Best of Welsh on display at the 102nd Royal Welsh Show

The 2023 Royal Welsh Show draws to a close after a fantastic and jam-packed four days of competitions, entertainment, food, sports, activities, and shopping.

Excited crowds from across the globe packed into the showground in Llanelwedd to celebrate the very best of Welsh and British agriculture.

Stealing the show, the livestock certainly took centre stage. The competitions saw an excellent standard of entries across all sections. We are privileged to attract exhibitors from far and wide, all hoping to go home with a Royal Welsh rosette. The livestock exhibits at the Royal Welsh are a display of some of the finest animals in Europe and this year was no exception.

The front-runners in the cattle ring were the British Limousin, Graham’s Ruth, exhibited by R & J Graham, who took the Supreme Champion Beef title. Whilst Windyridge Tequila Diamond, an impressive Jersey cow exhibited by Philip Manning was named Supreme Champion Dairy Cow.

The Interbreed Beef Young Handlers were treated to a special celebrity guest appearance as Radio 2 DJ and farmer’s daughter Sara Cox took to the judging panel with her father and brother. Dad Leonard Cox has bred polled Herefords for decades, showing and judging at numerous events so is no stranger to the judging ring.

“What an impressive turn out for the Interbreed Beef Young Handlers.” said Sara Cox. “It was a hard job to choose champion and reserve because all the handlers were so skilled and passionate about their animals.”

The winning duo were a pair of Hereford Cattle, bred and exhibited by Cara Dogget and Ollie Gurnett Smith.

“This pair really shone. Confident, commanded our attention, skilled, calm… the whole package.” said Sara after the competition.

In the sheep ring the Sheep Champion of Champions title was awarded to Mr Tim Pritchard with a Dutch Spotted ewe, bred and exhibited by H W Sloan. The Pig Supreme Champion was won by a Duroc, exhibited and bred by Oliver Giles.

Meanwhile, around the Main Ring, spectators were treated to an incredible four days of horse classes, all culminating in the Thursday afternoon competition for the sought-after title of Royal Welsh Supreme Horse Champion, judged by 2022 Grand National winner, Sam Waley-Cohen. This year’s winner was a stallion, bred and exhibited by Meirion, Dianne, and Caleb Evans.

Key Livestock Results

Supreme Horse Champion

Judged by Mr Sam Waley-Cohen
Gwynfaes Seren Wledig, a 12-year-old Stallion, bred and exhibited by Meirion, Dianne, & Caleb Evans.

Supreme Beef Champion

Judged by Mr Owain Llyr
Graham’s Ruth, a British Limousin, bred and exhibited by R & J Graham.

Supreme Champion Dairy Cow

Judged by Mr Mark Logan
Windyridge Tequila Diamond, a Jersey cow, bred & exhibited by Philip Manning from Bank Farm, Shropshire.

RWAS Team of Five – Beef breeds

Judged by Mr Will Edwards
A team of Hereford cattle owned by L & L Bowen, Vaughan Farms LTD and G & S Harvey

Marks & Spencer Team of Five – Dairy breeds

Judged by Mr Paul Harrison
A team of Holstein cattle owned by Brian & Michael Yates, DW & CE Jones & N & L Sercombe, Iwan Morgan, Kevin & Sian Rickard, and R & B Thomas

Sheep Champion of Champions

Judged by Mr Tim Pritchard
A Dutch Spotted ewe, bred and exhibited by H W Sloan.

Pig Supreme Champion

Judged by Mr S J S Loveless
A Duroc, bred and exhibited by Dr M & Dr O Giles.

Goat Supreme Champion

Judged by Mr Paul Mounter
A Saanen goat, bred and exhibited by Chris Hagain from Halifax Road, West Yorkshire.

Aside from the competitions, the showground was bustling with various activities taking place across the four days. A busy line up in the Main Ring saw the return of the heart-stopping Bolddog FMX Motorbike Display Team, and welcomed Spanish horse whisperer, Santi Serra for the first time. Welsh singer, Charlotte Church and practitioners of The Dreaming Retreat joined us in the Small Action Ring for a sound meditation workshop, along with crafters and basket weavers.

Brand new for 2023, the Welsh food village, Glwedd / Feast was a real hit. Visitors enjoyed the outdoor seating where they were able to try out delicious food and drink from 14 vendors across Wales whilst watching live music from fantastic Welsh acts on the entertainment stage.

On the Tuesday of the show, the Royal Welsh Agricultural Society unveiled its plans for a new horticultural village to be launched next year. Many members, partners and supporters gathered to hear from the RWAS Chief Executive Aled Rhys Jones, Show Director Richard Price and Chair of Board Professor Wynne Jones. The RWAS officials were also joined by the Minister for Rural Affairs, Lesley Griffiths MS who said a few words on the importance of the horticulture industry in Wales.

The Meirionnydd Shearing Pavilion was buzzing on Wednesday as the Welsh team were invited on to the stage in recognition of their outstanding achievements at the Golden Shears held last month at the Royal Highland Show. Individual Machine Shearing World Champion Gwion Lloyd Evans along with runner up Richard Jones, World Champion Woolhandling Team Ffion Jones and Sarah-Jane Rees, along with the whole team were met with rapturous applause as classical tenor Aled Wyn Davies led the audience to sing ‘Yma o Hyd’.

“We are delighted to have had such a fantastic 2023 Royal Welsh Show.” said Aled Rhys Jones, Chief Executive.

“There is something very special about Llanelwedd. The atmosphere across the showground has been electric and we have been blown away by the enormous crowds we’ve seen all week.

What’s equally pleasing is seeing the positive response to some of the new additions at this year’s show, particularly the Welsh food village; Gwledd | Feast, and our new live music stage. Bringing fresh and exciting content into the show is a key focus of ours as we want to make sure the visitor experience is second to none.

This is only made possible by the support of our members, volunteers, exhibitors, sponsors and colleagues who have all worked incredibly hard to make this show such a resounding success. Diolch o galon i chi gyd.”

As we come to the end of the 2023 Royal Welsh Show, we look forward to building on our success and welcoming you back next year.

We have a limited amount of super early bird discount tickets available for the 2024 Royal Welsh Show, taking place from 22 – 25 July. Get them now before they’re gone! https://rwas.ticketsrv.co.uk/events/