Only female One Man and His Dog winner comes to Cheshire Show

THE first and only woman to win One Man and His Dog will be showing off her skills at this year’s Cheshire Show. 

 

While Katy Cropper won the TV competition with her sheep-herding talent, at the show this June she will be demonstrating her prowess on a slighter smaller animal – ducks.

 

"A good sheepdog will herd anything so I will be demonstrating how they will adapt to any kind of work,” said Katy. "It is not very different to herding sheep as you use the same techniques, although ducks do have to stop on a sixpence.”

 

Katy, who was born in Clatterbridge on the Wirral, was a shepherdess on the Yorkshire Dales for 10 years before she took part in One Man and His Dog in 1990.

 

She became the first and only woman to win the show. Nowadays Katy, whose father founded St David’s College in North Wales, offers sheepdog training, handling skills and obedience training at her own farm in Cumbria.

 

She will be at the Cheshire Show on Tuesday and Wednesday, June 19 and 20, in the Countryside Experience Area where for the first time this year visitors can try their hand at 4x4 off-road driving.

 

"We cannot wait to welcome Katy to the show this year, she has an army of fans so I know it will be a real crowd-pleaser,” said Roger Thomason, Chairman of the Countryside Experience Area.

 

"Duck herding is quite a spectacle and with Katy in charge it will be even more of a treat for visitors.”

 

"I think it is a lovely thing to do with your life and I adore sharing my passion at county shows so I cannot wait to come back to my home county to take part in the Cheshire Show,” said Katy, who currently has 10 dogs which she calls her family.

 

"You are on your own up on the fells with your sheep and your dogs, it’s just lovely and I can’t think of anything better. "To have a bond with your dog is a lovely way of life.”

 

Katy’s attachment to animals does not end with her activities outdoors; she also paints animal portraits at her home as well as writing and illustrating her own books and children’s stories.