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THE AIM OF THE ASSOCIATION OF SHOW AND AGRICULTURAL ORGANISATIONS IS TO....

Promote agriculture, horticulture and the countryside through shows and other events.
Encourage and share best practice between agricultural societies and related organisations.
Encourage and support education across the full spectrum of agriculture, horticulture and the countryside through shows, conferences, projects and initiatives.

The ASAO is run by show people for shows and gives the best value-for-money information service available to any event organiser.

Nigel Evans, Cheshire County Show

MEET THE ASAO COUNCIL

The ASAO Council is made up of Show representatives from across the country who are from a mix of one-day and multi-day shows. They represent members’ views and are happy to be contracted on all matters associated with the ASAO.

Denis Dooley

ASAO Chairman

Paul Hooper OBE

ASAO Secretary

David Tennant

ASAO Council Member

Alison Baylis

ASAO Council Member

Richard Heath

ASAO Council Member

Christine Knipe

ASAO Council Member

Mared Rand Jones

ASAO Council Member

Corrie Ince

ASAO Council Member

Sarah Moreland

ASAO Council Member

Mark Stoddart

ASAO Council Member

Lisa Moore

ASAO Council Member

David Tite

ASAO Council Member

Denis Dooley

ASAO Chairman

Denis Dooley is the Chief Executive of the New Forest Agricultural Show Society, organisers of the New Forest & Hampshire County Show, which is held in July each year.

Following a degree in Equine Business Management, Denis joined the Society in 2006 and was appointed Chief Executive in 2011. Denis has been instrumental in the creation of the Next Generation project which involves young people in all areas of the Society to keep the Show in safe hands for many years to come.

Outside of work Denis is married to Johanna and has two children – Bella and Jack, he enjoys cycling, visiting family and walking his Labrador, Woody.

Paul Hooper OBE

ASAO Secretary

Paul Hooper OBE is a well-known figure in the shows industry. He began his career in 1977 and is experienced in most aspects of agricultural and country show organisation at national level. In 2015, he was awarded an OBE in Her Majesty The Queen’s Birthday Honours. Paul enjoys listening to military music in his spare time.

David Tennant

ASAO Council Member

David has worked for the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland for 11 years beginning as an annual temporary member of staff before becoming permanently employed in 2015 and moving into his current position of Competitions Manager in 2019.

Along with looking after the competitive elements of the Royal Highland Show David is the lead on Scottish Show Forum, which holds an annual conference and provides a platform for the Scottish Agricultural Show industry to engage with each other and share good practice.

In 2019, David graduated from the Scottish Enterprise Rural Leadership Program, which focuses on self-development and self-awareness to empower individuals to effectively respond to the challenges and to enact positive change in the wider rural economy.

Alison Baylis

ASAO Council Member

Alison has been the Show Secretary of Bucks County Agricultural Association since 2011 and appointed onto the ASAO Council in 2019. Alison is the ASAO’s Regional Champion for England.

Richard Heath

ASAO Council Member

Richard is the Show Director at Moreton In Marsh Show but is a volunteer at many other regional shows, He is a keen poultry keeper and eagerly awaits the return of the poultry sections at our shows.

Christine Knipe

ASAO Council Member

Christine Knipe has been Chief Executive of Westmorland County Agricultural Society since 2005. Married to David, the Knipes live on their upland sheep, beef and poultry farm in central Cumbria.

Christine is a former Chairman of the ASAO, a Fellow of the Royal Agricultural Societies, a Trustee of the Royal Agricultural Society of the Commonwealth, secretary for the North West Federation of Show Societies and Chairman of the national Access to Farms partnership. She is also ASAO’s Education Champion and is keen to develop educational opportunities to promote agriculture within our shows and events.

Mared Rand Jones

ASAO Council Member

Mared is a dairy farmers daughter and lives in Ceredigion in West Wales. Mared has been working as Head of Operations with Royal Welsh Agriculture Society for 3 years. Her main role includes leading the livestock, shearing and tradestand departments for the Royal Welsh Show and lead on the Winter Fair. Mared also lead on the Welsh ASAO and has organised the annual Welsh Conference at the Royal Welsh showground for shows in Wales. Mared was part of a small team of staff that organised a National ASAO Conference in 2019 which was a great honour and she thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

In Mared is previous roles she worked for nearly 11 years as a Development Officer for Ceredigion Young Farmers Clubs and then as a County Executive Officer for Farmers Union of Wales for nearly 3 years.

