When it comes to the Royal Highland Show, few will have seen it from the many perspectives of Fife farmer Clark Stewart, Kininmonth.
As a former director, chief sheep steward and chair of RHASS, Clark ,who also has a history of exhibiting at the Ingliston event, has many stories to tell.
Clark’s connection to the show began back in 1960 when he got the day off to exhibit sheep at Ingliston.
Check out more of these photos in our Photo Sales section here
He said: “I got out of school to show sheep in 1960 and 1961, but as the show had just moved to Ingliston permanently, there was no tarmac or roads as such. It was a real wet year and a good friend of mine hadn’t brought any wellies with him, so his dad had to bring him some the next day because it was so muddy. The show used to be from Tuesday to Friday, so I basically got the whole week off of school for it. It was worth it too – we were the reserve champion for our Border Leicester the first year we showed.”
READ MORE | Countdown to the Royal Highland Show 2024
Clark’s father, also Clark, was chief sheep steward that year, so he was responsible for showing the farm’s Border Leicesters and North Country Cheviots.
“Before they had the herdsman huts, there would be a sheet of canvas at the back of the sheep lines and that’s where you would stay for the four days,” he recalled. “Father moved up to become a show director so from 1963, I would come and show on my own.
“I always felt quite at home along the sheep lines. The sheep used to be where the cattle are now and before they built the Highland Hall there used to be a row of old trees covering the sheep ring. It was a nice, shady place on a sunny day but also you found a lot of the crowd there trying to take shelter when it would rain.”
Check out more of these photos in our Photo Sales section here
In 1993, Clark followed in his father’s footsteps by joining the show committee as a director and chief sheep steward. “I was on the Highland Show committee for 24 years in total,” he said. “I was chairman just before I retired in 2017. I really enjoyed my time as a director as I was very much involved in the business. On the board we had 44 members so most decisions were committee decisions where we all had to be in agreement.”
READ MORE | RHASS chair excited for this year's show at Ingliston
When Clark was a director, it was under former chief executive Ray Jones. “Ray was very much a catalyst who transitioned the show into a viable business,” he said. “The show is very different now compared to when I first joined the board. It is still a great event for socialising and with business attached.
“It needs that business to run it but at its core – it should always be about the social aspect.”
When Clark took over as chairman, he was held accountable for a lot of the show’s decisions.
“I was chair the very wet year in 2012,” he said. “ I remember walking around the show and then getting accosted by a person who had a stand. The guy knew who I was because of my name badge and he just had a go at me for the state of the show and the lack of foot traffic. Obviously I can’t control the weather and it is an outdoor show but he needed someone to get his anger out so I just stood there and took it.
“Later, the show manager and myself got a couple of spades and started digging to let some of the water drain away, so you can’t say we weren’t mucking in.”
Clark has also had many opportunities to travel through RHASS, which included a visit to the Chinese Agri Exhibition in 2011. “Four of us from RHASS went out to China to see the Agri Exhibition which spanned 150 acres with around 1.8 million visitors over 10 days – it made the Highland Show look like a Mickey Mouse event in comparison,” said Clark.
“You didn’t walk around the exhibition – you could only shuffle as it was so busy. It was quite an experience. Afterwards we were invited to a meal and some karaoke on this terrace. I think. Fortunately for everyone when it came to our turn to sing, the heavens opened and it started to pour with rain and the night was called to an end.”
Check out more of these photos in our Photo Sales section here
Clark was also invited to Buckingham Palace to celebrate Princess Anne’s 60th birthday.
“Princess Anne is a patron of RHASS so when the invite came through I thought why not – when will this happen again? There were representatives from around 120 charities that Anne is patron of so it was a busy party full of lots of interesting people.”
Even with all the experiences he has had, Clark still holds the belief that it’s the people he has met through showing that have had the biggest impact on him. “The amount of people I met through the show circuit is phenomenal and I still regard them as friends. There was a guy from the Borders we would always meet showing and afterwards go for a drink together. Then it would come to sale time and he would buy a few tups from us at Kelso and we would go for a drink. Now we are both retired and we still meet up for a drink for the company.”
Clark has been asked to judge all the main shows in the UK including the Highland, Royal Welsh, Balmoral and the old Royal Show.
“I never really wanted to judge the Highland as in most of the exhibitors’ eyes, the judge is always wrong but it ticked a box,” he said.
“I’ve judged the Border Leicesters and the inter-breed so I have seen the show from that perspective. You really see the crème de la crème of stock come out at the Highland. Showing is, however, very time-consuming and you need to put a lot of effort into it. I remember when we would show, dad would start feeding his sheep in November in preparation for the Highland in June. These days I wouldn’t feed sheep for a show, but we only really show locally now.”
Clark spends most of his time at home on the farm now where he still keeps his hand in. His two sons, Allan and John, are in charge of running Kininmonth, alongside neighbouring units Ladeddie and Burn Square.
“I am happy here. I have lived at Kininmonth since I was two-and-half years old and I have been happily married to my wife Sheila for 54 years,” he said. “We got married the weekend after the Highland Show. The show ran from Tuesday to Friday and we got married on the Saturday! But now my sons are the ones running the farm.”
The family manages a total of 900 acres with an additional 150 acres on leases and loans. John manages the cattle comprising 180 suckler cows that are all crossed to Aberdeen Angus bulls, and some 500 acres of cereals, while Allan is in charge of the sheep. The 350 ewes at Kininmonth are a mix of pedigree Border Leicesters, Suffolks and Beltex, run alongside a commercial breeding flock.
Check out more of these photos in our Photo Sales section here
“We have fewer Border Leicesters these days as they don’t seem to be as popular. We used to have Cheviots but we dispersed them in the mid-1970s. I still go round and feed the stock as I don’t really like the word ‘retired’. If I didn’t feed the animals I would have nothing to do and I have the whole day to do it in.”
The sheep lamb over six weeks from February through to April, while the cattle are mostly spring calving with heifers calving at 22 months. The best of the heifers are retained as herd replacements with bulls only being bought in either through the auction mart or privately.
Looking to the future, Clark hopes the next generation have it in hand. “I think we could definitely diversify but it’s not up to me. Both my sons work hard at what they do.
My eldest grandson David is back from working at silage in New Zealand so he has come back to work on the farm. My other grandchildren are at school so it’s up to them if they want to get involved.”
Farm Facts
Farm size and topography: 900 acres owned over the three units of Kinninmonth, Ladeddie, and Burn Square with an additional 150 acres rented. The highest point rises to 700ft above sea level.
Who is involved: Clark with sons John and Allan, with help from grandson David, and seasonal help from neighbouring farmer Andrew Robertson.
Livestock: 350 ewes including pedigree Border Leicester, Suffolks, and Beltex, alongside a commercial flock, and 180 commercial suckler cows.
Arable: 500 acres of grain
On The Spot
Favourite show? I enjoy Fife, and I enjoyed showing at the Highland and Border Union in Kelso.
One thing you can’t live without? My wife Sheila.
Biggest investment on farm? Buying the other farms and building sheds.
Most memorable year at RHS? The very wet year in 2012, and the year we had new chief executive Alan Laidlaw was quite a big change.
Something you miss from RHS? The camaraderie, we would have so much fun and I have so many stories from the days I spent staying there over the show week.
Thoughts on the future? I think we should diversify more on the farm but it’s really all up to the next generation.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here