Day One Royal Welsh Show

The Royal Welsh Show is the biggest event in the Welsh calendar. Over

the next four days town and country will come together here in

Llanelwedd to enjoy the very best that Welsh farming and the

countryside has to offer. Welcome to the 2012 Royal Welsh

Show. Over the next four nights we will bring you all of the

highlights from this year's Show. From the loud and the lavish to the

From the loud and the lavish to the serene and spectacular.

Yes we will be visiting every corner of the Showground, bumping

in to some familiar faces and making new friends. I will be

spending most of my time alongside the cattle ring, enjoying the

sights and sounds of some of the true giants of the Welsh

countryside. If you come here as a visitor to

enjoy the Show, you can have a relaxing day taking in all the

attractions, but if you are competing with your animals it is a

very intense week, and I will be joining a family of show

enthusiasts to find out what it takes to make sure that your

animals put their best foot forward when they enter the ring. And, in

each of our programmes we will be telling you lots of things you did

telling you lots of things you did not know about the Royal Welsh Show.

The competitions start early and competitors have been up since the

crack of dawn. Here in the cattle area, 861 cattle will battle it out

during the week. Things got underway this morning with the beef

For the Simmental cattle this year, there is a show within a show

because they are holding their Welsh National Show here at the

Royal Welsh. There are 41 Simmentals competing at the Show

from all over the UK, but one Welsh family are old hands at making this

Swiss breed of cattle look their best the Raymond family from

best the Raymond family from Nantgaredig.

Ever competed for many years but were not here last year by is that?

My husband was in hospital this time last year but we are back

again this year. This show is being held within the Royal Welch has

that put on more pressure this year. No, not more pressure but there is

more prize-money on offer is so obviously we want to try to get a

higher class in order to get the prize money. It is an opportunity

for West members to exhibit their cattle at the Welsh National. It is

a very special occasion. We went into some until purely because

they're very easy animals to handle. You senior cow is being prepared

behind us. Has she still got what it takes? We will see today.

The Iraq is being put through her paces and Shoreham as we speak how

does she look? She has one year before twice. Let's see if she can

be third time lucky. Let us see. Round one is complete and she got

another red rose. Onto the championship now, I had quite an

offer from your father. Have you? Is that a big Test? How did you

guess? -- dress. Congratulations, third time lucky. I am over the men

I have never got this far. I am over the moon. Fantastic result.

cannot describe how I am feeling at the moment. He did make me an offer.

There is no doubt that horses are one of the main attractions here at

the Royal Welsh Show, and 3,249 of them will be battling it out for

the top honours over the next four days. Many of the animals and their

owners are battle-hardened warriors of the Royal Welsh, but Matt

McGivern is fresh to the fight, competing for the very first time

this year with Hugo who has spent many years helping to save the

lives of other horses as a blood donor.

Hugo looks great you must be proud. I am. The is is his first 10

competing but he is not young. is nine years old this year. He is

still pretty green. It is an interesting story about you go

because he has done a lot for other horses. He did when he was younger.

Before this he was at doughnut for her horses giving blood

transfusions or other horses. He saved a lot of lives. Good old boy.

What is the lecture right? He is good but now and again he will say

he does not want to do any more. Rock, you are a good part of the

team so it is worth speaking to you. He looks really super in the ring.

How much does it matter's contribution affect the results?

Lots. He has tremendous ring craft. Usually the worst will get pulled

in between the line and once the judge raids he usually gets moved

up. How would be doing? So far, so good. He got a little bit excited

after at the grandstand when everyone was clapping but he has

relaxed now. That is normal. Absolutely. But sadly it was not

his day. The judges pit in the Madras in. We always have next year

to come back. It got a little bit tense but there were times when it

all came together. We will come back and have another go.

Did you know that we spend more on cosmetics were animals than we do

it than us -- on ourselves? With glitter and his three it costs us a

fortune and look at her, she looks better than I do.

You do not need hairspray, shampoo or glitter down here in the

horticulture marquee, you are guaranteed a colourful display of

strikingly beautiful flowers. But these plants will have been

pampered for months before arriving here at the Show. One former winner

who knows exactly what it is all about is Robert Evans from Bridgend.

A fuller range it takes around 45 minutes. From a young age I have

been coming to the show this is our 14th or 15th time at the Royal

Welsh Show. Each year we have had a gold medal. I have just finished

doing all the label in and it is coming up now it to be just over

ten hours. The public do not ten hours. The public do not

realise it but when they come into the shoulder they look at the

flowers and they think that they have just appeared overnight but it

has taken as ten hours. That is just to set up the display.

Congratulations a large gold medal. Does that mean that there are a

medium one and a small one? There are there is a large gold. We won

the Premier Award. You also won gold at Chelsea. Yes we won there

and it was a third consecutive Chelsea gold medal. How does that

compare to the Royal Welch? I think when you come to the Royal Welch

and people see that you won there and Chelsea the conceit that there

is absolute dedication and what you are doing. Congratulations once

again. And coming up in tonight's

programme: Rhys prepares for a late night as

he faces up to his family challenge. And we meet one competitor hoping

for a feather in their cap as they show off their geese in the fur and

feather pavilion. The Royal Welsh boasts more sheep

breeds than any other agricultural Show in the world with some 45

different breeds competing for the honours. Some of the mountain

breeds like the Badger Face are very old traditional Welsh breeds.

