Poultry The Farmers' Country Showdown

Across the country,

thousands of farming families work tirelessly around the clock.

Bring them up, Isabel.

-Well done.

-Here they come.

Shake it, baby, shake it.

But there's one day each year...

Come on, up you go!

..where they get to leave the daily routine behind.

Yahoo!

These are show days.

Welcome to the Pembrokeshire County Show.

And they come together as a community...

Salute.

..to showcase the fruits of their labour...

Had a quick look at the competition.

I'm in with a chance.

..and try to win prizes for their breed champions...

Well done. Wahey!

It's show business, folks.

..and award-winning produce.

I got first!

You had the last two jars.

There will be highs...

..and lows...

No, no, no, no!

..for the dedicated farmers who give everything to walk away a champion.

No way!

Britain is home to over 160 million chickens.

COCKEREL CROWS

Most of them are destined for the pot...

..but not all of them.

Nurturing Britain's 93 Rare Heritage breeds

is the life's work for a small group

of farming families.

Hello, guys, are you all right?

I walked in here this morning and it was right here.

Amongst them are Gabby Franklin from Herefordshire...

..and the Reed family from Cornwall.

They are getting ready to exhibit their prize birds

at this year's Pembrokeshire County Show.

I hope they won't disgrace me.

If he gets Champion, I shall be on the floor.

It's their chance to show their hard work to the world...

..and win pride of place on Championship Row.

No way!

The scenic Welsh borders are home to 44-year-old Gabby Franklin

and her parents.

Their 22-acre farm also houses three dogs and two horses,

along with half a dozen goats.

GOAT BLEATS

But by far the most numerous residents

are Gabby's 65 Heritage Breed chickens.

Hello, girls.

Good morning. Everybody all right?

Come on, then.

Gabby's day starts at 6am

with feeding rounds for her Silkies.

Oh, gosh, I love them.

Oh, they're brilliant fun.

They really are. They are such characters and people are just like,

"It's a chicken." No, they have got characters.

You can see this one, you know she's definitely the boss of the pen

and she's got oodles of character.

These flamboyant chickens won't be eaten,

and they are not strong layers.

Gabby breeds them just to show.

The wall of the feed room reflects her success.

Prize birds may take up a lot of time, but they don't pay,

so Gabby's had to look elsewhere for extra income.

Chickens are not my day job, no.

No, I do have to go to work, unfortunately.

I look after holiday homes for people, and second homes.

This area is a popular holiday destination

for those wanting to experience rural life,

so Gabby's also diversified

by building holiday cabins on the farm.

So, it's bringing people into the area,

looking after the area and being part of the community as well,

which is really nice.

Balancing all of her commitments can be demanding.

Luckily, I'm self-employed,

so that does give me a little bit more flexibility,

but I wish I could stay with these guys all day.

That would be fantastic. Be a total, crazy chicken woman.

-That would be amazing.

-SHE LAUGHS

It's not hard to see where Gabby's passion comes from.

Her 73-year-old mother, Maggie, is a champion goat breeder.

Hello.

As a toddler, Gabby would accompany her mother on the show circuit.

We had an old VW camper that we used to put one goat in

and just go all over the country, go from show to show.

Maggie had a very practical approach to parenting.

We'd have all the goats penned up in their pens

and I always booked an empty pen for Gabrielle.

And she would sleep in the empty pen.

As she got older, Gabby began to show her own goats.

We have had some wonderful memories

where we were Champion and Reserve Champion at the Royal Welsh.

That was amazing.

And we were definitely the first mother-daughter team to do it.

Before Gabby can think of getting ready for the show,

there's still more farm work to do.

These hens are hybrids, and, unlike the Silkies,

they have to earn their keep.

Ladies, look at my girls.

These are all ex-batts, that's where they have come from,

they are ex-commercial hens.

They were £1 each,

and I got them because I needed eggs for my clients,

because that lot just don't produce enough.

I went to get six, which is what I wanted to put in here,

and they were in such awful conditions, I came home with 21.

Now all your feathers have grown back, look at you, look at you.

230 miles away in Cornwall is another poultry farmer,

also with a second day job.

45-year-old Danny Reed is a Methodist minister.

-Morning.

-Morning, Daniel.

-Morning, all right?

How are we all?

Good.

Ever since I was 14,

I knew that I would be in some kind of full-time Christian work.

At one point, I thought that might be going overseas.

Other times, it's felt that I'm very much called to Cornwall

and there's something odd about the Cornish,

and I say that as a Cornishman,

that very often, when you are one of we, you can help we.

