Huge congratulations to one of our directors, John Cooke on being elected President of the Westmorland County Agricultural Society (WCAS) for 2026.

We are longstanding supporters of our main local agricultural show, the Westmorland County Show. This is an annual event which now takes place over two days each year, traditionally starting on the second Thursday in September and we always have a stand where we welcome clients, contacts and visitors for a catch up and refreshments.

Established in 1799, the Show regularly attracts over 30,000 visitors, with competitive livestock classes, an equine village, numerous trade stands and food demonstrations, rural crafts and displays. It is an amazing event and is  voted as one of the UK’s favourite Shows. There is also a Spring event known as Country Fest which is another (slightly smaller) event for visitors to discover more about farming, food and the countryside. The WCAS is involved in promoting agriculture every day of the year, especially in education, with farm open days for local schools and farm to fork roadshows and lots of other activities.

The organisation is supported by a large membership, mainly drawn from the local farming world, and it was a great honour for John to be chosen to be President for next year.   He said: “I was amazed to be asked to fulfil this role but I’m pretty sure that it has a lot to do with the fact that this firm, and especially our team at The Rural Law Practice, have such a great reputation with our rural community”.

John is a director of Thomson Hayton Winkley and is part of The Rural Law Practice team which is based at the Junction 36 Rural Auction Centre, where we serve the legal needs of the farming community, their families and the rural businesses which are so important to our local economy.

The President for 2025 is Judith Buckley and John is looking forward to fulfilling his duties as President Elect this year, before taking over in 2026.