Masham Sheep Festival

Last weekend a bunch of us went to the Masham Sheep Festival, an event I've been looking forward to for more than a year.

Masham Sheep Festival

According to the festival website: "Masham boasts one of the largest and finest market squares in England, famous for its sheep sales where in the past as many as 70,000 sheep were sold each year. The popular Masham Sheep Fair commemorates these times, raising much money for charity, and filling the town with sheepy fun and entertainment."

Some of the "sheepy entertainment" included sheep doing the Hustle (really! Watch the video here), sheep races, sheepdog herding, sheep shearing, and sheep shows.

I had no idea there were so many different types of sheep. My favorites were the Oxford Downs and the Wensleydales. They were so fluffy!

Wensleydale

Oxford Down

The sheep races were so fun. They had four different sheep who jumped over wooden hurdles to chase after a guy with a bucket of food. People were even placing bets on the winners!

Sheep races

These poor guys got a bit confused halfway through.

We also got to see a border collie shepherd ducks around various obstacles.

The main event at the festival was the sheep show. Farmers from all over brought their stock to the market.

No day in the dales is complete without some ice cream. What a perfect way to end a fantastic day!