Farming Monthly National June 2017 | Page 34

| Royal Welsh Livestock entries for this year’s Royal Welsh Show come flooding in The entries for livestock classes have already been coming in thick and fast for this year’s Royal Welsh which takes place at Llanelwedd, Builth Wells, from July 24 – 27 2017. ver 5,000 schedules were packed by hand and posted to potential exhibitors at the end of last week, with entry forms flooding back for the 1,500+ classes by return of post. As always, the full schedule of classes and special awards are attracting entries from far and wide. Last year saw nearly 7,500 entries coming from across Wales, the UK and the rest of Europe, and it already looks like we will get the same numbers again for this year’s show. In a bid to keep the programme of classes up-to-date and refreshed, there has once again, been a number of additions to this year’s schedule: Exhibitor Bred championship To acknowledge our exhibitors who breed, rear and prepare their exhibits for the commercial cattle section, we have introduced an exhibitor bred championship this year. Herdwick Sheep In recognition of the increasing number of Herdwick Sheep entries at the show, this year the breed will have its own section. Lincoln Red Cattle This year we are delighted to stage a Lincoln O 34 | Farming Monthly | June 2017 Red Cattle section for the first time. More pigs Due to demand, we have introduced four new separate classifications for pigs this year, with sections for Gloucestershire Old Spot, British Lop, Landrace and Berkshire pigs. Back-to-back dairy goat show Following the success of the introduction of the Back-to-back dairy goat show last year, we are continuing with the format for this year. Heavy Horses This year, we have introduced a Heavy Horse Agricultural Vehicle class and opened up what was the Shire horse in-harness class to all heavy horse breeds. Barren Mares In light of the increasing number of barren mares being entering into the Welsh Cob Barren mare class over the past few years, we have split the class in two; a 4-7 year olds class and an 8 years and over class. The schedule and entry forms are also available online (www.rwas.wales) and the closing date for entries is 26 April 2017. www.farmingmonthly.co.uk