Hodder Valley show is a shining example

Each year I am amazed by the dedication shown by the band of volunteers who help to stage Hodder Valley Show.

And this year was no exception with The Hodder Valley Agricultural and Horticultural Society and its army of helpers pulling out all the stops to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the show in style.

At this year’s show, described by organisers as “exceptional”, the number of entries and exhibits increased while the show ground itself was literally jam packed with visitors of all ages.

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When other shows have fallen by the wayside in recent years, it just shows what is needed on the part of local volunteers to not only keep a show like the Hodder Valley going, but to increase the interest in this tradition year on year.

Fresh ideas I’m sure help, such as staging the Young Handlers’ workshops to ignite young people’s interest and give them the confidence to show their animals.

Other innovations such as the show’s newest member – the pretend full-size Holstein cow which visitors had the opportunity to milk, also proved a cracking idea.

The Hodder Valley Show demonstrates what can be achieved when all sectors of the local community “pull” together, pardon the pun.

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The photos we published in the paper were captured by Slaidburn resident David McNamee, another person who gives up his time freely to photograph the show for the society and Clitheroe Advertiser.

Then there are the people behind the scenes, like the secretaries, Julie Harrison and Rachel Mason, the latter who supplied The Clitheroe Advertiser with all the show’s results. Normally an epic task, thanks to Rachel, the show’s results were on a page way before deadline.

I’ve only touched the tip of the iceberg mentioning a couple of the show’s dedicated band of volunteers.

This year’s programme prints the aims of the society, a registered charity, which exists, it says, to improve the standard of animal husbandry and horticultural practises and to foster and encourage interest among children and young people in agriculture and the countryside. This is the aim of the annual show and other social events. Here’s to the next 70 years.