Axes and wellies at Buckinghamshire Young Farmers Rally

A fun day out for all the family promises animals, machinery, tug of war, a thrilling display of axe work and even a welly wang competition.
Members of Aylesbury Young Farmers Club at the 2015 Bucks rallyMembers of Aylesbury Young Farmers Club at the 2015 Bucks rally
Members of Aylesbury Young Farmers Club at the 2015 Bucks rally

The annual Buckinghamshire Young Farmers Rally is this year hosted by Aylesbury seniors and juniors, and everyone is welcome to help them celebrate British food and farming.

Marketed as Waddesdon Country Show, the rally takes place at The Bail on the Waddesdon estate on Saturday June 4.

Main ring attractions include The Welsh Axemen and the hugely popular tug of war competition between the YFC clubs.

The axemen describe themselves thus: “In a nutshell it’s using razor sharp axes in competition to simulate the felling of a tree, and cutting it up into lengths. So it’s a work derived sport.

“It’s origins were in the early lumber camps of Australia, New Zealand and Canada, but now its spread around the globe.”

The spectacular finale involves a tree climb, so this is sure to be a nail biting display.

Making its rally debut this year is The Big Welly Wang with teams of four invited to take on the challenge with their wellie boots. The aim is to test your strength and skill and there are over £200 worth of vouchers to be won.

So if you want to put together a team of family, friends, sports teams or work colleagues, go to the show website at www.waddesdoncountryshow.co.uk to register and enter your team for free.

If you go to the country show primarily to see the animals there will be more than ever this year with The Green Dragon Rare Breeds Farm and Eco Centre taking along some of their four legged friends, and the ever popular Sheep Show will present an entertaining and informative show with a grand finale of sheep dancing.

All of this plus plenty of food and trade stands, arts, crafts , a vintage tractor parade and rural craft demonstrations.

The highlight for all the Buckinghamshire YFC clubs that take part is of course the competitions. The members work for weeks and sometimes months to prepare for the annual competitions in the hope of winning the coveted rally trophy.

Competitions such as stock judging take place on the day, but many entries are made at home and brought in for judging. These can include home baked goods, carpentry and iron work items, photograph and craft work.

Entry tickets are £10 for adults, £5 for children (aged six to 16), under fives free. A family ticket costs £25 for two adults and up to three children.

Follow updates about the show preparation at www.facebook.com/waddesdoncountryshow2016

The picture above shows members of Aylesbury Seniors YFC at last year’s rally.

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