:00:22. > :00:25.The Royal Welsh Show is the biggest event in the Welsh calendar. Over
:00:25. > :00:28.the next four days town and country will come together here in
:00:28. > :00:34.Llanelwedd to enjoy the very best that Welsh farming and the
:00:34. > :00:40.countryside has to offer. Welcome to the 2012 Royal Welsh
:00:40. > :00:43.Show. Over the next four nights we will bring you all of the
:00:43. > :00:47.highlights from this year's Show. From the loud and the lavish to the
:00:47. > :00:50.From the loud and the lavish to the serene and spectacular.
:00:50. > :00:53.Yes we will be visiting every corner of the Showground, bumping
:00:53. > :00:56.in to some familiar faces and making new friends. I will be
:00:56. > :00:59.spending most of my time alongside the cattle ring, enjoying the
:00:59. > :01:04.sights and sounds of some of the true giants of the Welsh
:01:04. > :01:07.countryside. If you come here as a visitor to
:01:07. > :01:10.enjoy the Show, you can have a relaxing day taking in all the
:01:10. > :01:13.attractions, but if you are competing with your animals it is a
:01:13. > :01:16.very intense week, and I will be joining a family of show
:01:16. > :01:20.enthusiasts to find out what it takes to make sure that your
:01:20. > :01:23.animals put their best foot forward when they enter the ring. And, in
:01:23. > :01:25.each of our programmes we will be telling you lots of things you did
:01:25. > :01:28.telling you lots of things you did not know about the Royal Welsh Show.
:01:28. > :01:31.The competitions start early and competitors have been up since the
:01:31. > :01:37.crack of dawn. Here in the cattle area, 861 cattle will battle it out
:01:37. > :01:47.during the week. Things got underway this morning with the beef
:01:47. > :01:49.
:01:49. > :01:52.For the Simmental cattle this year, there is a show within a show
:01:52. > :01:56.because they are holding their Welsh National Show here at the
:01:56. > :01:59.Royal Welsh. There are 41 Simmentals competing at the Show
:01:59. > :02:02.from all over the UK, but one Welsh family are old hands at making this
:02:02. > :02:12.Swiss breed of cattle look their best the Raymond family from
:02:12. > :02:14.
:02:14. > :02:19.best the Raymond family from Nantgaredig.
:02:19. > :02:23.Ever competed for many years but were not here last year by is that?
:02:23. > :02:28.My husband was in hospital this time last year but we are back
:02:28. > :02:33.again this year. This show is being held within the Royal Welch has
:02:33. > :02:37.that put on more pressure this year. No, not more pressure but there is
:02:37. > :02:43.more prize-money on offer is so obviously we want to try to get a
:02:43. > :02:49.higher class in order to get the prize money. It is an opportunity
:02:49. > :02:55.for West members to exhibit their cattle at the Welsh National. It is
:02:56. > :03:03.a very special occasion. We went into some until purely because
:03:03. > :03:13.they're very easy animals to handle. You senior cow is being prepared
:03:13. > :03:14.
:03:14. > :03:17.behind us. Has she still got what it takes? We will see today.
:03:17. > :03:23.The Iraq is being put through her paces and Shoreham as we speak how
:03:23. > :03:33.does she look? She has one year before twice. Let's see if she can
:03:33. > :03:34.
:03:35. > :03:39.be third time lucky. Let us see. Round one is complete and she got
:03:39. > :03:45.another red rose. Onto the championship now, I had quite an
:03:45. > :03:55.offer from your father. Have you? Is that a big Test? How did you
:03:55. > :04:00.
:04:00. > :04:05.guess? -- dress. Congratulations, third time lucky. I am over the men
:04:05. > :04:11.I have never got this far. I am over the moon. Fantastic result.
:04:11. > :04:21.cannot describe how I am feeling at the moment. He did make me an offer.
:04:21. > :04:24.
