Isle of Man Young Farmers have hailed a successful trip to the north east of England for the Northern Area Field Day.

An almost 50-strong team travelled to Berwick-upon-Tweed in Northumberland earlier this month to compete against young farmers from across the north of England.

The team claimed first place in the fencing competition (building fences rather than sword fighting) and finished second in line dancing.

Posting on social media, Isle of Man Young Farmers said: ‘Hopefully our members have now recovered after an incredible few days in Northumberland.

‘A huge well done to the Isle of Man Young Farmers team who travelled over to compete at the Northern Area Field Day in Berwick-upon-Tweed, hosted by Northumberland Young Farmers.

‘Almost 50 members represented the Isle of Man across a wide range of competitions, including fencing, stock judging, shearing, farm machinery skills, digger handling, line dancing, karaoke, tug of war and much more.

‘Our men's and ladies' tug of war teams put up a great fight against strong competition, and we were delighted to have a junior team competing for the very first time. What an experience for them, and hopefully the first of many trips to come.

‘We are incredibly proud of the results achieved. The Isle of Man took first place in fencing thanks to Lee Quayle, Nick Harvey, Finn Partington and coach Dan Creer, as well as second place in line dancing.

‘We also achieved a number of other fantastic placings across the weekend.’

Despite the success, the trip did not get off to the best start after travel disruption affected the team's journey from the island.

The post continued: ‘Although the weekend didn't start quite as planned and we had to rearrange our travel plans - the joys of island life! - it certainly didn't dampen spirits.

‘We had a brilliant time catching up with young farmers from across the Northern Area and rounded off the weekend in Newcastle on Saturday night.

‘A huge thank you to all the organisers and hosts for putting on such a fantastic event. Special thanks to our tug of war coach, Andrew Clague, for all his hard work and support, alongside Lee Quayle, Gill Dixon and Phil Corrin.

‘Thank you also to Daniel Creer for coaching our fencing team, and to everyone else who helped make the trip possible.

‘Finally, a massive thank you to all of our sponsors. Your continued support helps make opportunities like this possible for our members.’

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