Autumn Show Trophy Winners 2009

After the successful switch of this event to a Friday evening in 2008, it was decided to continue in that vein in 2009 and the Club was rewarded with a turnout of 47 members and friends. There were a good number of entries including those from younger members, two of which gained second and third prizes for Harris McCarthy and Olivia Jarman respectively. Sue Bright collected three out of the seven Trophies, whilst four different members of the McCarthy family, Anthea, Harris, Sean and Tracey gained prizes.

The Trophies presented by the Club’s Vice Chairman, Jeremy Schroeter, were as follows:

Interspersed with the viewing and judging of the seven classes above, there were opportunities to taste a range of red and white wines as well as soft drinks and complemented with some delicious warm savoury snacks with dips and the well established hedgehog of mature cheese and pineapple prepared by Sarah-Jane Davies.

Brian Ray
Secretary

(All photographs by Alan Walker)

Hempstead & District Gardeners’ Club Annual Shows 2009

Annual Show on Saturday 11th July 2009

Although the last week in June and first week in July had been warm and ideal for growing produce, unfortunately the days immediately before the Annual Show were to bring much heavy rain, which did have an adverse impact on entries particularly in the flower classes; however, there was a total of 316 entries from 19 adults and 64 children lower than in the previous year, but certainly the number of entries in the domestic classes had increased considerably and included quite a number from children, most notably from Ben, Robert and Sophie Boreham, all of whom secured prizes, with Sophie remarkably claiming two First, two Second and one Third prizes. The Children’s Classes once again had a large number of entries from Radwinter Primary School, co-ordinated by Claire Dittrich, to whom we have to say a special thank you, and also from the Pre-School.

Jan Rennie headed the Lady competitors, winning the President’s Cup for the lady with the most points, along with the Fruit Cup (Fruit), the Colonel Smith Award (Flower Arranging) and the Domestic Trophy (Cookery & Craft), whilst Jeremy Schroeter headed the male competitors for the second year running, taking the Ken Jones’ Cup for the man with the most points, along with the Sidney Haylock Cup (Vegetables) and the Harding Cup (Fruit & Vegetables). Dominic Easterbrook (A very young winner at the age of 4) took the Sue Walker Cup for Children 8 years and under, Katie Scott retained the June Jones Cup for Children from 9 to 16 years and Lauren Porthouse the Margaret Lambkin Cup (Best Handwriting) both of these for the second year running.

The list of trophy winners was as follows:

Annual Horse and Pony Show on Sunday 19th July 2009

The Sunday of the Show on 19th July 2008 started as a bright, fresh day with a gently cooling breeze but by mid-afternoon rain had descended as a damper on the final stages of the Show. The number of competitors in the Horse and Pony Classes was particularly encouraging with 65 horses and ponies providing over 140 entries to the different classes on offer. The Show ran smoothly from its start at 9 am until its close at around 3.30 pm. David, Meryl and Sophie Haylock, as hosts of the event, had, as always, gone to great trouble in preparing excellent and challenging fences along with fine facilities for a superb day; in addition there were other horse and rider related events that attracted a good number of enthusiasts and spectators. There was increased interest in the dog showing events, which were handled very successfully by Liza Howlett.

The BBQ team of Sarah-Jane Davies, Jeremy Schroeter, Susan Ray, Hanne Greville-Morris, Paul Davies, Sean McCarthy and Diana Frost provided a fine feast of BBQ food for all, including some special vegetarian delights donated by Jan Rennie, which were as usual snapped up very quickly. Cold and hot drinks were in steady demand throughout the day with a late surge for thirst quenching cups of tea in the closing stages.

Autumn Show Trophy Winners 2008

Hempstead Gala Weekend 2008

The Annual Show had a good level of entries in all classes except handicrafts. The schedule has 57 Adult Classes and 18 Children's. For these we received:

The Children's entries were slightly down on last year, but this was still a great turnout. The flowers, vegetables, cookery section and children's entries all had a fabulous turnout with some particularly tough competition in the vegetable section. Delightfully, this was won by Jeremy Schroeter this year. We thank Radwinter Primary School for their support and especially Claire Dittrich who brought all their exhibits to Hempstead and, of course, thanks go to all the judges who gave up their time for this event.

Gt Sampford held their Show on the same day as Hempstead and as the Sampford Society are affiliated to the PTA now, the PTA did not want to hold their Show on the 19th as they considered this too close to the end of term. For the benefit of judges and entrants we will ask them to avoid our dates in 2009 if possible.

With regard to handicraft; whether it is woodwork or metal work; or any form of sewing, knitting, embroidery or other stitch work; we would love to see more entries here.

