The Year of Food and Farming
Surrey County Show May 26, 2008:
Stoke Park, Guildford
9am-6pm
Cattle, sheep and goats of all
breeds, colours, shapes and sizes; hens, ducks and caged birds; llamas, rabbits,
dogs, ferrets, pigeons and of course horses – these are the stars of the Surrey
County Show. And stealing the limelight this year are two farmyard favourites
that are newcomers to the Surrey schedule – donkeys and pigs, each with their
own championships.
Celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Surrey Hills
Area
of Outstanding Natural Beauty
with
A
Heavy Horse and Trade Musical Ride: More than 16 tonnes of horse power– eight
pairs of equine giants weighing in at more than a tonne a piece – giving a
display of reined-in throttle like a jumbo jet taxiing round a runway.
A
display of 50 years of farming: Enjoy a moment of nostalgia and celebrate
another half century: the Massey Ferguson 50th anniversary featuring
tractors then and now, tying in with the Surrey Hills photographic display.
In the main arena you will
also experience the adrenalin rush of these nail-biter attractions:
The Over the Top
Motorcycle Stunt Team, led by daring rider Andy Hobbs, defying gravity, caution
and all the laws of physics put together to keep the audience on the edge of
their seats.
The Tigers
Freefall Parachute Team – Surrey’s own regiment of airborne perfectionists who
swoop down from the sky above Stoke Park to land right in front of you.
The sky hunters
of the Huxley Experience Falconry display, when members of the audience get a
chance to fly these magnificent free spirits. Feel the wind in your hair as they
skim the crowd to swoop on the lure.
The great Cattle
Parade. A magnificent roll-call of our native and European breeds
Dogs? Obedient?
Well behaved? The Warrenby Gun Dogs will demonstrate how dogs can be trained to
work in perfect harmony with their owners and enjoy the experience.
The show jumps
stand around 5ft high but the top ranking horse and rider teams who enter the
Surrey competitions make them look like little practice fences. Which jump will
catch them out and determine this year’s winner?
Stoke Park
always resounds to the glorious music of a top military band and this year we
have The Band of the Royal Logistic Corps, which is a local band based at The
Princess Royal Barracks, Deepcut, made up of 35 musicians from the Corps of Army
Music.
Donkey Championships
Surrey County
Show is proud to present its first ever
Donkey Championships,
featuring
in-hand, ridden and driven donkey classes as well as competitions for miniature
donkeys and young handlers. Funny, gentle, wilful and naughty, donkeys are
delightful to watch and are very popular.
Surrey’s Unique FUN Pig Show
2008 is the
year of the PIG! After more than 40 years, pigs of all shapes and sizes will be
making an exciting comeback for the
Smallholder Pig Event.
This new Pig Championship has been devised with a range of classes that could be
unique to the whole of the UK. As well as serious showing classes there are
classes for pig lovers to enter their favourite pets or the best of their herd
for ‘the pig the judge would most like to take home’, ‘the pig with the curliest
tail’ and ‘the pig most like its owner’. There are classes for young handlers
aged 11 and under and 12-16s too.
Around
the showground you will see the Battersea Dogs and Cats’ Home Musical Mats for
Mutts, and dog whisperer Amy Hatcher who
appeared on
BBC2's The Underdog Show helping 'Dragon's Den' Theo Paphitis' train his
Afghan, will be demonstrating how to get inside the canine mind Amy's other TV
experience includes Help! My Dog's as Fat as Me for BBC 3 and the
Katie and Peter Show (ITV2).
Titan the monster
robot
will be here. He’s eNORMous, scary, shiny metal with laser
eyes and unlike anything you’ve seen before. Will he sing your favourite song?
We have simply
acres of great shopping with lots of Surrey food, craft ware, jewellery, art,
flowers, honey, clothing, furniture, garden equipment, saddlery, hot tubs, cars,
tractors and more.
High Sheriff Youth Awards
Thrills and
drills with off-road karts built and steered by youngsters from the GASP Motor
Workshop, winners of a Surrey High Sheriff Youth Award.
The High Sheriff Youth
Awards scheme gives financial support to young people in Surrey aged 9-18 who
want to help reduce or prevent crime and make their communities stronger and
safer.
www.surreyhighsheriff.org.
Year
of Food and Farming Special Exhibit for Children,
Parents and Teachers
Learn about eating and cooking healthy food, how to grow your own food and how
to cook it.
An opportunity
for teachers to pick up seeds for schools for growing projects and learn more –
as well as the kids!
Learn about
some of the fantastic opportunities for your school ie Food Awareness Week,
Cookery Clubs, Year of Food and Farming events and register for School Visits to
Farms.
See Ice Cream
Making, the Human Fruit Machine, the Smoothie Bike, the 5 a day Fruit Shy, the
Llama Farmer, the Vegetable Nanny, the Healthy Local Produce Puppet Theatre, the
Foxhollow Children’s Farmyard, Milk Churning to Butter and the LEAF workshop.
At the Food
Theatre next door, Jethro Carr will be giving interactive cookery workshops for
kids and chefs Paul Pegrum and David Alders will be demonstrating how to make
the most of local produce.
To celebrate the
Year
of Food and Farming,
an interactive website
www.yoffse.org.uk has been funded by SEEDA. The aim is to
promote healthy
living by offering young people direct experience of the countryside, farming
and food. The website will help teachers find curriculum resources, ideas for
cooking and growing projects, plus a wealth of links to other online resources.
First
and foremost, however,
Surrey County Show
celebrates farming and this year marks the centenary of
Surrey National Farmers Union. So come and see the pick of the crop, the cream
of the herd, the pride of the flock, beautifully presented and in hot
competition for rosettes and trophies. Some of our farmers have been competing
at Surrey County Show for more than half a century – a magnificent tradition of
pride in quality animal husbandry. Come to the show and become a part of the
Surrey farming experience.
Come to Surrey County Show on May 26,
2008 at Stoke Park, Guildford
Gates open at 9am and dogs are welcome on
a lead.
Tickets available
online or from 01483
890810
Celebrate 50 years of the NFU in Surrey
