Crab Fair at Egremont

At this time of the season entries tend to thin out, with the exception of Alwinton Show which this year will be hosting the All Weights Championship.

So it proved on Saturday at the Crab Fair at Egremont with the absence of a number of senior wrestlers, for varying reasons, meaning that younger competitors and some enthusiastic locals were able to pick up a share of some good prize money.

One such local, Ben Caine, had won the under 15 class last year and proved too strong against younger but more experienced opponents to retain his title, and then followed that by wrestling up to Thomas Gibson in the Under 18 class.

The senior winners were all well experienced in the sport.

Eleven stone Champion Andrew Carlile cruised through the lightweights and wrestled up to the Brocklebank brothers, Graham and Thomas, in the middleweights and heavyweights respectively.

Cyril Bragg, the judge of the most meritorious performance in the wrestling, commented on the skill he had displayed in winning his falls, as he awarded him the Guinness Trophy.

Gemma Coulthard`s procession of wins continued in the Ladies section as she again displayed the art of well executed inside clicks which have become a particularly effective weapon in her armoury.
Sunday saw the second attempt to run the wrestling, and other events, at Gosforth Show. At the original Show in mid August a deluge had led to the afternoon`s timetable being abandoned and a decision by the committee to try to complete the unfinished business. This second instalment also saw a return to the ringside of the regular wrestling correspondent, Roger Robson, after an absence of a couple of months due to health issues. His report on the proceedings comments:

The wrestling took place behind a hedge, but there was a roped and mown ring. The Waberthwaite Academy wrestlers from down the road were there to compete, but so also were the Hindmarsh family from the high Cheviots, the Stainton/Hodgson clan from the Howgills, and a couple of wrestlers from Carlisle Wrestling Club. With ten categories there was a long afternoon of action for the young wrestlers. Tom Johnson, with his whippets, judged all afternoon and then took off his jacket to win the All Weights; William Hindmarsh`s long journey from Upper Coquetdale was rewarded with two wins; and Michael Kirkham encouraged his protégés in the age classes then felled them all in the 10 and 12 stone classes.

Welcome back Roger.

Egremont Crab Fair

Event	First	Second	Third
Under 12 Years	M Hodgson	L Wilson	B Rutherford
Under 15 Years	B Caine	H Wilson	M Hodgson
Under 18 Years	T Gibson	B Caine	M Kirkham
Ladies	G Coulthard	L Wilson	T Wilson
11½ Stones	A Carlile	M Kirkham	H Wilson
13 Stones	G Brocklebank	A Carlile	A Price
All Weights	T Brocklebank	A Carlile	G Brocklebank

Thropton Show

Event	First	Second	Third
Under 10 Years	R Mackay	J Wilkins	L Mason
Under 12 Years	M Bates	W Aycliffe	E Brewis
Under 15 Years	T Davidson	F Roberts	O Mason
Under 18 Years	Joe Hale	Z Singleton	O Mason
Girls Under 16 Years	A Hindmarsh	A Bates	H Dennis

Gosforth Show

Event	First	Second	Third
Under 12 Years	W Hindmarsh	M Hodgson	J Pritt
Girls Under 12 Years	C Capstick	L Wilson	E-A Stainton
Under 14 Years	H Wilson	T Hodgson	J Connor
Under 16 Years	H Wilson	W Hindmarsh	T Hodgson
Under 18 Years	M Kirkham	H Wilson	T Hodgson
Ladies	G Coulthard	A Hindmarsh	C Capstick
8 Stone	W Hindmarsh	J Connor	T Clarke
10 Stone	M Kirkham	H Wilson	M Hodgson
12 Stone	M Kirkham	H Wilson	J Connor
All Weights	T Johnson	H Wilson	M Kirkham