And it is these petite, hardy little sheep that captured the

imagination of breeder and part- time fireman Will Hughes of

Llanidloes. But even the sheep have Will trains regularly at the

station in Llanidloes and Newtown, and along with his other colleagues

is prepared to respond immediately to emergency calls. The unit get

called out 120 times a year, responding to everything from car

accidents to major fires, so working with the sheep is a great

The interesting sheet stems from my father but sadly he passed away. It

was a few years afterwards tell we felt that we might like to do it

with me and my sons. And also it became my pastime and my hobby. So

we started their sheep flock again. we started their sheep flock again.

Time is limited to weekends and evenings. We fitted in everywhere

we can. We only have a small plot behind the house. And then we saw

to beg, borrow and steal little plots of land around the town. We

have a few sheep grazing in the old cemetery which is located right in

the middle of the town. We're quite well known around the town for

having she grazing all over the Two photographs that appeared in

the it journo this year showed me in 1990 at my first championship

what their home-bred sheep, I was 13 then, and then a photo of last

year winning the Queen's Cup again. It was a nice comparison between

the two times. We're all after at that elusive when which we know

well when the championship. It is 12 months where you are picking

them out when the RFU days old and bringing them through to the show

and getting them prepared. It is an achievement in itself. There were

more than 250 Badger Face sheep competing this year giving them the

highest entry among the native sheep breeds. The judge thumping

had it decided that his best performance came and the Ram class.

Six out of 32 entries. I bet you're glad that is over? Yes I can relax

and enjoy the rest of the show. That was tense, wasn't it? It was.

It is such an honour in itself. But then judge and a different date.

But we will look forward to having another go next year now.

One of the main attractions for visitors who come to the Show is

the Food Hall. In here, there's a chance to see dozens of producers

who specialize in making and selling all kinds of lovely Welsh

produce. But for one top chef working in London and New York, the

chance to come home and start a food business in West Wales proved

too much. The result is Cnwd, which makes gourmet food using Welsh

makes gourmet food using Welsh ingredients. I moved to London when

I was 17 and then went to New York. We make high-quality patties. Again,

be used local stuff. We have chicken liver parfait. It is all

chicken liver parfait. It is all classically need. I think it is

important to source the food locally. They may know how the pigs

have been raid and how sustainable We are in Carmarthen on the

quayside at where the boys going the water to catch their fish. They

crossed the river with nets and slowly trawled a small part of the

river. The customer can probably have the savant -- salmon within

two or three days of being caught. It has got to be cured, it gets

smoked for up to 16 hours, and then we Bonett and it is ready to go.

They catch the salmon on the Monday and they could be eating it in a

restaurant on the Thursday or Friday. Hopefully, over the next

couple of days, we will definitely get some fish for the Royal Welsh.

Here you are at the Royal Welsh Show for the first time. What has

the response be like? Really positive, we are absolutely

thrilled. We are just starting to warm up. What is the ethos of it?

It is coming back to using the seasons, using the locality, we

have got lots of everything and traditional methods calls stopped

what tie your hopes for Cnwd in the future? For just pushing forward,

and hopefully people will realise the quality we have got here.

looks delicious and sounds great. Did you know the Royal Welsh site

This year we have the current world champion judging the farriery

competition and it is hotting up. Last year, I had the honour of

showing a sheep on behalf of the Earle family. Despite my success in

the ring last year, I'm not actually going to be showing this

year, but I've still got a huge responsibility. I will be helping

to prepare one of the best known dairy cows in Wales - Spirte Rosina

- who won the Supreme Championship at the Show last year. But I'll be

doing this under the watchful eye of my adopted family for the week,

the Davies family from Whitland and their team of helpers.

How many cars have you got here? 420. How are you selecting which

animals go to the show? We know a long time before the show which

ones are good enough to go to the show. We tried to buy the more on a

different diet, on straw. They are in the other shed on the other side.

Hello Sian. Everybody is on the go, getting ready. What do you have to

do to get a cow ready for the Royal Welsh Show? She is cared for and

are fed appropriately put the washing part is very important. You

want them to look their best in the ring. Her what you need me to do at

the Royal Welsh Show? Figures really important to keep the colour

scheme during the show and part of that is looking after the real end

so I think you are going to be on the bucket. Typical! Is this your

champion? No, she's out of the same family, but she is in the other

said -- shed so we can go and have a look at her. She looks absolutely

magnificent and a huge. When she is in the show ring with her head up,

she is one of those cows who thinks she is something.

You have arrived and you have brought a team with you as well.

is very important because they can never be enough hands. Who have you

got with you? My nephews and nieces and my friend Kevin and his son.

They have all got their jobs. Fantastic. Look at that! Beautiful.

