The increasingly popular Welsh National Poultry Show Weekend, promoted by the Dyfed Poultry Society, took place at the purpose built Brithdir Exhibition Hall on the Pembrokeshire Agricultural Showground, near Haverfordwest, last weekend, with almost 2,000 entries forward from across Wales, many parts of England and even from Scotland.
Waterfowl classes were featured on the Saturday, including the ninth annual breed club member show for the British Call Duck Club, followed by the Dyfed Poultry Society annual dinner in the evening.
On the Sunday, the 40th Welsh National Poultry Club Championship show took place with enthusiastic breeder Cameron Burke taking supreme with a modern game bantam female.
Last year’s overall winner, Derek Howells, was again amongst the main challengers in winners row with his two year old Welsummer bantam cockerel.
From very large to really very small - the world’s smallest Ko-Shamo bantam from Malaysia - the spectacular and understandably noisy event also included the Domestic Waterfowl Club’s Western Championship and regional shows for the Ancona Club, Appenzeller Spitzhauben Society, Black Wyandotte Club, Brahma Club, Cochin Club, Minorca Club, Modern Game Club, New Hampshire Red Club, Plymouth Rock Club, Serama Club, The Rare Breed Poultry Society, Turkey Club (UK), Goose Club, Indian Runner Club and the British Call Duck Club.
The poultry club regulates and administers the poultry show structure and status system. Poultry exhibitions are allocated status according to prestige, size, excellence of organisation etc., and this national championship show is the ‘jewel in the crown’ of all poultry shows and ticked all the boxes.
Shows designated as shampionship shows are regarded by the Poultry Club Council as main shows serving a specific region and they are reassessed annually. In awarding this status, the council take into account the region served, the classification, provision for the area club shows, the venue, support and the public prestige.
Veteran West Wales poultry breeder, David Picton Jones, an international judge who has hardly missed a Dyfed Society show in the past 40 years was full of praise for the exceptionally high quality of the exhibits presented.
“The only problem is that we are all getting older and I would dearly love to see many more youngsters coming forward,” he said.
Main championship winners:
Cameron Burke - supreme champion and champion fowl.
Graham Hicks - reserve supreme, champion waterfowl and champion large duck.
Allen Harding - reserve champion fowl and rare breed.
Jim Christopher - reserve champion waterfowl and goose.
Sean Walsh - trio.
R. J. Best - large hardfeather.
Paul Williams - large softfeather.
Alun Davies - bantam duck and call duck.
Caitlyn Phillips - juvenile.
P. Hayford - eggs.
E. Williamson - arts and crafts.