Balmoral Show Day Two: Crowds surge 33% as event enters full swing

While Ulster’s rural community are clearly relishing the return to normality at Balmoral after Covid, today’s event had a more political flavour than day one.

It opened with a Department of Agriculture breakfast, attended by an array of politicians, and Secretary of State Brandon Lewis also spent several hours at the show, as did DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson and Sinn Fein Vice President Michelle O’Neill.

Operations Director Rhonda Geary said day one had been “fantastic” with an attendance of well over 20,000 people.

“Day two started off another fine day, with fantastic weather first thing and although it did get a wee bit damp, it certainly did not dampen the spirits of the crowds,” she said. “It was another full day’s programme with showjumping, hunter championship [horses], sheep shearing, and Connemara ponies.”

To mark young farmers’ day there were also a series of dedicated events, including tractor handling, ladies 5-a-side football and tug-of-war. 

“Our attendance today is looking remarkably good as well, with well over 30,000 visitors for day two,” she added.

Rhonda is hoping to reach 100,000 visitors over the four days although this would be slightly less than the last full show in 2019.

Factors such as the cost of living situation and residual Covid concerns among some would be responsible, she said.

The News Letter started the day chatting to Ivan Haire from Dundrod whose Pole Hereford bull won reserve male champion - a magnificent animal weighing 1400 kilos - about twice the weight of an average car.

“He is like a wee puppy” said Ivan as he calmly walked the bull - which he has raised from a calf - around.

Next we watched as some farmers prepare their Hereford cattle for show, brushing shaving foam into the coat to help it sit up nicely - the bovine equivalent of a wash cut and blow dry - with some soap also being rubbed into the legs to bring out the white ankles.

Walking on to the main arena, the quad bike stunt riders pulled off ever more daring jumps over each other and parked vehicles. The climax was one rider - who was travelling deceptively slowly - using the ramp to jump over a JCB telehandler, a transit van and a car in a single leap. But the crowd was also entertained to see one of them use a circular roll bar, pulling his brakes on sharply to calmly roll the bike head over heels before before carrying on at speed.

In the food hall, Shenda O’Hare from Killowen Distillery in south Down took us through the foundation of the business - conceived of by Brendan Hardy while he was working in Australia, and now marketing across the globe a range of gins, whiskies and, most interestingly, Poitin - which she assured us was legalised in 1997.

Contrary to the popular myth, she told us, it is not made from potatoes but rather from a mixture of malted barley, oats and wheat. A brief taste revealed it was much more palatable than the mythical fire water that could supposedly keep a motorbike running at a pinch. In truth, it was not unlike a slightly smoother version of an Austrian schnapps.

Next we were tempted by the fayre of the Ke Nako Biltong stall where Elsa introduced us to biltong - the South African version of beef jerky. To our taste buds, it was rather like your mother’s Sunday roast beef, but richer and with a much smoother texture. The dried and cured snack is made with organically raised dairy cows. “We actually use the entire cow and we buy everything we use right here in Northern Ireland,” she said. “Our product is really high in protein at 40.8% and is a really good all round snack.” The product is less processed than jerky and is also moister she added, partly because it is cured in steaks instead of thin slices.

The finale of the News Letter’s day was the RAF Falcons skydiving team landing in the main arena. A huge crowd turned out to watch the prop-driven plane overhead, which was so high up it looked like a bird. Then one after another it disgorged a dozen skydivers trailing red white and blue smoke canisters. They gently spiralled downwards in formation like a massive snake and eventually landed one by one in the centre of the main arena, to appreciative applause from the massive crowds of onlookers.

The News Letter also had the privilege of attending a heat of the Six Nations Sheep shearing competition at Balmoral.

On approach, the tension built as the commentator built up the crowds for the spectacle over the public address system.

The event was held in a large open sided shed and the volume of spectators that showed up was so massive that it took a good few minutes to fight through the crowds to get up to the front.

The News Letter had the privilege of walking along the very front of the event as half a dozen competitors raced each other to de-fleece their sheep. This paper confesses that on a day which was not always the warmest, it was hard not to have some sympathy for the startled sheep as they went from snug to completely bald in the space of a few minutes.

But then, in the week it is, with temperatures bouncing from cool to roasting in no time at all, who would want to be permanently zipped up into a sheepskin rug?

Next, Mark Lennox from DA Forgie gave us the low down on one of the biggest telehandlers you have seen in your life - reaching up to 26m.

For several days the machine has been towering over the entire show from its central position. There is also a 30m model available, with some models able to lift up to seven tonnes.

Many other spectators have also been impressed at its size, he confirmed.

“It is used mainly in construction for putting up roof trusses, and lifting blocks of materials up to high buildings,” he said. “A lot of tree surgeons also buy it. This machine today is £195,000.”

The News Letter asked if it was possible to take two. “Of course, absolutely no problem,” he replied.