You all right, Lynn?

He's a wonderful person.

I've known Daniel since he was a young lad, so I've seen him grow up,

I've seen him flourish, and he's just an inspiration to us all.

Reverend Danny's family home is in Helston.

Just a mile up the road is a rented barn for his second flock...

Over 300 chickens and ducks.

Out we go.

Come on, girlies.

Reverend Danny has been farming poultry for over 20 years.

Come on, come on, come on.

And his wife Sarah and two boys have also got the bug.

This comes in handy on cleaning day.

-I've got the brush and shovel.

-Yeah.

-You have the shavings.

-And I've got the shavings,

which is really fair, isn't it?

The funny thing is, when I was young,

I said I would never marry a farmer.

That was my thing. So then I married a minister

who ended up having a human flock

and a flock of birds as well, so he's never home.

You love it, really.

I do love it.

We are a busy family.

We do have a family calendar on the fridge, don't we,

so everybody has a line,

and I like to know where everybody is at certain times

and we sometimes meet for tea.

Yeah, sometimes, not always.

-Which is good.

-I don't wait for you to cook tea.

-I just get my own.

-Oh, yeah, you look hard done by.

I won't say that.

Sorry.

The divorce is two days closer than it was.

Sarah also has two jobs.

As well as working as a nursery school leader,

she runs a community floral arts club.

In fact, it was flowers that brought the couple together.

My mother was looking after a chapel that was doing a flower festival

and she wanted me to do a flower arrangement

and she wanted Sarah to do a flower arrangement

and whether she connived and put us together,

I'm not quite sure. And that started it all off, really.

And now look where we are.

Yeah.

SHE LAUGHS

When you have 140 ducks, the cleaning never stops.

Clean that pond.

16-year-old Ben and 13-year-old Thomas

are following in their father's footsteps...

..each with their own flock of birds.

This is one of my Exchequers.

She is a floppy cone.

The females have floppy cones.

But normally the males, they stand up straight.

Thomas's expertise extends to nursing the newborn chicks.

Yeah, I found it this morning.

OK, go on, open it.

Oh, it's beautiful.

-So, what's that?

-A black Barbu d'Anver, I think.

Oh, my goodness, when was that born?

Um, I think it was last night,

but I walked in here this morning and it was right here.

And it's got good black legs.

And good, nice, short beak.

Yeah, he looks really good.

And for Ben, learning to breed poultry has been an inspiration.

My main passion really is this.

I'm even doing EPQ in my A-levels on poultry genetics and after A-levels,

I want to go to study veterinary and be a vet down here.

Yeah, I want to be a farmer when I'm older, I hope.

I would like to keep chickens, show them, just like we do right now.

I think if we had to choose something that we wanted to do,

we would be here, wouldn't we?

Because it's just so different to what is normal, really.

COCKEREL CROWS

Back in Herefordshire, competition is on Gabby's mind.

There are only three days until show time.

I'm too competitive for my own good.

My mantra is winning isn't everything, it's the only thing.

It's always been the same,

whether I've been helping mum with the goats

or doing the horses.

Gabby's competitiveness is,

she's never happy unless she's got a red rosette in her hand.

Anything else, any other colour is...

..not important.

Gabby's always been competitive.

From showing goats as a young girl, to professional endurance riding...

Oh, it was fun, though, wasn't it?

..where competitors race cross-country

for distances of up to 100 miles.

When are you going to stop dressing the kitchen with rosettes?

Never.

-Why, have you got a problem with it?

-No, I just wish you'd dust them.

Gabby will be taking three of her Silkies

to this year's show and has high hopes for winning.

When they were first brought to Europe from Asia in the 1800s,

they were sold as a cross between a chicken and a rabbit.

So, this is Barry White.

He's my large white Silkie cockerel.

He will be against lots of different breeds,

so it will be quite interesting to see what the judge does.

He was originally just called Barry.

I don't know why, it just happened one day,

and I started calling him Barry White, so...

And then, of course, it fitted

because he'd thrown some fantastic chicks, so...

INTERVIEWER IMITATES BARRY WHITE: Full of love.

Absolutely, he is full of love, aren't you, mate?

You're full of lurve.

Showtime creates even more work for the farmers.

Before she can leave for the event, all birds have to be spotless,

starting with Barry White.

Is that your shampoo or mine?

-It's yours.

-I thought it might be.

I don't want to go in the water.

The family kitchen is turned into a Silkie salon for the day.

