President for Suffolk Show 2013 announced
Lord Deben, The Countess of Euston, Stephen Cobbald
This year’s president of the Suffolk Show is Acton sheep farmer Stephen Cobbald with the Countess of Euston as the President-Elect.
Mr Cobbald has attended the show since he was 13 years old, stewarded for 35 years and has held various roles including deputy director twice, and is a sponsor. He said the presidency was an honour that came ‘completely out of the blue.’
“This is the kind of thing that happens to other people. It is an honour to be doing something I feel passionate about and love doing,” he said.
Mr Cobbald has 250 crossbred commercial sheep and 35 Texels, the latter mainly to graze the strips of land he cannot farm. He has successfully shown both breeds up and down the country. He is a former chairman and president of the Suffolk Sheep Society.
He is a former rugby player for Bury St Edmunds, with 11 years in the front row.
He is still involved in the National Farmers Union and has been a Suffolk delegate representing the county at national council.
The Cobbald family have farmed in Suffolk for about 500 years and bought land at Acton Hall about a century ago, building a 4,500 acre contract farming business of which Stephen still farms 2300 acres.
His sons also work in agriculture, one running a dairy herd of more than 1,000 cattle in South Island, New Zealand, the oldest managing a 3500 acre estate in Newmarket.
His daughter Charlotte is studying at Ipswich High School but shows Texels and sheepdogs up and down the country.
Suffolk Show is on May 29 and 30 at Trinity Park, Ipswich.
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Weather for Bury St Edmunds
Monday 20 May 2013
Today
Light showers
Temperature: 9 C to 15 C
Wind Speed: 18 mph
Wind direction: North
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 6 C to 13 C
Wind Speed: 21 mph
Wind direction: North
