Keswick Tup Fair
“I love the smell. I couldn’t tell you why but that scent from a woolly Herdwick has a homely feel and carries my thoughts into an active farmyard and a sense of belonging and purpose.”
The amateur judging is open and I’ve picked out four of the brown Herdwick tups in the hoggs class. I have no expectations of picking the same sheep as the judges will.
Now the show has started, ‘best mouth’ has been chosen and next up is a group of tups. In the central ring, there is a scattering of sheep, and people who are looking and herding and holding, and occasionally chasing a sheep that makes a run for it. Herdwicks don’t like to be enclosed but generally they’re on really good behaviour today. They’re big beasts, and in these groups, they are different ages. Some are brown - the hoggs, which are a year old - then there are the dark grey shearlings or twinters (two-year olds), then the older tups, which are often lighter in colour.
I love the smell. I couldn’t tell you why but that scent from a woolly Herdwick has a homely feel and carries my thoughts into an active farmyard and a sense of belonging and purpose.
The winners for the ‘Group of Tips’ are announced: 1st Antony Hartley | 2nd Peter Bland | 3rd Joe Weir
The next class if for the Best Aged Tup. While some people are focused on holding sheep carefully for the judges, others stand around the pens, and chat. The Keswick Tup Fair, or the May Fair, is held each year on the first Thursday after the Third Wednesday in May. Traditionally, the gathering was a place where farmers would return tups (male sheep) that they had borrowed over the breeding season. Today, it’s more of a chance to catch up after the busyness of lambing and the months of winter (although, as more than one farmer said, ‘We’ve barely had a winter this year’. With the last couple of years of isolation through Covid lockdowns, its social function is perhaps more valuable than ever.
The hands of men and women in the ring are red from holding the sheep, which have been rubbed with show red. And when the sheep are let go so the judges can see them move, more than a few people rub their wrists, and shake their hands out from the strain of holding animals that would far prefer to be on the hill.
Catching up on news
While we wait for judges to make choices, Rob and I chat with some of the farmers we know - less about the sheep in front of us, and more about the bigger picture. What could happen as BPS - the Basic Payment Scheme - is phased out. No one yet knows what payments might become available, and many people here are making decisions in the hope that they will pay off. Despite being utterly ‘bamboozled’ by the lack of clarity in the plans for new payment schemes, one farmer tells us he’s not pessimistic about the future. ‘Whatever’s ahead,’ he says, ‘there’s always a young man waiting, ready to take it on.’ It’s encouraging to hear this optimism, even though I know it’s certainly not a universal sentiment. And with the war between Ukraine and Russia inevitably going to impact economies across the world, there is plenty of anxiety about how farmers in the uplands are going to make ends meet. As it always has been for farmers, the key is to adapt. Sometimes, though, this is far from easy.
Judges decisions - and the Edmonson Cup
The judges announce Jean Wilson as winner of the Aged Tup class, with Joe Weir and Anthony Hartley in 2nd and 3rd places. In the next class - for ‘two shears’ - the Herdwicks from Knott Houses prove to be the jumpiest, and are a challenge to hold still. The judges walk round them, check the teeth, watch them move around, then ask for the sheep to be brought back again, and line them up in preference. For this round, Anthony Hartley takes 1st place.
The most coveted award from the Keswick Tup Fair is the Edmonson Cup. While the judges decide this there seems to be a notable hush. The cup goes to Stanley Jackson, who also won best shearling in an earlier class.
Stanley Jackson and his Herdwick Tup, with the Edmonson Cup
It’s just over a month since we saw Stanley at Nook Farm, where he was a tenant for 40 years; on that day he was handing over the landlord’s flock to the new tenant, Craig Fearon. But like any farmer, retirement doesn’t mean giving up: Stanley has kept some of his own, best Herdwicks, and winning this award today is confirmation of their quality, and his own skill as a shepherd. It’s something he passes on within the commoning community, through inspiration, competition, and companionship. The cup, with his name on it, will be passed through the community for many years to come - providing the tradition of farming, and holding the Keswick Show, continues.
With thanks to all the commoners at the Tup Fair, who are always so generous in sharing their time and chatting with us.