entries to our showground every year where we’ve got classes for British Blue, Highland, Limousin, Longhorns, and British Blonde, as well as twoclasses which are open to other pure breeds; and finally classes for Commercial Beef and Dairy Cattle where cross breeds can also enter. 

Judging culminates late morning with the Show Supreme Championship followed by “Housewives’ Choice” where members of the public get to vote for their favourite animal.  So come along and have your say. 

Sheep 

Our sheep section welcomes around 700 sheep.  There are 4 hill breed classes showcasing the breeds of sheep that you’ll find on the hills surrounding the showground and the hills of the South Pennines generally; 6 other pure breed classes; mixed classes for Rare, Native, and Continental pure breeds; and finally classes for commercial lambs. 

Young Handlers 

For both sheep and cattle we run young handler classes which usually boast a large entry making them the most difficult competitions to judge by far!  

Young handlers are judged on their personal presentation as well as their knowledge of and their ability to show their animal. 

Fleece ,Hay and Shearing 

In addition to all this, there are competitions for fleece and hay (the only classes that you can enter on the day) as well as a wool tent where you can see all the wonderful things that can be done with wool.  Finally demonstrations of sheep shearing run regulalry through the late morning and afternoon and these are not to be missed! 

Once judging has finished you can get up close and personal with all these magnificent cattle and sheep, as both the cattle tent and the sheep lines are opened to the general public.

So do pop in and see which is your favourite breed; if you agree with the judges’ choices; and feel free to have a chat with the owners who will be only too happy to answer any questions you may have. 

Schedule 

Key timings for the day are: - 

10:00 Cattle judging commences in front of the cattle tent 

10:00 Sheep judging commences in the sheep lines 

Then the following timings are approximate as these activities take place once the above are finished: - 

c11:00 Cade lamb classes judging commences outside the Livestock Secretary’s Tent 

c11:30 Young handler sheep judging commences at the bottom of the sheep lines 

c11:30 Whiteface Woodland Champion of Champions 

c12:00 Derbyshire Gritstone Champion of Champions 

c13:30 Hope Show Interbreed Sheep Championships in the Parkin Ring 

Finally at 15:30 it’s the Grand Parade of all prizewinners in the main ring 

We hope you have a lovely day whether you’re an experienced exhibitor or a first time visitor or anywhere in between.