When do you want me to start? can start now. I need a bit of

practice before you start filming. Comeback on Wednesday.

Coming up: We'll have our first visit of the

week to the Royal Welsh World Mounted Games as riders from eight

countries fight it out for the coveted title.

We witness the return of the Dexters - everybody's favourite

bite-size beef cattle are back at the Royal Welsh Show.

And we pop into the main ring to see one of this year's star

attractions at the Show - the Cossacks and their amazing horse

This has got to be one of the noisiest and most crowded places on

the Royal Welsh Showground. The fur and feather pavilion features birds

of all kinds for the first two days before feather moves over and makes

way for fur on Wednesday. Today, the pavilion is full of birds of

every shape, size and colour - over 1,000 of them. Some of the birds

have quite exotic sounding names, like the Chinese geese being

exhibited here today by Sue Black from Swansea.

In the evenings I come home from work, because I teach, and I only

broke up on Friday, and it is really relaxing to go to the field

and see all my poetry. -- poultry. It is a really nice hobby to have.

I have kept chickens and ducks for about 30 years but I have only been

exhibiting for eight or nine. They are lovely clean birds. At this

time of year, as long as it is not too many, all I have to do is

spruce up the legs and maybe washed the beat a little bit and then he

is already to go. But he is looking How did you get on? Her I got a

second today. Never mind. It would have been nice to have had a first.

It is one of those things. It is all down to personal preference. I

did ask the judge whether there was anything wrong. He said it was very

close. Why do you like Chinese geese? I know they are noisy but

they are exceptionally friendly. For these can be quite fear some.

These are not. It is looking around, not wanting to attack anybody or

anything. Well done for getting a very good second. First next time.

Thank you very much. With showing as with most things in

life, it helps if you start young, and Gareth Hamer from Burry Port

near Llanelli has been showing his Dexter cattle for 10 years - since

he was nine-years-old. Dexters as a breed missed out on the Show last

year, but now they're back with a This is a breed that proves that

size really doesn't matter. Originally from Ireland, they've

earned their popularity over the last 100 years, especially with

smallholders. Gareth has 30 of them as well as his herd of commercial

Charolais cattle. How does he explain the appeal of the Dexter?

When I was nine, I was not very tall, I am not all now but I was

even shorter them. I just carried on from there. This year I have got

a cow and calf and I have got my two-year-old Paul and I have got a

yearling heifer. If it is nice to see them back at the Royal Welsh

Show. Yes, it is. It has put people off a bit from coming back but

hopefully we will keep them back. How are the nerves? Not too bad at

the moment. It is just a case of what the judge like us. I can't

help that. Best of luck and we will I have a very proud father joining

me to watch Gareth as he goes around the ring. The story so far,

two seconds and now it is the heifer. How is he doing? He is

doing very well. The cattle he has been against have been of a good

standard. Are you surprised that he has stuck with the Dexters. It was

not just a passing child would fancy. Yes, slightly, but I can see

now he is getting more passionate for it. He has put a lot of time

and effort into looking after them and the breeding of them and I can

see him sticking to it for quite some time. Congratulations. He did

not come at the top of the class but he did himself proud. He did

himself proud. He has not made a fool of himself out. He controlled

the animal, which is the most important thing in the ring, but

that was the Judge's decision on True

This is one of the most energetic and competitive events here at the

Royal Welsh Show this year. In a brand new competition, 17 countries

have been whittled down to eight to compete in the semi-final and final

of the Royal Welsh World Mounted Games here at the Show.

John Griffiths, you what share of the Royal Welsh World Mounted Games.

Who is left in the competition? have England, France, Ireland,

Wales, America, Northern Ireland and we have Germany. This you have

at the qualifying event in Chepstow. Do they start afresh from here? His

yes, they qualify, and once they get here they start on a zero

points. It is extra exciting this year because this is the first time

the final has been held at the Royal Welsh Show. It goes all over

the world and this year, Wales are the hosts. We want to give up the

ride is something to remember. -- riders. Alex, you're in the England

team but you are not taking part because your pony has got an injury.

That means you are the ideal person to tell me what's going on. There

are 20 individual games and each one Tests something slightly

different. Speed, stamina, skill, how you have a shaky hand when you

are nervous, it is basically a relay race. Four riders go out in

each race and the first one across the line picks up eight points.

Here we have the Welsh team captain, Huw Whitney. How did it go? Not as

well as we would have liked, we are lying in 5th, but the crowd is

amazing. If what is the competition like? The competition is great.

There is a lot of nerves. It is so close, it is brilliant. It could go

either way at the moment. France have got the lead but we have got

13 games tomorrow so anything could happen. I am just a very proud

Welshman and I am so glad to be doing it. You look like you need a

bucket of water so I will let you And don't forget, we'll be back at

the games tomorrow for a chat with the Welsh team and to see who comes

out on top at the Royal Welsh World Mounted Games.

It's been a fantastic first day here at the Show. Don't forget,

we'll be back again tomorrow night on BBC Two Wales at 7:30pm. And if