Richard Halleron: Gamble on Maze site has paid off in spades for the Balmoral Show

The first was to move Balmoral Show from the King’s Hall site in south Belfast to its new location on the outskirts of Lisburn.

At the time the ‘naysayers’ said: “This will never work: it is breaking with tradition.”

How wrong they were. The new site has given the RUAS an opportunity to expand the scope of the Balmoral Show and its other activities.

The society does not publish official attendance figures. However, the betting money would be on a crowd figure for 2025 twice that which could have ever been expected when the event was held at the King’s Hall.

The second decision of note taken by the hierarchy of the RUAS was to include a Saturday within the Balmoral Show’s itinerary.

And, again, many people predicted that the inclusion of a fourth day would not work.

But the polar opposite is, in fact the case.

This year saw thousands of family groups vying to enjoy a Saturday at Balmoral Show. This is now deemed, by many, as the perfect start to a relaxing and fun-filled weekend. And long may this continue to be the case.

Obviously, the weather helps all of this. Balmoral Show 2025 enjoyed wall-to-wall sunshine from beginning to end.

But there is also a very strong business dimension to Balmoral Show. Every major food processer and food retailer exhibited at this year’s event.

These are all serious businesses. And they do not turn up at Balmoral Show each year for the fun of it. They realise that the event provides them with the perfect platform to showcase and discuss the food and drink products they have to offer.

And what a backdrop for all of this to take pace against! Balmoral Show is now the premier farming and food event taking place on the island of Ireland.

And this is very much a two-way stretch. Consumers want to know more about the food they eat and how it is produced. Balmoral Show is the perfect venue for them to progress their learning in this regard.

Farming and food production is now worth £6bn annually to the local economy. And this figure is growing exponentially with every year that passes.

Put another way, farming and food in Northern Ireland is currently feeding 10 million people. This includes the home market plus countries and other regions around the world.

The significance of all this is put into perspective when one considers that Northern Ireland has a total population just short of two million people. So, in other words, 80% of the food produced here is destined for export.

And, increasingly, Balmoral Show is becoming a platform for all of this activity.

For most people a visit to Balmoral Show means getting an opportunity to see the quality of the livestock the event has to offer.

And this year’s event did not disappoint in this regard. According to the RUAS, 3,600 animals were entered across the competition classes that were judged over the past few days.

But pride of place goes to one animal. Annaghmore Fitz Atlee is a truly breathtaking Holstein cow. And she looked an absolute picture in the show ring.

Bred by the Richardson family from Co Armagh, it came as no surprise that she took home the much coveted Balmoral Show Inter-Breed Dairy title.

Adding to the mystique of the cow are her production figures: they are off the chart.

Fitz Atlee is currently producing 74 litres of milk per day. That’s enough ‘white stuff’ to fill the dairy cabinet of a medium-sized supermarket … day-in, day-out.

Her metabolic profile is akin to that of a thoroughbred race horse. It was worth coming to Balmoral Show 2025 just to see her alone!