The sun was shining as the 178th annual Royal Highland Show welcomed a total of 189,851 visitors to the Ingliston grounds when it took place from Thursday to Sunday last week.
The international attendance at the show continues to grow and the event delivers over £65m in economic benefits to the UK and visitors are expected to have spent around £8m at the retail trade stands throughout the event.
The Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland (RHASS) who organise the four-day event have focused recent efforts on raising the show’s environmentally friendly credentials, as well as ensuring that the event is a family-friendly occasion.
An estimated 160,000 journeys were made on public transport to the show over the period of four days, a significant increase on numbers from last year when around 80,000 public transport journeys were made to the show.
Celebrating young people at the show
Helping to celebrate Scotland’s Year of Young People, the show featured a total of 56 entries in the young handler competition, while the Royal Highland Education Trust (RHET) stand welcomed over 6,000 children on the Thursday and Friday of the show.
A total of around 30,000 children are estimated to have visited over the four days, with those aged 15 and under admitted to the show for free.
Commenting on another successful year for the show, RHASS chair Jimmy Warnock said: “The feedback on this year’s show has been incredible. Yes the weather played its part, but overwhelmingly visitors are amazed with the scale and size of the event with every part of the showground brimming with things to see and do for the whole family.
“This is a once-a-year opportunity to get face-to-face with the countryside and we hope we will leave a legacy for families to go out and discover what rural Scotland has to offer beyond the last four days of the show.”
Jimmy added that the Scottish Association of Young Farmers Clubs (SAYFC) and RHET both were very successful this year, including the Young Farmer of the Year Award.
He added: “The passion and enthusiasm of the young handlers is second to none. And I am really optimistic for the future of the industry.”
The Jobfarm project
The Jobfarm project was also showcased by the Lothians Initiative with the aim of making young people aware of the wide range of jobs available in agriculture, food industries, science and rural business, as well as promoting the opportunities for work experience for those aged 16 to 24
Show manager, David Jackson, discussed the growing international attendance at the show.
David said: “As an industry we are so proud. Whilst the show is absolutely Scottish, we are attracting high-quality competitors from the rest of the world. This is really heartening to see.”
Livestock champions at the show
Over 5,000 entries were entered across the various classes with sheep commanding the show with a total of 2,029 entries. Meanwhile, the Highland Hall housed more than 1,000 beef and dairy cattle for the duration.
Results
The overall beef cattle champion title was awarded to Limousin heifer Grahams Niaomi, belonging to R&J Graham from Stirling.The dairy cattle interbreed champion title went to Fourcross Anthony Carozza, owned by the Laird family of West Linton.Claiming the title of overall sheep inter-breed champion was a Beltex ewe belonging to Aberdeenshire breeder Stuart Wood.
The sun was shining as the 178th annual Royal Highland Show welcomed a total of 189,851 visitors to the Ingliston grounds when it took place from Thursday to Sunday last week.
The international attendance at the show continues to grow and the event delivers over £65m in economic benefits to the UK and visitors are expected to have spent around £8m at the retail trade stands throughout the event.
The Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland (RHASS) who organise the four-day event have focused recent efforts on raising the show’s environmentally friendly credentials, as well as ensuring that the event is a family-friendly occasion.
An estimated 160,000 journeys were made on public transport to the show over the period of four days, a significant increase on numbers from last year when around 80,000 public transport journeys were made to the show.
Celebrating young people at the show
Helping to celebrate Scotland’s Year of Young People, the show featured a total of 56 entries in the young handler competition, while the Royal Highland Education Trust (RHET) stand welcomed over 6,000 children on the Thursday and Friday of the show.
A total of around 30,000 children are estimated to have visited over the four days, with those aged 15 and under admitted to the show for free.
Commenting on another successful year for the show, RHASS chair Jimmy Warnock said: “The feedback on this year’s show has been incredible. Yes the weather played its part, but overwhelmingly visitors are amazed with the scale and size of the event with every part of the showground brimming with things to see and do for the whole family.
“This is a once-a-year opportunity to get face-to-face with the countryside and we hope we will leave a legacy for families to go out and discover what rural Scotland has to offer beyond the last four days of the show.”
Jimmy added that the Scottish Association of Young Farmers Clubs (SAYFC) and RHET both were very successful this year, including the Young Farmer of the Year Award.
He added: “The passion and enthusiasm of the young handlers is second to none. And I am really optimistic for the future of the industry.”
The Jobfarm project
The Jobfarm project was also showcased by the Lothians Initiative with the aim of making young people aware of the wide range of jobs available in agriculture, food industries, science and rural business, as well as promoting the opportunities for work experience for those aged 16 to 24
Show manager, David Jackson, discussed the growing international attendance at the show.
David said: “As an industry we are so proud. Whilst the show is absolutely Scottish, we are attracting high-quality competitors from the rest of the world. This is really heartening to see.”
Livestock champions at the show
Over 5,000 entries were entered across the various classes with sheep commanding the show with a total of 2,029 entries. Meanwhile, the Highland Hall housed more than 1,000 beef and dairy cattle for the duration.
Results
The overall beef cattle champion title was awarded to Limousin heifer Grahams Niaomi, belonging to R&J Graham from Stirling.The dairy cattle interbreed champion title went to Fourcross Anthony Carozza, owned by the Laird family of West Linton.Claiming the title of overall sheep inter-breed champion was a Beltex ewe belonging to Aberdeenshire breeder Stuart Wood. 
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