Creating the Yetholm Border Shepherds’ Show's first ever website
The Yetholm Border Shepherds’ Show has been celebrating Scottish farmers and rural life for 159 years. From prize-winning working dogs to the Scottish Champion of Champion Sticks competition, the show exhibits the very best of the Scottish Borders.
When I heard that the show’s committee was looking to create their first website, I knew I could help. My goal was to provide them with an affordable solution that would drive attendance and interest in the show.
By the end of the project, the committee had a clean, visually appealing website - which contributed to record visitor numbers to the show in 2024.
Client: The Yetholm Border Shepherd’s Show
About the show: The Yetholm Border Shepherds’ Show is an annual event held in the village of Town Yetholm, located in the Scottish Borders. Held on the first Saturday of October, the show features a variety of activities and rural exhibits, including sheep judging, working collie trials, vintage machinery displays, and more.
The brief: To create an affordable, user-friendly website that the Show committee could easily manage and update.
In this project we: Used Squarespace to create a brand-new website for the Yetholm Show.
Skills used: Website development, copywriting and brand advice.
Why did the Yetholm Show committee work with me?
I’ve spent many years visiting the picturesque Scottish Borders to see family, who farm in the area, which has given me a unique appreciation for the traditions and values that events like the Yetholm Border Shepherds’ Show represent.
For the past few years, my cocker spaniel Blair and I have braved both rain and sunshine to attend the show. Together, we've supported our family and their friends, and fully embraced the community spirit that makes this event so special.
This familiarity with rural life and the show, combined with my expertise in crafting community-focused digital solutions, made me the ideal choice to bring the committee’s vision to life online.
Show Secretary, Angela explains: “We are a very traditional show - 2025 will be our 160th year - but accepting we needed to embrace the modern world, we embarked on producing a website. Rebecca had some knowledge of the show due to family connections and was an ideal choice to create our website. We both had lots of ideas and pretty quickly a website was created which the show committee were very impressed with.”
Cultivating Interest: Using Digital Platforms to Showcase Rural Heritage
The Yetholm Border Shepherds’ Show is a celebration of rural life and agricultural heritage
In the 1840s, local shepherds and farmers came together to start a tradition that would become a cornerstone of their community: the Yetholm Border Shepherd’s Show. Since its inception, the show has been bringing visitors together to celebrate the hard work of farmers and local people. Featuring everything from a vintage machine display to a shepherd’s crook-making competition – the show helps visitors to learn about and appreciate the rural traditions that have shaped the area for generations.
Opportunity
With no existing website, the main goal was to establish a digital presence and reach more people in a cost-effective way. This involved securing a domain name and building a website from the ground up. The website needed to reflect the show's heritage whilst acting as an online hub for all event-related information and activities, including entry details and visitor information for the day of the show.
Solution
I took the time to really understand what the Yetholm Show needed from their website, both now and in the future. After some detailed discussions with the show committee, I put together a proposal with my recommendations. I offered two platform options to choose from, and we ultimately went with Squarespace. Its template designs and ease of use made it the perfect fit for the committee’s needs.
In addition to the immediate launch of the website, my recommendations also focused on future growth. We built a strong foundation that could accommodate additional functionalities like online entries, donations, and ticket sales. This way, the website can grow with the show's needs while continuing to serve the community.
Implementation
Building on ideas and feedback from the committee, I created a website that was both visually appealing and functional. The show’s new website can be easily updated and managed by the committee, which has empowered them to make the most of their online presence.
Results
Since the website went live in the summer of 2024, it has generated significant interest, contributing to record attendance at the 2024 Show. Have a look at photos from the day of the show.
Angela Walker, Show Secretary
“I cannot thank Rebecca enough for her choice of platform for us as a user going forward, her creativity & patience with my constant tweaking & her understanding of a user friendly product that would appeal to both our exhibitors & visitors. Outstanding.”
The project in numbers