:04:24. > :04:27.There is no doubt that horses are one of the main attractions here at
:04:27. > :04:31.the Royal Welsh Show, and 3,249 of them will be battling it out for
:04:31. > :04:33.the top honours over the next four days. Many of the animals and their
:04:33. > :04:36.owners are battle-hardened warriors of the Royal Welsh, but Matt
:04:36. > :04:39.McGivern is fresh to the fight, competing for the very first time
:04:39. > :04:49.this year with Hugo who has spent many years helping to save the
:04:49. > :04:56.
:04:56. > :05:02.lives of other horses as a blood donor.
:05:02. > :05:08.Hugo looks great you must be proud. I am. The is is his first 10
:05:08. > :05:12.competing but he is not young. is nine years old this year. He is
:05:12. > :05:19.still pretty green. It is an interesting story about you go
:05:19. > :05:24.because he has done a lot for other horses. He did when he was younger.
:05:24. > :05:32.Before this he was at doughnut for her horses giving blood
:05:32. > :05:36.transfusions or other horses. He saved a lot of lives. Good old boy.
:05:36. > :05:46.What is the lecture right? He is good but now and again he will say
:05:46. > :05:47.
:05:47. > :05:54.he does not want to do any more. Rock, you are a good part of the
:05:54. > :06:00.team so it is worth speaking to you. He looks really super in the ring.
:06:00. > :06:06.How much does it matter's contribution affect the results?
:06:06. > :06:10.Lots. He has tremendous ring craft. Usually the worst will get pulled
:06:10. > :06:19.in between the line and once the judge raids he usually gets moved
:06:19. > :06:22.up. How would be doing? So far, so good. He got a little bit excited
:06:22. > :06:28.after at the grandstand when everyone was clapping but he has
:06:28. > :06:38.relaxed now. That is normal. Absolutely. But sadly it was not
:06:38. > :06:43.his day. The judges pit in the Madras in. We always have next year
:06:43. > :06:53.to come back. It got a little bit tense but there were times when it
:06:53. > :06:54.
:06:54. > :06:58.all came together. We will come back and have another go.
:06:58. > :07:04.Did you know that we spend more on cosmetics were animals than we do
:07:04. > :07:14.it than us -- on ourselves? With glitter and his three it costs us a
:07:14. > :07:29.
:07:29. > :07:32.fortune and look at her, she looks better than I do.
:07:32. > :07:34.You do not need hairspray, shampoo or glitter down here in the
:07:34. > :07:36.horticulture marquee, you are guaranteed a colourful display of
:07:36. > :07:39.strikingly beautiful flowers. But these plants will have been
:07:39. > :07:49.pampered for months before arriving here at the Show. One former winner
:07:49. > :07:56.
:07:56. > :08:01.who knows exactly what it is all about is Robert Evans from Bridgend.
:08:01. > :08:05.A fuller range it takes around 45 minutes. From a young age I have
:08:05. > :08:11.been coming to the show this is our 14th or 15th time at the Royal
:08:11. > :08:17.Welsh Show. Each year we have had a gold medal. I have just finished
:08:17. > :08:23.doing all the label in and it is coming up now it to be just over
:08:23. > :08:24.ten hours. The public do not ten hours. The public do not
:08:24. > :08:26.realise it but when they come into the shoulder they look at the
:08:26. > :08:36.flowers and they think that they have just appeared overnight but it
:08:36. > :08:40.
:08:40. > :08:43.has taken as ten hours. That is just to set up the display.