That's it. All right, all right. Relax, relax.

You are moulting. You're not allowed to moult yet.

Do you think they remember?

Oh, yeah, definitely.

But they do quite enjoy it, I think.

Some of the hens will just sit down,

you see them sit down, and just,

"Oh, this is lovely. I'm in a spa."

-You will clean up your mess?

-Yes, I will clean up the mess.

-SILKIE CLUCKS

-Shush.

He doesn't want to come out of the warm water.

To win, these Silkies will need big bouffant feathers...

-Coming through.

-..so Barry White is booked in for a blow-dry.

Like many birds, Silkies shed all their feathers at the end of summer,

so this is not a good sign just before show day.

This won't make him moult more, will it?

Oh, dear.

Oh, good.

Silence. Look at the mess.

Just please don't drop any more feathers.

Oh, for goodness' sake, when she's done six chickens,

you can't see the floor, can you?

Before Maggie can get her kitchen back,

there's one more chicken to go...

I just want to just tidy her up a little bit, just check her over.

..their prized Indian Game hen called Sweetie.

Hand cleaning a chicken's bottom

is not the most glamorous part of the job,

but Gabby's not taking any chances with her potential champion.

Because of the shape of them, they can't preen...

-Oh, right.

-..where I'm just tidying her up.

They can't preen it because they are so square.

So you do that and they go, "Oh, thank you very much."

I think this is the best bird on the place at the moment.

If I was judging, I'd take him over her.

-Why?

-If you said to me, "Which one do you want to take home?"

I'd say, "That one."

Yeah, well, that's the judge's preference, isn't it?

Isn't it lucky she's not judging?

You mustn't be offended, promise me.

Smile for the judge.

Back in Cornwall,

Reverend Danny and Sarah have taken their salon outdoors.

Right, so this is one,

and this is going to take a good hour to get this chicken ready.

-Yeah.

-How many have we got?

62.

It's going to be a late night, isn't it?

Well, yeah.

I don't know about you, but I quite enjoy the preparation for the show.

-Come on, can you do some jobs there? Look.

-Oh, yeah.

I get all the dirty jobs, you see, in preparing chickens, don't I?

They do look really weird, these Silkies, don't they?

The Silkies, you see, have got blue flesh.

They're one of those rare breeds that has got odd-coloured flesh.

See, I knew we'd get wetter than it did.

All this for a chicken show.

Right, just give him a break a minute.

I think we have arguments in our marriage

over our children and chickens.

Would you think that was a fair statement?

-No. Money.

-Money.

Which probably involves...

Children and chickens.

SHE LAUGHS

For Danny, breeding birds is a passion,

but it's also in his blood.

In all of the Reed family, there's always been an interest in birds.

My dad used to show and breed Gloucester canaries.

His father used to show and race pigeons and budgerigars

and his father, my great-grandfather,

I remember, used to have pigeons as well.

So there's always been an interest, if you like, in feathers.

I like that mallard in the middle.

Show day is fast approaching.

Time to make final selections

and see if all the hard work is going to pay off.

But I think she's the one, you know?

Danny's got his eye on his prized Call ducks.

I think, out of all the ones that we've had to choose,

this is the one that I would hope

would be in the prize card somewhere.

These ducks, weighing less than a kilo, are Reverend Danny's passion.

They were originally used as decoy ducks by hunters

because, despite their size, they are extremely noisy.

Now, we want a dark male and it's between that one and that one.

Have you got an idea, Ben, which Indian you want to take?

After weeks of preparation, the moment has finally come.

OK, in we go with that one.

Time to pack up for the show.

Yeah, he isn't bad, Tom. Good.

That should be all right. You should do well with him.

The boys' rivalry is in full force.

We've got, like, a class we're going up against each other in

at Pembrokeshire. The juvenile class.

What are you entering in that?

Juvenile class, I'm entering a Cuckoo female.

I'll beat you on that easy, then, that's fine.

Yeah, I can't wait to see your face when you lose.

I won't lose that one.

We have a pretty strong rivalry

when we come up against each other.

I shouldn't get your hopes up, then.

Don't want to ruin your life.

I don't mind too much if I let him win once or twice.

-Let me win.

-He knows inside that my birds are the best, really, so...

No, no, I think that's opposite.

It's opposite.

Oh, this is heavier than lead.

The Reeds will be competing directly against Gabby,

who they know from the poultry circuit.

OK, are you ready to go?

Once they are collected, the Reeds will have over 60 birds.

Gabby's taking her best six.

