The top team tasked with delivering this summer’s Perth Show is moving into top gear as the two-day agricultural extravaganza approaches.
Cattle expert Robert Gilchrist, chief executive of the prestigious Aberdeen-Angus Society, takes up the reins as chairman of Perthshire Agricultural Society for its 161st Show.
And he says he’s pulled together a “top team” to help stage a show to remember on Perth’s South Inch on Friday and Saturday, August 4 and 5.
Robert (45) has a farming background with family farms on the Carse of Gowrie and has been attending Perth Show since he was a boy.
He said: “Perth Show is one of the best county agricultural events in the country and it’s an absolute honour to head up the 2023 event.
“Previous chairmen have set hard acts to follow but I hope to build on their successes and help make this year bigger and better than ever with something to draw both the agricultural community and the public together.
“Organising something on this scale is a team effort, however, and in order to produce the standard expected of the two-day showcase, I had to have a top team around me.”
That top team comes in the form of agronomist David Barclay as vice chairman, civil servant Phil Murrie as junior vice chairman and new secretary, primary teacher Jen Leslie.
David (36) also comes from a farming background and, having moved to Perth from Berwickshire 15 years ago, soon involved himself in the local agricultural society.
An agronomist with AGRII, David has been a director of Perth Show for 11 years.
Born in Methven, the son of the local blacksmith, Phil (45) now lives in Blairgowrie and works in Perth while his family farms at Dunning. He has been involved with the Perth Show for the past 17 years.
Jen, who has family farming connections in East Lothian, takes over as secretary from the long-standing Neil Forbes and is looking forward to her first Show in the role.
Jen joined the Perth Show team in 2010 and was junior vice chairman for three years before relinquishing her position to take on the secretary’s role.
Supported by a large team of fellow volunteers, office bearers are well on the way to delivering “a show to remember” with a greater diversity of entertainment for all the family and already around 1300 livestock and equestrian entries signed up across a record-breaking number of classes.
This year, Perth Show will host two national cattle shows – the Scottish Hereford National Show and the Limousin Cattle Annual Grand Prix.
And both look certain to attract one of the country’s largest gatherings of these popular breeds this year.
Chairman Robert said that securing the two national breed showcases for Perth was a real “cattle coup” for this year’s event.
“Perth Show 2023 is well on the way to being a record-breaking event boosted by the entries both these national gatherings will attract,” he said.
“We would expect to see some of the finest Limousin and Herefords in the country on display at Perth, turning the national spotlight for their breeds on the city this August.”
He added: “Perth Show is a grand day out.
“This event is unique among county agricultural shows in that it is held in the heart of a city, allowing local people to get a real sense of the country and the farming community right on their doorstep.
“It’s not just about providing a get-together for farmers.
“We offer entertainment for all the family by diversifying into a food and drink festival, skills demonstrations, show ground entertainment, educational activities and a wealth of agriculture related interests, appealing to a much wider audience and truly bringing city and country together in a two-day special.”