She is very passionate about Agriculture Shows and have attended many shows for personal interest and within her professional roles.

Mared has been a member of Lampeter Agriculture Show for over 20 years and have been a Horse Steward since the age of 10. She also helped to begin a Youth Forum within the Show to encourage younger people to be involved within the Show and the Youth Forum were responsible of organising the Show Dance and organise the 7 a side rugby competition.

Corrie Ince

ASAO Council Member

Corrie has been working in events since 2006, starting off with the Edenbridge & Oxted Show, where she was involved in all aspects of show organising.

In 2012 she moved to working in more commercial events for a Brighton based manufacturing company, organising their events in the UK and Internationally.

In 2016 she moved back into the “show business” and become Sales & operations Manager at the South of England Agricultural Society, responsible for booking and managing of trade stands and content for their 4 annual shows. Living only a few miles away from the showground all her life, she had grown up around the show, and having attended pretty much every year since childhood, in some guise or other, whether it be as a visitor or competitor, she has had a life long affinity and passion for the show.

In July 2020 she become Show Director at the South of England, with overall co-ordination and management of the 4 shows. Corrie was thrown very much in at the deep end and tasked with running two shows at the end of 2020, following all the government guidelines and required safety measures and procedures. Together with her amazing team of staff and stewards this resulted in 2 very successful and safe events.

Outside of work Corrie other passion in life is horse riding, having ridden and competed in many different disciplines from an early age.

Sarah Moreland

ASAO Council Member

Sarah has attended shows all her life as a competitor and organiser. Born in Anglesey and involved with the ‘North West’ Show Circuit prior to moving to the Middle East, riding & competed in Bahrain, Dubai and Saudi Arabia.
Sarah moved to Hertfordshire in 2000,
Worked from 2003 – 2015 at Oaklands College, St Albans initially as a lecturer supporting students with Learning Difficulties (LDD), gaining a PGCE. She set up a Riding for the Disabled group and coached Special Olympics GB Team at the World Games in Athens (2011) & LA (2015).
Awarded MBE for services to Education & Disability Sport 2011
2016-2018 Capel Manor College as Head of School for Animal Management & Saddlery.
March 2018 became Herts Show as Executive Director, developing event management plans, SAG and exit strategies. 2019 was the year of changing contractors; 2020 the first Ag show to go virtual; 2021 a Horse Show following the blue print prior to delivering a ‘full’ show in 2022.
2023 sees a new ‘hybrid’ team running a show & education day in a more accessible and sustainable way, whilst still competing her light weight ladies hunter Scottie.

Mark Stoddart

ASAO Council Member

Mark is the new Secretary / CEO of the Royal Cornwall Agricultural Association, and he brings his skills in IT, financial strategies and building a strong team to the organisers of the Royal Cornwall Show. He previously carried out a number of roles in his 19 years at The Great Yorkshire Show, including Society Manager and Financial Controller. He has also been instrumental in leading the Agricultural Charities approach to VAT on Show Tickets. He is a past Chair and Board Member of ASAO. He is married to Amanda, who is the Livestock Coordinator at the GYS.

Lisa Moore

ASAO Council Member

With over 20 years of experience at the Devon County Show, Lisa has good understanding of the agricultural Show community. As the DCAA Chief Executive and Devon County Show Manager, she oversees the Show while also guiding the Devon County Agricultural Association in hosting key events such as Farmwise, Rootstock, Agrifest and various events at Westpoint. She has a commitment to making the Show accessible to all to ensure these events are inclusive, welcoming, and impactful, fostering growth and innovation. She is married to Ben who also has an involvement with the Show as a Chief Steward and has two children Sophie and Charlie (who is absolutely a next generation Steward!)

David Tite

ASAO Council Member

David has recently joined the team at Yorkshire Agricultural Society as their Society Manager, working on the Great Yorkshire Show and across the charity and business, after working for the Driffield Agricultural Society for 20 years as their CEO and working on the show for over 30.
David also holds the role of Honorary Secretary for the Yorkshire Federation of Show Societies, supporting over 50 Agricultural Shows across the wider Yorkshire region with an annual one day conference and by being their link to the ASAO.
He is a former Chairman of the ASAO and is currently a council member of the organization, acting as one of the Learning Day Champions and is married to Cara and has two young boys, Monty and Rupert.