The feeling when you get a bird on Championship Row,

it is absolutely brilliant.

You see your bird get carried up onto Championship Row,

and you are like, "Yes!" Do a backflip.

The boys love winning. I love winning.

We all love winning, that's the truth of it.

It's a buzz, yeah.

Right, got everything?

The Pembrokeshire County Show is one of Wales' most popular gatherings,

attracting up to 100,000 visitors.

It's a very important show for Pembrokeshire

and I like to think it's a very important show for Wales.

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen,

and welcome to the Pembrokeshire County Show

here on a very sunny morning.

People enjoy themselves.

This is really where town meets country.

There is a great interaction and we welcome townspeople to this show.

The show encompasses everything from livestock to crafts and markets

and will run over the next three days.

It's 7am, and Gabby is here bright and early to check in her birds.

Good morning.

The poultry competition is one of the largest in Wales

and a huge draw at Pembrokeshire.

Even though they have the all-clear,

the birds are checked before going in.

Barry White's in there.

And hopefully he is as clean as he was when I put him in.

This building will soon fill up with over 1,000 feathered competitors

and their hopeful owners.

Right.

I've come with Nic Short today, who's my really close friend,

and we tend to go off on chicken adventures together.

The first part of today's adventure is just to find their pens.

So, I've got...

..215.

I'm little numbers.

I think mine might be over there.

You'd think it would be easier, but they move things around.

They're not necessarily in number order.

They could be anywhere, you see.

87, getting longer.

Let's go around this way.

The poultry shed can be a bit of an assault on the senses,

especially the ears.

CHICKEN CACOPHONY

You always come out of a chicken show

with a ringing in your ears at the end of the day.

COCKEREL CROWS

61. 61, at last.

Time to get Barry White into his pen,

though he won't be going in alone.

Hello, are you OK?

Have you travelled all right?

Is it nice in there?

These are Barry's girls and he'll be escorting them

in the Trio class, which demands one male and two females.

He'll be really chuffed in a minute.

He'll be like, "Oh, ladies to spend the day with."

He'll be really pleased,

because normally he just gets shown on his own.

Dream scenario for the end of the day

would always be to go away with top honours.

There's no point coming to a show of this calibre

unless you've got that instinct and that want to win.

There's no point doing it. So, yeah, that would be the dream.

Realistically, a couple of first prize cards would be lovely

and to get on Championship Row would be lovelier still.

Is that all right here?

On the other side of the shed,

Reverend Danny is settling his 60-plus birds.

When you're travelling from Cornwall,

you don't want to come just with one or two birds.

You want to come and make it worth your while.

With not long till show time,

the boys are pulling their best tricks out of the bag.

I'm putting this stuff on the comb,

which makes it brighter

and it gives it a bit of a shine so they can stand out

and hopefully catch the judge's eye.

Though they'd both like a ribbon,

there's no hiding where the real competition lies.

This is my Barred Rock male I bred last year.

He's up against Tom's Cuckoo, which is controversial,

so we're seeing who's going to win.

This is a Cuckoo Pekin.

She's a bit too dark, but...

..she probably will beat Ben.

The real competition for us is between each other.

We don't really mind about what else happens.

I do.

It's ten o'clock, and the judges have arrived.

Scores of breeds will be scrutinised today,

and each of the judges is an expert in their field.

Amongst them is the man who will crown the overall champion,

Richard Rowley.

I've been a judge for 40 years.

My father was into farming as a smallholder,

and I started out on my little bike,

selling eggs at two-and-six a dozen.

So, if you like, it's ingrained in me.

Outside, the show is coming to life as the crowds are building.

In the poultry shed, Thomas and Ben's birds are about to be judged,

up against each other at last.

Ben's Barred Rock chicken is up first.

Unfortunately, this bird is suffering

because of the time of year,

and you can see that it's moulting...

..so it's got feathers missing there and as you can see,

it's lost the... Losing feather around the neck there.

So, today, it's not in its best condition, I'm afraid.

Younger brother Thomas is hoping to fare better with his Cuckoo Pekin.

Again, struggling because of the time of year.

That's purely and simply because it's moulting.

But even though she's missing a few feathers, she's very, very pretty.

Neither boy was placed this time.

But they haven't lost heart.

We weren't expecting wins in that class, really.

We're just hoping that one would get a place above the other

and that, hopefully, it would be me, but, yeah...

I never fancied him, but I think his birds are a bit of a waste of space.

The bird at the top of the pecking order

is the black and white silver Sebright.

