The agricultural show diary for next June looks as if it will be beset by clashes.
The problem is simply a lack of Saturdays before the Highland Show which, it has been confirmed, will run on the third week of the month for at least the next five years.
This year was the first year of the change, which sees the Highland run a week earlier than usual.
The reason is laudable enough and linked to the dates for school holidays across Scotland.
Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland (RHASS) directors want to make very sure the show runs before the schools break up so that as many as possible can visit the show and undertake the various programmes run by the Royal Highland and Education Trust (RHET).
This year 254 schools visited the show with around 6,000 pupils. In total 26,856 of the 178,800 attendees over the four days at Ingliston were children.
An RHASS spokeswoman confirmed that the Highland Show had indeed for the first time published dates five years in advance.
“This has been done to provide certainty for the whole industry,” she said.
The result, however, is a lack of available dates, with three Courier Country shows circling around only two Saturdays. This year the pressure was lifted by Alyth Show agreeing to forego its traditional slot on the third Saturday and just ahead of the Highland and instead taking the last Saturday in the month.
The show last Saturday at Bogles Field, Blairgowrie, was successful enough but entries undeniably suffered, particularly in the cattle sections.
The pre-Highland Saturday was popular with those who wanted to put in an extra day of halter and show-ring experience before heading off for Ingliston.
This year’s post-Highland slot was less popular, with exhibitors and animals perhaps a little jaded after four big days at the Highland. More important, there was also farm work to catch up with.
Alyth Show senior vice-president Ruth King said it was likely that Alyth would reclaim its pre-Highland slot and run on June 13 next year, but this had to be ratified at a committee meeting due to be held next Monday.
This leaves only one Saturday in early June with both West Fife and Angus confirming they will hold their events on June 6.
This is an unfortunate clash, with both shows claiming the date as their traditional one.
This year Angus Show ran on the second Saturday of the month, with the light horse sections taking to the Brechin Castle show field the previous Sunday rather than the day before the agricultural show.
The Angus Agricultural Association chairman Allan Alston confirmed the June 6 day for the main show next year, but said a decision still had to be made about the light horse sections. They could yet be held the same day or the day after it.
Next year’s Highland Show is confirmed to run from Thursday June 18 to Sunday June 21. UPDATE (July 8) – Following a committee meeting held on Monday, July 7, the Alyth Show committee has confirmed they will continue to run their show on the final Saturday of June for the next two years, falling a week behind the Royal Highland for 2015 and 2016.
The 2015 Alyth Show will take place on Saturday, June 27.