:08:43. > :08:49.Congratulations a large gold medal. Does that mean that there are a
:08:50. > :08:58.medium one and a small one? There are there is a large gold. We won
:08:58. > :09:02.the Premier Award. You also won gold at Chelsea. Yes we won there
:09:02. > :09:07.and it was a third consecutive Chelsea gold medal. How does that
:09:07. > :09:10.compare to the Royal Welch? I think when you come to the Royal Welch
:09:10. > :09:17.and people see that you won there and Chelsea the conceit that there
:09:17. > :09:26.is absolute dedication and what you are doing. Congratulations once
:09:26. > :09:28.again. And coming up in tonight's
:09:28. > :09:31.programme: Rhys prepares for a late night as
:09:31. > :09:35.he faces up to his family challenge. And we meet one competitor hoping
:09:35. > :09:41.for a feather in their cap as they show off their geese in the fur and
:09:41. > :09:44.feather pavilion. The Royal Welsh boasts more sheep
:09:44. > :09:46.breeds than any other agricultural Show in the world with some 45
:09:46. > :09:49.different breeds competing for the honours. Some of the mountain
:09:49. > :09:52.breeds like the Badger Face are very old traditional Welsh breeds.
:09:52. > :09:54.And it is these petite, hardy little sheep that captured the
:09:54. > :10:04.imagination of breeder and part- time fireman Will Hughes of
:10:04. > :10:07.
:10:07. > :10:10.Llanidloes. But even the sheep have Will trains regularly at the
:10:10. > :10:15.station in Llanidloes and Newtown, and along with his other colleagues
:10:15. > :10:18.is prepared to respond immediately to emergency calls. The unit get
:10:18. > :10:21.called out 120 times a year, responding to everything from car
:10:21. > :10:31.accidents to major fires, so working with the sheep is a great
:10:31. > :10:47.
:10:47. > :10:54.The interesting sheet stems from my father but sadly he passed away. It
:10:54. > :11:00.was a few years afterwards tell we felt that we might like to do it
:11:00. > :11:05.with me and my sons. And also it became my pastime and my hobby. So
:11:05. > :11:09.we started their sheep flock again. we started their sheep flock again.
:11:09. > :11:15.Time is limited to weekends and evenings. We fitted in everywhere
:11:15. > :11:19.we can. We only have a small plot behind the house. And then we saw
:11:19. > :11:24.to beg, borrow and steal little plots of land around the town. We
:11:24. > :11:28.have a few sheep grazing in the old cemetery which is located right in
:11:28. > :11:38.the middle of the town. We're quite well known around the town for
:11:38. > :11:43.having she grazing all over the Two photographs that appeared in
:11:43. > :11:49.the it journo this year showed me in 1990 at my first championship
:11:49. > :11:55.what their home-bred sheep, I was 13 then, and then a photo of last
:11:55. > :12:03.year winning the Queen's Cup again. It was a nice comparison between
:12:03. > :12:07.the two times. We're all after at that elusive when which we know
:12:07. > :12:13.well when the championship. It is 12 months where you are picking
:12:13. > :12:21.them out when the RFU days old and bringing them through to the show
:12:21. > :12:26.and getting them prepared. It is an achievement in itself. There were
:12:26. > :12:32.more than 250 Badger Face sheep competing this year giving them the
:12:32. > :12:38.highest entry among the native sheep breeds. The judge thumping
:12:38. > :12:44.had it decided that his best performance came and the Ram class.
:12:44. > :12:52.Six out of 32 entries. I bet you're glad that is over? Yes I can relax
:12:52. > :12:59.and enjoy the rest of the show. That was tense, wasn't it? It was.
:12:59. > :13:09.It is such an honour in itself. But then judge and a different date.
:13:09. > :13:14.
:13:14. > :13:18.But we will look forward to having another go next year now.
:13:18. > :13:21.One of the main attractions for visitors who come to the Show is
:13:21. > :13:24.the Food Hall. In here, there's a chance to see dozens of producers
:13:24. > :13:27.who specialize in making and selling all kinds of lovely Welsh
:13:27. > :13:30.produce. But for one top chef working in London and New York, the
:13:30. > :13:33.chance to come home and start a food business in West Wales proved
:13:33. > :13:43.too much. The result is Cnwd, which makes gourmet food using Welsh
:13:43. > :13:46.
:13:46. > :13:56.makes gourmet food using Welsh ingredients. I moved to London when
:13:56. > :13:56.