It's such an eye-catcher,

it very often wins the supreme awards at big shows, you know,

it's quite easy to keep

and it's very attractive, isn't it?

This is the winner in this class quite easily today.

Across the shed, the competition is gathering pace,

as judges inspect birds of all shapes and sizes.

And the noise is deafening.

Reverend Danny's next contest

is the very competitive Call Duck Mallard class.

Very tough competition indeed.

They are looking brilliant and at home this looks brilliant,

the one I'm looking after now.

But here, put to the rest, she's a poor cousin really.

But I don't mind poor cousins, I'm a poor cousin,

so I might as well have a poor cousin as a bird, as well.

The judging criteria demands that the mallard

looks like a traditional bath time rubber duck.

Nice short body, so... And then nice short legs.

Don't want them to look like they're seagulls standing on long legs.

Time to inspect number 403, Reverend Danny's mallard.

But the judges have concerns about its colouring.

This has got a lot of grey over the wings.

It has, actually.

It's almost like a drake, isn't it?

A greeny head as well.

Sadly, no feather in Danny's cap this time.

It's almost lunchtime, and the grounds are packed.

This event showcases all manner of country skills

and the contemporary chainsaw displays

always draw in the crowds.

Axe racing is a worldwide highly skilled sport.

This first part is the creative chainsaw challenge.

For the crowd, it's more about figuring out

what exactly they're making.

Is it a bird? Is it a plane?

No, it's a chair.

Next is the race to cut through a heavy log.

Though this is now a sport,

more importantly, it is also keeping these rural skills alive.

Not so many years ago, our grandfathers used to fell trees.

It's something that's part of work done years ago

and, of course, chainsaws and all the rest came in

and that skill went, but we try and keep it going.

The springboard finale is an old technique

farmers used to chop the top of a tree.

It's an incredible display of strength

and nerve.

Lunchtime is over, and it's back to business.

Finally, the spotlight's on Gabby's trio of Silkie chickens.

It's Barry White's turn to take centre stage.

-Do you think you'll be up there?

-Oh, I don't know.

I'm looking for a softness in the feather,

which is why the bird's called a Silkie.

Also, it's got to have a nice head on it.

The wattles are a little large on it,

and the ear lobes, again,

they could be clearer than that.

But it's been nicely cleaned up.

Also, it must have five toes, which that has got.

I'd love Barry to go on Championship Row.

That would be really cool. He deserves it, he's a dude.

And, you know, it's nice to see a Silkie trio fluffing about.

-Who knows?

-Who knows, no, I don't know,

it's all in the lap of the men with the white coats, isn't it?

Yeah. Fingers crossed, anyway.

Yeah, that's not too bad.

A decision's been made.

And Gabby takes the long walk back to the cage.

-GABBY LAUGHS

-No way!

That's fab!

It's top of the charts for Barry White.

He's been moved to Championship Row.

And the good news keeps on coming.

-And they won, too.

-That's great!

-Oh, fantastic!

That's brilliant!

Her Indian Game chicken

has won the Best Utility Bird section

and has also been moved to Championship Row.

-There he is.

-Good boy! Fantastic.

Really good. Really pleased.

Ha-ha-ha!

That's brilliant!

-Really good.

-Couldn't have done any better.

I can go home now!

Hello! How are you?

Nice to see you.

Lovely to see you.

I hear you...

Gabby's on a high with two victories.

But the Reed family has yet to make an impact.

Reverend Danny has a chance to change that

with his Silkie chickens in the individual class.

Very nervous about that because I didn't think

there were very many entered, but there's eight.

I didn't look too closely, but I'm still hoping.

Although I won't be shocked if he doesn't make it.

The judge is starting with Danny's male.

First thing I tend to do is have a quick look at the wing

to see that he's got a wing and it's all there.

Each bird has 100 points to gain.

And in my opinion, this would need quite a lot of those points.

But Danny's Silkie has stiff competition.

It's a nice female.

It's got a better wing than him.

She's quite nice, you know.

To look at and to hold.

With birds of this calibre, it's a tough decision for judge Wayne.

Luckily, he has his wife, Linda, as a sounding board.

Make your mind up now.

93, 94, 99.

It's a difficult call.

Because I like that male bird a lot.

I like this one.

And I've liked him...

I know you like that one, but I've got the white coat on, Linda.

And the thing is, I like this bird, 99.

And I like 94 as well.

At this time, I just can't make my mind up.

But decide he must.

And with Linda waiting, Wayne picks the winner.

Ben and Thomas are helping to hang the prize cards.

