New CUMNOCK Young Farmers Club held a virtual event this week to mark the New Cumnock Show which was due to take place at the end of May.

The annual show is one of the most anticipated events in the club’s social calendar but had to be cancelled this year due to coronavirus. Although members were disappointed, they were determined not to let the day pass without marking it in some way.

As a result, Lynsey Watt, Club Secretary, and Stewart Watt, Chairman, took inspiration from the success of other local events which have taken place online, like the Catrine Show, and hosted a series of fun competitions to excite kids and club members.

Lynsey said: “We’re the only Young Farmers club within Scotland that holds our own show so we were gutted as it’s normally the highlight of our year. We saw the Catrine Show had done something similar so we knew we had to do something to keep spirit of show alive.

“For the virtual show we arranged three different classes, the Best Animal, the Best Decorated Cake and a Selfie with your Favourite Animal for the under 16s. People entered by uploading their photos to Facebook and the photos with the most likes won. We got fantastic feedback on the day.

“It was something people could do from the comfort of their own home. We weren’t sure how a virtual show would go as not everyone’s got social media but we saw a lot of people who wouldn’t normally come out to the show entering so hopefully those people will attend the actual show next year.”

Other Young Farmers clubs got involved on the day, too, including those from Mauchline and Crossroads, making it an Ayrshire-wide event that was enjoyed by all.

Lynsey said: “Other clubs entered as well so it was good to see them supporting us as we’re one of the smallest clubs in the region.

“We presented the prizes to winners on Sunday which would normally be a rosette or money but we made them hampers this year as a token of appreciation for their support.

“We would have had other shows throughout summer, too, but we’ve been doing Zoom quizzes and games nights as well as making a ‘thank you NHS’ display to keep members entertained.

“The New Cumnock Show will come back next year twice as good.”

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