:13:57. > :14:01.I was 17 and then went to New York. We make high-quality patties. Again,
:14:01. > :14:04.be used local stuff. We have chicken liver parfait. It is all
:14:04. > :14:08.chicken liver parfait. It is all classically need. I think it is
:14:08. > :14:18.important to source the food locally. They may know how the pigs
:14:18. > :14:22.
:14:22. > :14:26.have been raid and how sustainable We are in Carmarthen on the
:14:26. > :14:31.quayside at where the boys going the water to catch their fish. They
:14:31. > :14:39.crossed the river with nets and slowly trawled a small part of the
:14:39. > :14:43.river. The customer can probably have the savant -- salmon within
:14:43. > :14:51.two or three days of being caught. It has got to be cured, it gets
:14:51. > :14:55.smoked for up to 16 hours, and then we Bonett and it is ready to go.
:14:55. > :14:59.They catch the salmon on the Monday and they could be eating it in a
:14:59. > :15:06.restaurant on the Thursday or Friday. Hopefully, over the next
:15:06. > :15:11.couple of days, we will definitely get some fish for the Royal Welsh.
:15:11. > :15:14.Here you are at the Royal Welsh Show for the first time. What has
:15:14. > :15:20.the response be like? Really positive, we are absolutely
:15:20. > :15:25.thrilled. We are just starting to warm up. What is the ethos of it?
:15:25. > :15:30.It is coming back to using the seasons, using the locality, we
:15:30. > :15:34.have got lots of everything and traditional methods calls stopped
:15:34. > :15:39.what tie your hopes for Cnwd in the future? For just pushing forward,
:15:39. > :15:46.and hopefully people will realise the quality we have got here.
:15:46. > :15:56.looks delicious and sounds great. Did you know the Royal Welsh site
:15:56. > :16:04.
:16:04. > :16:12.This year we have the current world champion judging the farriery
:16:12. > :16:16.competition and it is hotting up. Last year, I had the honour of
:16:16. > :16:19.showing a sheep on behalf of the Earle family. Despite my success in
:16:19. > :16:22.the ring last year, I'm not actually going to be showing this
:16:22. > :16:25.year, but I've still got a huge responsibility. I will be helping
:16:25. > :16:29.to prepare one of the best known dairy cows in Wales - Spirte Rosina
:16:29. > :16:32.- who won the Supreme Championship at the Show last year. But I'll be
:16:32. > :16:42.doing this under the watchful eye of my adopted family for the week,
:16:42. > :16:43.
:16:43. > :16:51.the Davies family from Whitland and their team of helpers.
:16:51. > :16:55.How many cars have you got here? 420. How are you selecting which
:16:55. > :16:59.animals go to the show? We know a long time before the show which
:16:59. > :17:06.ones are good enough to go to the show. We tried to buy the more on a
:17:06. > :17:15.different diet, on straw. They are in the other shed on the other side.
:17:15. > :17:23.Hello Sian. Everybody is on the go, getting ready. What do you have to
:17:23. > :17:27.do to get a cow ready for the Royal Welsh Show? She is cared for and
:17:27. > :17:32.are fed appropriately put the washing part is very important. You
:17:32. > :17:35.want them to look their best in the ring. Her what you need me to do at
:17:35. > :17:39.the Royal Welsh Show? Figures really important to keep the colour
:17:39. > :17:46.scheme during the show and part of that is looking after the real end
:17:46. > :17:51.so I think you are going to be on the bucket. Typical! Is this your
:17:51. > :17:57.champion? No, she's out of the same family, but she is in the other
:17:57. > :18:02.said -- shed so we can go and have a look at her. She looks absolutely
:18:02. > :18:09.magnificent and a huge. When she is in the show ring with her head up,
:18:09. > :18:13.she is one of those cows who thinks she is something.
:18:13. > :18:17.You have arrived and you have brought a team with you as well.
:18:18. > :18:24.is very important because they can never be enough hands. Who have you
:18:24. > :18:33.got with you? My nephews and nieces and my friend Kevin and his son.