Yes!

Good boy.

Reverend Danny's male gets first prize.

I'm delighted with that,

and I'm only recently into the Silkie business,

but to get Silkies up there is wonderful.

You don't have to have livestock to exhibit

in the Pembrokeshire County Show.

There are craft and baking competitions and some huge veg.

Sarah's entered into the floral art competition,

despite the fact that she didn't bring any flowers.

This was a bit tricky because we had so many ducks,

there was no room for any more flowers,

so I had to go to a local supermarket up here

and I had to just try and make something out of what I could find.

So it was a bit pot luck,

and I quite like the enjoyment of actually coming,

and you've had no idea what you're going to use,

and you've just got to pull on your resources and your skills

to try and make it work.

Built around the theme of green,

Sarah's arrangement wins second prize.

But that's not all.

I'm most proud of my petit exhibits,

which are under four inches, so width, breadth and height,

the whole of the staging has to be under four inches in size.

And I've entered two of those,

and I've got first and second in a class of eight,

so really pleased with those.

Back in the poultry shed, judging is coming to an end.

The most competitive members of the families,

Gabby and Ben, are pitted against each other

in the Indian Game Bird class.

Even though Ben's entered more than one bird, he's not hopeful.

I'm looking at her birds in there and thinking,

"Ugh, this ain't going to win."

Although Gabby and the Reeds are friends,

there's still prizes to be won.

Doesn't matter who they are, I still want to win, unfortunately.

So, yeah, I know, it's terrible and I should...

it's awful and I should say, "No, it's the boys, they should win,"

but I'm sorry, I want to win

and they know that, too.

They know that too. I'm sure they wouldn't hold it against me.

SHE LAUGHS

They won't have long to find out who rules the roost.

Gabby's entry is Sweetie.

Hopefully, the judge will be impressed

by her scrupulously clean bottom.

Yeah, it's a good competition, isn't it?

Yeah. I think you've got it, though.

I don't know. It's tight.

It's tight. It would just be down to personal preference on the day,

I would think, wouldn't it?

I think it's in better condition than mine.

It's got better plumage, especially, than my birds.

But Ben's birds have got, I think, a bit better bone on them than mine,

so...

The judge has made a decision.

Well done! Well done!

Gabby has scooped first prize.

I told you it would - that's a nice female.

And Ben has won both second and third.

That's good, that's a good result, definitely.

Yeah. Go home and have a sleep now.

I'm thrilled that my little lady there has won it.

So I'm really quite pleased.

Yeah. Actually I'm thrilled, yeah.

Really chuffed.

I knew Gabby was going to win that class,

so I'm just really happy.

That's the best result I've had with Indians.

-Quite drained.

-It's exhausting.

It's hard work all this doing well, isn't it?

It's been a successful day for Gabby,

with two winners on Championship Row.

And hot off the press...

No way!

Another of her six birds is on its way there.

She's just gone up as Best Large, Any Other Variety, Hard Feather.

So I've got three on Championship Row.

Well done.

Well done, Gab.

And there's some news for Reverend Danny.

He's there.

His Silkie chicken has been awarded one of the Reserve Champion titles.

Delighted. Well done.

-How about that?

-I think you've all done very well, don't you?

Exhausted now.

The Pembrokeshire Show will continue over the next two days.

But for the families, judging is now over.

Time for our farmers to stand back and reflect.

It's been a day of challenges...

..team work

and great rewards.

And they won too!

I'm exhilarated.

Really good. Really pleased with everything.

Yes!

It's big for me. It's one of the biggest wins that I've had.

I've been fortunate enough to have been on Championship Row

a number of times, but to have three up there is brilliant.

Brilliant.

Everybody's done well, from flowers to birds to Championship Row.

All in one day.

So we've done really well.

Really pleased. We might even come again, I reckon.

The Reeds are going home with a whopping 43 awards.

-Lots and lots of cards.

-Thomas, 11 firsts,

and perhaps most importantly, big boy gets on Championship Row,

the white Silkie, and becomes the Reserve chicken in the show.

Excellent! Excellent!

Can't top that.

Their success has shown how a year of commitment

and hard work can pay off.

They are very important for farming, yes,

because it brings all the farmers together

and highlights the best of what they've got.

The biggest part for me is the wonderful friends that I've met

who are all prepared to help you out,

to support you and to be good friends, really.

That is just, to me, the best thing about it all.

Cheers!

Thanks, my dear. Cheers!

Here's to the next one.

THEY LAUGH