The results of the Annual Show were:

Congratulations to everyone.

The Horse Show was attended by fewer entrants this year but this did not diminish the quality of the event or the fun had by all who came. Whilst the early morning Show classes were less well attended, the numbers picked up as time progressed and the Open Jumping in the afternoon had some closely contested jump-offs. Rosettes were soon to be seen on many a bridle with wonderful smiles on the faces of the riders as a reward for all their hard work and smart turnout.

The Dog Show, kindly run by Kat Beresford, was extremely popular with the tiniest of dogs managing to go over a few jumps. The Club manned the BBQ again and everyone was kept well nourished and watered, including the dogs! The weather remained good all day and Mr Haylock's field at Hill Farm, Hempstead was in excellent condition again. Let's hope word spreads and there are more competitors next year. Thanks to David and Meryl Haylock for a great village day out.

AUTUMN SHOW & SOCIAL EVENING

Schedule of Classes & Awards

1. Harold Blyth Cup
   A collection of 3 different kinds of vegetables or 3 different kinds of fruit
2. The June Jones Cup
   A butternut squash grown from seeds given out at the AGM in March 2007
3. The Mary Green Cup
   A vase containing 3 different varieties of perennials, to be judged on the quality of the blooms
4. The David Haylock Rose Bowl
   A country style arrangement including dahlias (may be bought)
5. The Domestic Trophy
   A (dessert) mince flan
6. The Coffey Cup
   A picture including seasonal items such as conkers and acorns
7. The Evelyn Arnold Cup
   A photograph depicting Autumn

Annual Show 2007

Preparation for the Annual Show starts in February, when we send out our invitations to the judges and set about creating the schedule. Whilst the flower, fruit and vegetable classes vary only a little each year, the Cookery section and children’s classes take time to formulate. We try out some recipes in advance and for the children’s section, we ask the opinion of Radwinter Primary School teachers to try to ensure we aim the classes appropriately.

As soon as the Gardeners’ Mart is complete at the end of May we set about appointing tasks both in advance of the Annual Show and for the day itself. These events are a total team effort and cannot take place without everyone pulling their weight and being reliable. Paperwork for the show judging has to be set out to match the schedule, table title cards prepared and lists for entrants. Prize tickets, programmes, entry forms and exhibitor tickets have to be printed; money for the children’s prizes collected and placed in envelopes with matching stickers to the prize cards. Teas and coffees provided, tables to be set out and clad in their cloths and screens, and all the cups must be collected, checked over and polished - plus many more small jobs that make it all run smoothly.

A healthy Show generates a good degree of conversation afterwards. We have had some judging queries again this year, as we have had in the past, and we continue to review our policy on whether it is right for the judges to make comments or not. I believe it makes for sterile viewing in the afternoon if there are only prize winning cards and names displayed and no added remarks from the judges. Here we have to tread a careful path, as our entrants may be complete novices or total experts in their field, and getting comments right is always tricky. Perhaps we will be a little more reserved with them next year, and see how that goes.

The end result was terrific on the day - 407 entries (a record) from 23 Adults and 85 children and the glorious silverware was awarded as follows:

Congratulations to all our winners. I hope we have inspired many more of you to join in this light-hearted, traditional village fun in 2008.

Horse and Pony Show 2007

Another fine day loomed for the Horse & Pony Show. Last year we baked in 32ºC and could barely keep enough water and drinks inside everyone, but this year was a fine English summer’s day with a gentle breeze - a perfect day for a Horse Show. Entries were at a record high again this year with 73 competitors and horse-boxes everywhere.

Every Ring had a good number of entries and the schedule ran extremely smoothly with only the odd occasion where classes clashed for an entrant and a quick dash from one Ring to another was required.

Kat Beresford ran a Dog Show at the top of the field for added entertainment and it was a great delight to see so many people of all ages with their lovely dogs - all of whom stayed remarkably well-behaved. There were wagging tails, and athletic jumpers everywhere. It was the humans who were having trouble keeping up with their dogs. Hopefully, everyone went home happy and there certainly seemed to be plenty of rosettes to show for it.

The Gardeners’ Club manned the BBQ again this year and sold 290 items of food to the assembled gathering plus a gorgeous vegetarian selection kindly brought along by Jan Rennie. Cold drinks, teas and coffees and crisps rounded off the menu and the profits of this will go to the churchyard fund.

From any profits made at the Horse Show itself, donations will be made to the Sheffield Kidney Donors, Essex Air Ambulance and Corum’s Field in London, with whom Hugh Webster was closely associated before his death in February this year.