A Nottinghamshire businessman who juggles running a busy gym with breeding prize-winning sheep is aiming for a hat-trick of wins at this year’s county show.
George Hoggard, founder of Ollerton-based Manor House Fitness, will swap the barbells for baas when his animals go head-to-head with some of the finest sheep from across the country at the Nottinghamshire County Show on May 10.
The event, which takes place at the Newark Showground, has become renowned for the quality of its livestock competitions, which once again promise to be a highlight of the show, alongside food and drink stands, a daredevil motorbike stunt display, the Nottinghamshire Young Farmers lawnmower race, equestrian events, and music.
George’s sheep – a Charollais shearling ewe – won the coveted Sheep Supreme Championship at the show, sealing its status as Best in Show.
What makes his triumph even more special is that George had won Best in Show in 2023 at his first attempt, when he was just 24.
Now he is looking forward to returning to the event and bidding for the title for a third time.
George first started showing sheep when he was 12, after his grandfather sold off their farm’s 1,000-strong dairy herd.
Using the money he’d saved feeding the cows, he travelled to the livestock sale in Bakewell and bought a Charollais shearling ewe, which he named Dolly.
He said: “After we dispersed the dairy herd, we had a load of empty sheds and I wanted to fill them with something. Since I was too young to get cattle, I decided to get sheep, even though we’d never had sheep at our farm before.
“Charollais sheep offer easy lambing and they’re very fast-growing, but what I like about them is that they look perfect in the show ring.
“I’m really proud to have won two Best in Show titles and I’m looking forward to returning this year. I like taking part because not only does it raise awareness of my sheep, but I’m from Nottinghamshire, so it’s my home show and I want to be there.”
George now has 300 pedigree sheep, including blue and badger face Texels, and while other farms are still relying on traditional methods, he is one of the few farms in the area, or so he believes, to be using embryo transfer to maintain the high genetic gains of his flock.
What made George’s achievement last year even more noteworthy was that at the same time as his sheep was winning her title, on the other side of the show, Ben Beckitt was winning Beef Supreme Championship with his three-year-old Limousin-cross heifer called Pickle.
Ben is also preparing to return to the event again this year and will be showing a pedigree Limousin bull, the first time he has entered the event with a pure breed.
Ben, whose family farm is just a couple of miles away from George’s, has been breeding cattle for eight years, having bought his first heifer in 2016.
Like George, he balances breeding and selling his animals with another source of income by offering livestock services, including foot trimming for cattle.
He said: “I’ve won competitions elsewhere, but last year was my first win at the Nottinghamshire County Show. It was special because my granddad has been a steward there for many years and it’s my local show, which made it more of an honour.
“I wanted to breed my own cattle because I enjoy that side of it and it’s really interesting seeing what you can achieve. Most of my cows are AI’d and I’m always looking at new techniques and different bulls to see what the results are.”
If you want to see George and Ben compete at the show, you can buy tickets for the show, which are currently available at a discounted rate of £14 until May 2, by visiting www.nottinghamshirecountyshow.com
This story was written and shared on behalf of the Nottinghamshire County Show by Simon Burch. Can we share your news and get you in the headlines too? Find out how we can help by getting in touch.