:18:33. > :18:39.They have all got their jobs. Fantastic. Look at that! Beautiful.
:18:39. > :18:49.When do you want me to start? can start now. I need a bit of
:18:49. > :18:49.
:18:49. > :18:52.practice before you start filming. Comeback on Wednesday.
:18:52. > :18:55.Coming up: We'll have our first visit of the
:18:55. > :18:57.week to the Royal Welsh World Mounted Games as riders from eight
:18:57. > :18:59.countries fight it out for the coveted title.
:18:59. > :19:02.We witness the return of the Dexters - everybody's favourite
:19:02. > :19:05.bite-size beef cattle are back at the Royal Welsh Show.
:19:05. > :19:08.And we pop into the main ring to see one of this year's star
:19:08. > :19:15.attractions at the Show - the Cossacks and their amazing horse
:19:15. > :19:19.This has got to be one of the noisiest and most crowded places on
:19:19. > :19:23.the Royal Welsh Showground. The fur and feather pavilion features birds
:19:23. > :19:28.of all kinds for the first two days before feather moves over and makes
:19:28. > :19:38.way for fur on Wednesday. Today, the pavilion is full of birds of
:19:38. > :19:38.
:19:38. > :19:41.every shape, size and colour - over 1,000 of them. Some of the birds
:19:41. > :19:51.have quite exotic sounding names, like the Chinese geese being
:19:51. > :19:52.
:19:52. > :19:56.exhibited here today by Sue Black from Swansea.
:19:56. > :20:00.In the evenings I come home from work, because I teach, and I only
:20:00. > :20:09.broke up on Friday, and it is really relaxing to go to the field
:20:09. > :20:15.and see all my poetry. -- poultry. It is a really nice hobby to have.
:20:15. > :20:20.I have kept chickens and ducks for about 30 years but I have only been
:20:20. > :20:25.exhibiting for eight or nine. They are lovely clean birds. At this
:20:25. > :20:29.time of year, as long as it is not too many, all I have to do is
:20:29. > :20:39.spruce up the legs and maybe washed the beat a little bit and then he
:20:39. > :20:52.
:20:52. > :20:58.is already to go. But he is looking How did you get on? Her I got a
:20:58. > :21:02.second today. Never mind. It would have been nice to have had a first.
:21:02. > :21:08.It is one of those things. It is all down to personal preference. I
:21:08. > :21:18.did ask the judge whether there was anything wrong. He said it was very
:21:18. > :21:21.
:21:21. > :21:26.close. Why do you like Chinese geese? I know they are noisy but
:21:26. > :21:34.they are exceptionally friendly. For these can be quite fear some.
:21:34. > :21:40.These are not. It is looking around, not wanting to attack anybody or
:21:40. > :21:44.anything. Well done for getting a very good second. First next time.
:21:44. > :21:47.Thank you very much. With showing as with most things in
:21:47. > :21:51.life, it helps if you start young, and Gareth Hamer from Burry Port
:21:51. > :21:55.near Llanelli has been showing his Dexter cattle for 10 years - since
:21:55. > :22:04.he was nine-years-old. Dexters as a breed missed out on the Show last
:22:04. > :22:07.year, but now they're back with a This is a breed that proves that
:22:07. > :22:10.size really doesn't matter. Originally from Ireland, they've
:22:10. > :22:15.earned their popularity over the last 100 years, especially with
:22:15. > :22:24.smallholders. Gareth has 30 of them as well as his herd of commercial
:22:24. > :22:29.Charolais cattle. How does he explain the appeal of the Dexter?
:22:29. > :22:37.When I was nine, I was not very tall, I am not all now but I was
:22:37. > :22:42.even shorter them. I just carried on from there. This year I have got
:22:43. > :22:47.a cow and calf and I have got my two-year-old Paul and I have got a
:22:47. > :22:54.yearling heifer. If it is nice to see them back at the Royal Welsh
:22:54. > :22:59.Show. Yes, it is. It has put people off a bit from coming back but
:23:00. > :23:04.hopefully we will keep them back. How are the nerves? Not too bad at
:23:04. > :23:14.the moment. It is just a case of what the judge like us. I can't
:23:14. > :23:22.
