Stuart Minting

Lottie Fry won the Grand Prix Freestyle gold at the Dressage World Championship in Aachen for the second consecutive year, securing the first individual double-double in 60 years of the competition. Riding Glamourdale, she scored 91.907 per cent after an acclaimed flying-themed routine. Fry and Becky Moody also helped Britain win team silver behind Germany, while Fry retained her individual Grand Prix Special title. Moody finished third in the freestyle and fifth individually with Jagerbomb, overcoming an earlier mistake and competing in the final without a front shoe.

Swainby, a small former ironstone-mining village between Northallerton and Stokesley, is presented as a gateway to the North York Moors and a popular base for walkers. Its appeal combines Cleveland Hills scenery, access to the Cleveland Way and Coast to Coast trail, surviving mining infrastructure, historic buildings and the remains of nearby medieval Whorlton. The village retains notable heritage features including two Holy Cross churches, Victorian housing, a pre-1870 education-era school, sandstone cottages, bridges and the beck running through its unusually broad high street. Pubs, cafés, shops and a year-round caravan park continue to support the community despite its population of only 563.

Queen Camilla is set to attend the opening day of York’s Ebor Festival and present the Juddmonte International trophy. The meeting will be York’s richest ever, featuring four Group 1 races and the £1.5 million Juddmonte International, with leading horses from Britain, Japan, Australia and the United States. The Coolmore Nunthorpe Stakes is also expected to be highly competitive, while extensive international broadcasting will promote York and Yorkshire globally. The festival will support Kevin Sinfield’s motor neurone disease fundraising and honour retiring jockey Joe Fanning after his 35-year career.

Farmers’ groups and the chair of Parliament’s Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee are urging the Government to simplify planning rules for modest on-farm reservoirs. They argue that reservoirs could help farms cope with drought, heatwaves and flooding, while reducing the cost and complexity of approvals. The calls come amid record-low July rainfall in East Yorkshire, low river flows and groundwater levels, and drought conditions affecting parts of northern England. The Government says climate change is making droughts more common and points to planned investment in water infrastructure, while the farming sector also seeks better abstraction licensing and stronger resilience measures.

Veterinary adviser Dr Tanya Leslie has urged pet owners to use parasite treatments only when necessary and to choose targeted products instead of broad-spectrum medicines. Her advice follows a House of Lords committee finding that fipronil and imidacloprid from pet treatments are reaching UK rivers at levels harmful to the environment. Pet owners are advised to keep treated animals away from waterways for at least 48 hours, consider oral alternatives where appropriate, and pick up pet waste. University of York research also found thousands of chemicals in the River Foss and widespread disruption to aquatic ecosystems, prompting calls for stronger warnings, qualified advice before sales, and reduced routine dosing.

Nineteen-year-old trainee livestock auctioneer Max Robinson will represent Yorkshire at the national Young Stockman of the Year final at Harper Adams University in September. He has won the Yorkshire County title for the past two years and recently became Northern Area Young Stockman of the Year, achieving strong results in stock judging, animal health and welfare competitions. Raised in a farming family, Robinson works for CCM Skipton, keeps a flock of 30 commercial sheep and studies livestock market operations, accountancy and auctioneering. CCM general manager Jeremy Eaton says Robinson illustrates the range of career opportunities available in the modern land-based sector.

A House of Lords inquiry found that pet parasite medications, including flea and tick treatments containing imidacloprid and fipronil, are being used intensively without robust evidence that routine treatment is necessary. Chemicals can enter waterways when pets are washed or swim, potentially harming aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, while the risks to human health remain insufficiently assessed. The committee criticized incomplete environmental testing and the close relationship between regulators and the veterinary pharmaceutical industry, and urged the Government to improve data collection, require rigorous environmental risk assessments, adopt a precautionary approach and address possible regulatory capture.

York-based Azotic Technologies has developed Encera, a bacteria-based product it says can reduce farmers’ fertiliser use by up to 25% while maintaining crop performance. The product enables crops to access nitrogen internally and can be used on wheat, maize, oilseed rape and potatoes. Interest has increased amid volatile fertiliser prices and supply disruptions linked partly to instability in the Middle East and the temporary closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Azotic says the technology can help farmers protect margins and improve long-term resilience, while Yorkshire farmer Derek Cornforth reports positive results from a farm trial.