Andrew Arbuckle: Sunshine gets the better of cattle at Royal Highland Show

Published on Sunday 27 June 2010 22:15

THE 2010 Royal Highland Show will go down in history as one where record numbers of visitors came to the four-day event. It was also (this may be connected) blessed with continuous sunshine.

Not that everyone appreciated the latter fact, with the main cattle parade yesterday cancelled because of the heat. The parade had taken place on Saturday, but 19 cows had to be treated for heat distress after.

Chairman of the Highland Society which runs the show, John Dykes, said that "two or three cows were allowed to go home" early and the decision on yesterday's cancellation was taken after advice from the show vets. He added that those cattle exhibitors he had spoken to were in agreement with the decision.

For the second year in succession, the attendance record was smashed with a total of 187,644 coming through the gates over the four days, a rise of 11,122 on the 2009 figure.

Saturday saw 57,754 people come through the turnstiles, a figure which chief executive, Ray Jones, reckoned was a one-day record for the show. However, he said that by increasing the areas of attraction, the show was not yet bulging at the seams.

This is the final show for Jones as he is retiring and as he looked back, he said his one big regret was not replacing the main MacRobert pavilion.

Years spent dealing with the possible move across the road because of the potential expansion of Edinburgh Airport had diverted attention from that project.

Ironically, the proximity of the airport is now a major factor in increasing visitors coming to the Highland, with a number of machinery standholders dealing with farmers up for the day from the south of England.

With most of the optimism in the livestock sector, machinery dealers did not go into the show with any great hopes of selling equipment to the arable sector. Despite this, most expressed their satisfaction at the level of interest they had generated.

James Stewart, of Inverurie, said he had made a "lot of good sales" of his trailers, a fact he put down to buyers being more aware of the legislation surrounding trailer braking system requirements on public roads.

Bob Ritchie, of machinery firm Ritchies of Forfar, said he was happy with the level of orders his firm had taken. "Business has been there, especially in livestock related machinery."

However, although his comments were addressed to no-one in particular, the old herd spoke for most of those who attended this year's event: "I think I will awa hame and hae a rest."