Breaking news has just reached me about the future of the Royal Smithfield Show (or Christmas Fair depending on what you call it!). The Royal Smithfield Club intends to move its Primestock competitions and livestock show to Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire, for 2009 and beyond.
Royal Smithfield Club Chairman, John Campbell, told Taking Stock the Club's plans were well advanced for establishing a new home for the Show in the middle of the country, as requested by many livestock exhibitors.
"Discussions are still ongoing and it hasn't been fully decided yet whether the Club will be a tenant of RASE or work in partnership with it to organise the event. The show has been provisionally booked for Stoneleigh Park on 11 and 12 December, but full details will be available in mid-March after further negotiations."
I think its probably fair to say that from an exhbitor's point of view Shepton Mallet wasn't the ideal venue. The facilities were becoming tired and it certainly isn't the easiest place to get to or from, being a little distant from the motorway network. However, the show has been made welcome there and the Club will I'm sure be eternally grateful for its temporary home.
But, like most other people I'm nervous of any involvement with RASE bearing in mind the catastrophe which was last year's Royal Show. On this point I'm reassured that the Club has been dealing with RASE's technical events team rather than its Royal Show team, so hopefully all will be OK. As John Campbell told me "This will be the Royal Smithfield Show at Stoneleigh Park" implying it would have no link to the Royal Show.
Other venues were considered, but in terms of facilities none were thought to offer what Stoneleigh could, particularly in terms of buildings and accomodation.
Out of the frying pan and into the fire then!
We need to be getting ourselves into the centre of town and integrating with our customer, not hiding away down a country lane!
It's an improvement on the location in terms of accessibility however.
The assistance from the Bath & West Show musn't be forgotten in all this either as they did us proud in the the interim.
Next stop London hopefully!
Agreed Derek, but trying to get back into a town centre exhbition would ba massively costly and how many consumers could we get through the doors of a primestock event?
Stoneleigh while tarred with the Royal Show brush is a cracking location in terms of accessibility and facilities - the buildings are good, particularly the two big exhibition halls and the cattle sheds are fit for purpose, unlike some others. The big advantage will be having everything under a solid roof, rather than marquees!!
Here's hoping a few more of your countrymen make the effort to come south this December to support what is still the greatest primestock show in the UK.
Greatest Primestock show in the UK? I would say it has the best reputation, and most prestige maybe, but is it still the best primestock show? As a biased Welshman I would think the Welsh WInter Fair would have something to say about being the best show!!!! What do you think?
I can't deny the quality of the Welsh Winter Fair after my trip there last year. However, I'd say the stock on show, particularly in the sheep lines, at December's Smithfield was a shade better than at Builth.
And as you rightly point out Smithfield is still the most prestigious primestock show. I know I'd give up all my summer show wins for a Smithfield championship.
I agree with you Beefy! The Welsh has to be the one to win nowadays! But I have to say a Smithfield Supreme Championship would suit me fine as well! Us Welsh will have to take some good things to Stoneleigh this year!!!
Great to see the show at stoneleigh, however the comments about the Royal Show team are unfair they work tirelessly to deliver a show which is unfortunately passed it's sell by date. It is those that make decisions about the Royal Shows future that should be criticised not the team that deliver it.
Sorry, but having experienced the Royal Show team's failure's first hand I have to disagree. Failing to send exhibitors tickets until two days before the last show and running out of catalogues on the first day are just two examples of abject failure! I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt being a relatively new team, but they need to listen to those who've known the show for many years before and not the bowler hats.
I hope that this is just a stop gap for smithfield, lets hope the smithfield council are activley seeking a London location to hold the show. I would like to see a show held in a similar way to the Paris show where food retailers are very much an important part, we as an industry need to get in touch more with our consumers ie the public. The smithfield crown is still one the majority of sheep and beef showpeople would like to win,I hope as a show community we all get behind smithfield and fight to regain its own crown as the holy grail of shows.
I think a city location sounds a very good idea, although I assume costs for venues are very prohibitive. However, how about a city other than London, as im sure venues in a "smaller" city will be cheaper, but still close to a major urban population.
Sorry a little slow to get my comments in on this one but surely, whilst stoneleigh maybe a good location for the next smithfield, the smithfield club should be looking towards a show organiser with a proven track record in consistently organising and delivering excellent livestock and machinery events? With this in mind there can be only one candidate and that has to be the RABDF. Using the RABDF would also allow the show to move around the country to different show society's whilst not disrupting the organisation of the show, and when the show is back on a firm footing who knows maybe even back to london...
Can't disagree with the abilty of the RABDF team, but the last thing we need to do is start moving an event like Smithfield around the country. There are few enough sites with the facilities needed to host an event at that time of year.
And more importantly, the RASE technical team, headed by Alice Bell, are good at what they do, Pig and Poultry and Grassland and Muck are both good events well supported and well liked by the trade. What we have to remember here is its not the Royal Show team who will be handling this event.
Here's hoping this year's show sets the scene for a succesful event for years to come.
where can i browse archives of previous winners dating back to the twenties
Can you point me in the direction of a historical sight for Smithfield where I might trace previous winners and owners. Around 1920 onwards is the period I am interested in.
Thanks
MD, I think your only hope on historical Smithfield results will be to contact the Royal Smithfield Club, I'm not aware of anyone who will have an archive of results that far back.