RUAS reveals this year’s Fair judges

THE Royal Ulster Agricultural Society (RUAS) has announced that Edward Griffiths and Anna Marie McHugh will be on hand to judge the 35th Royal Ulster Winter Fair in association with sole sponsor Danske Bank.

On the day Edward will take control of the cattle classes while the Best Kept Dairy Stall and Trade Stand awards will be judged by Anna Marie.

Edward has a 270-acre family-farm in south Yorkshire where he milks 180 pedigree Holsteins and Jerseys who all share the Coach-gate prefix. With several high-profile judging roles under his belt, Edward has enjoyed travelling to many major shows in the UK and overseas, including the National Holstein shows in the UK, Ireland, Sweden, Slovenia and the New Zealand Dairy event. Edward has also judged the All Dairy Breeds Championships at the Royal Welsh Show, All Ireland Baileys Championships and Agriscot, as well as many UK county shows.

Anna Marie is the current General Secretary of the World Ploughing Organisation (WPO) and National Ploughing Association (NPA) Assistant Managing Director. She grew up on a middle size farm close to Ballylinan, County Laois, where she still lives with her mother, husband and young son. She was very involved in Macra na Ferime growing up and she worked for youth organisation Foroige for several years. She is a former national NPA ‘Queen of the Plough’ and Macra na Ferime ‘Queen of the Land’ winner.

This year the Royal Ulster Winter Fair will take place at the Eikon Exhibition Centre at Balmoral Park, Lisburn, on Thursday, December 9, from 9am to 6pm. To keep up to date with Winter Fair news visit www.winterfair.org.uk or follow Winter Fair on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.