By Roger Robson

Championship winner John Harrington (l) and Richard Dixon

Parked on a hillside overlooking the main ring at Gosforth Show was the perfect vehicle for the present weather conditions, a four-wheel drive Land Rover with a boat on the roof rack.

Despite the impact of the West Cumbrian climate, the four scheduled events for that weekend all took place.

At Gosforth the 12st Championship entry and the crowd watching it were depleted by the blasting rain, but there was some high quality action to distract you from the trickles down the back of the neck.

The key bout before the final was the semi-final encounter of Andrew Carlile and Richard Dixon, who had previously met in the final of the 11st Championship at Forestburngate when Carlile won.

He won again in the first bout with Dixon at Gosforth by stopping the buttock and rushing his man forward into the squelch. Then it was all change as Dixon found his range and fully committed to buttocking to win the next two falls and book a place in the final where he met his friend, relative and club-mate, John Harrington.

Harrington had brought the old silver trophy with him as holder of the title, and he never looked like relinquishing it. From the start he went for the inside-hipe with a short swing upwards to get it going, and that was decisive, so he retained the 12 stones title in great style.

At Allendale, two veterans Alan Jones and Alan Walton were setting the standard for the younger men. Jones won at 13 stones, but Andrew Ord of Morpeth won at All Weights, felling Walton in the final.

The Brocklebank family from Warton in Lancashire ruled the roost in the South Cumbrian events. Graham and big brother Thomas won the 13 stones and All Weights respectively, and the same looked like happening the following day at Torver, Graham duly felled John Harrington in the 13 stones final, but Thomas was beaten at the last step in the All Weights by Joe Threlfall.

Most successful and consistent of all was William Hayhurst who had double wins at both Rusland and Torver.

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