:23:22. > :23:28.help that. Best of luck and we will I have a very proud father joining
:23:28. > :23:34.me to watch Gareth as he goes around the ring. The story so far,
:23:34. > :23:37.two seconds and now it is the heifer. How is he doing? He is
:23:38. > :23:44.doing very well. The cattle he has been against have been of a good
:23:44. > :23:50.standard. Are you surprised that he has stuck with the Dexters. It was
:23:50. > :23:54.not just a passing child would fancy. Yes, slightly, but I can see
:23:54. > :23:59.now he is getting more passionate for it. He has put a lot of time
:23:59. > :24:07.and effort into looking after them and the breeding of them and I can
:24:07. > :24:12.see him sticking to it for quite some time. Congratulations. He did
:24:12. > :24:16.not come at the top of the class but he did himself proud. He did
:24:16. > :24:20.himself proud. He has not made a fool of himself out. He controlled
:24:20. > :24:30.the animal, which is the most important thing in the ring, but
:24:30. > :24:34.
:24:34. > :24:37.that was the Judge's decision on True
:24:37. > :24:41.This is one of the most energetic and competitive events here at the
:24:41. > :24:44.Royal Welsh Show this year. In a brand new competition, 17 countries
:24:44. > :24:54.have been whittled down to eight to compete in the semi-final and final
:24:54. > :24:56.
:24:56. > :25:00.of the Royal Welsh World Mounted Games here at the Show.
:25:00. > :25:06.John Griffiths, you what share of the Royal Welsh World Mounted Games.
:25:06. > :25:12.Who is left in the competition? have England, France, Ireland,
:25:12. > :25:17.Wales, America, Northern Ireland and we have Germany. This you have
:25:17. > :25:21.at the qualifying event in Chepstow. Do they start afresh from here? His
:25:21. > :25:26.yes, they qualify, and once they get here they start on a zero
:25:26. > :25:31.points. It is extra exciting this year because this is the first time
:25:31. > :25:39.the final has been held at the Royal Welsh Show. It goes all over
:25:39. > :25:49.the world and this year, Wales are the hosts. We want to give up the
:25:49. > :25:51.
:25:51. > :25:55.ride is something to remember. -- riders. Alex, you're in the England
:25:55. > :26:00.team but you are not taking part because your pony has got an injury.
:26:00. > :26:03.That means you are the ideal person to tell me what's going on. There
:26:03. > :26:09.are 20 individual games and each one Tests something slightly
:26:09. > :26:14.different. Speed, stamina, skill, how you have a shaky hand when you
:26:14. > :26:18.are nervous, it is basically a relay race. Four riders go out in
:26:18. > :26:25.each race and the first one across the line picks up eight points.
:26:25. > :26:30.Here we have the Welsh team captain, Huw Whitney. How did it go? Not as
:26:30. > :26:35.well as we would have liked, we are lying in 5th, but the crowd is
:26:35. > :26:41.amazing. If what is the competition like? The competition is great.
:26:41. > :26:45.There is a lot of nerves. It is so close, it is brilliant. It could go
:26:45. > :26:50.either way at the moment. France have got the lead but we have got
:26:51. > :26:55.13 games tomorrow so anything could happen. I am just a very proud
:26:55. > :26:59.Welshman and I am so glad to be doing it. You look like you need a
:26:59. > :27:03.bucket of water so I will let you And don't forget, we'll be back at
:27:03. > :27:10.the games tomorrow for a chat with the Welsh team and to see who comes
:27:10. > :27:14.out on top at the Royal Welsh World Mounted Games.
:27:14. > :27:18.It's been a fantastic first day here at the Show. Don't forget,
:27:18. > :27:22.we'll be back again tomorrow night on BBC Two Wales at 7:30pm. And if