The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
The importance of putting on a show
The rich history behind agricultural shows in Scotland stretches back almost 200 years
Agricultural shows have a long and distinguished history going right back to the start of farming revolution some 200 years ago. The Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland (HASS) held its first show in Edinburgh on the site of what is now the Scottish Parliament in 1822 and, from the outset, showing livestock was at the heart of the event.
It was, realistically, the only way for farmers to compare animals as the breeds stabilised and performance began to improve. Photography had yet to be invented and livestock portraits of the time were subject to a huge amount of artistic licence.
In earlier centuries, plenty of kings had been attracted to prospective brides on the strength of flattering portraits that didn’t quite match reality. And so too would it have been if someone bought a black bull on the basis of a painting that showed a massive, meatladen trunk supported on impossibly short legs and fronted by the tiniest of heads. So, taking the animals to a show where they could be compared with their peers became a necessity of business.
I have always been intrigued by the story of one renowned exhibitor. Thomas Smith and his forebears farmed at South Powrie near Dundee for nearly 100 years, during which time they built up a famous herd of Aberdeen Angus cattle. Thomas, the last of the line, seemed to have been a very adept breeder and show man. He even exhibited at the Paris show, but his greatest success came in 1901 when his cow Pride of Powrie 9th won the breed championship at the Royal Show, held that year in Cardiff.
I have often wondered about the logistics of moving cattle from Dundee to Cardiff and Paris long before motorised transport became available. Presumably, it was all done by rail and probably very efficiently.
I am more intrigued, though, about Pride of Powrie’s only other show outing that year in Mr Smith’s ownership. She also won the breed championship at Kirriemuir Show. Obviously, it is far closer than Cardiff, but how did it get there? Nowadays it would be a quick 17-mile road journey in a trailer but in 1901 that option wouldn’t exist.
She could have been walked there, of course. Droving was still commonplace, so the distance in itself would not have been too great, but Pride would have had to be a lot fitter than a modern show cow to cover that distance and still look
fresh enough for the show ring. Or she could have been loaded into a horsedrawn float and been transported there, Queen of Sheba-style. If I had been the horse, I would have thereafter held a lifelong grudge against overweight cows and their laziness – it is a good hike from Powrie to Kirrie over the Sidlaws.
The cow could have travelled by train, but she would have had to be taken into Dundee, loaded on to the Forfar train for a circuitous journey through Angus and then transferred on to the Kirriemuir branch line. It makes the Cardiff journey seem easy!
The outing must have been successful, though, because the next time we hear of Pride of Powrie 9th she is at Perth Show, later in the same season, winning the overall cattle championship for her new owner, JE Kerr of Harviestoun.
Perhaps seeing this great cow at Kirriemuir Show had persuaded Mr Kerr to make an offer. Who knows?
Sadly, Thomas Smith died suddenly within a week of the Perth victory , bringing his family’s 96-year tenure at South Powrie to a close.