Welsh Cobs at the
Royal Welsh Show.
|
The Showground, Llanelwedd,
Builth Wells, Powys.
July 23rd – 26th, 2018.
Rosemary Rachael Hart.
On a lovely day in high summer at the greatest show of Welsh Cobs in the world, two cobs from Kent contested top honours. The George Prince of Wales Cup eventually went to a sixteen-year-old mare. For a championship to go to a horse of this age is undreamt-of among the Shires who keep me busy reporting for most of the season - it's a great tribute to the hardiness and longevity of Welsh breeds!
The cup left Wales for only the ninth time in over a century. On four of these occasions it's gone to Matty Attrell's Danaway stud, this time with the brood mare Danaway Cracklin Rose. A chestnut sabino roan foaled in 2002, she won her class here in 2012. With a flaxen mane and tail and the white underside typical of sabinos, she inherits her colour from her sire Danaway Tango. Her dam, Danaway Janella, is a bay by Trevallion Harry, a grandson of the celebrated Nebo Black Magic. Her progeny include Danaway Lawless, Danaway Stardust, Danaway Vegas and Danaway Black Rose.
John Townsend's two-year-old colt Cascob Delwyn triumphed over older stallions to take the prize for best male, then to stand reserve to Cracklin Rose. A chestnut with four white stockings and a blaze, Delwyn is a son of the bay Gwenllan Deio out of the black Cascob Penblwydd Happus, a daughter of two bays, Gwenllan Brynmor and Cascob Elonwy. Bred by Phillipa Owens, he was sold for £4,600 at Brightwells cob sale in 2016, and in 2017 he went on to be supreme junior champion at the Lampeter Spring Show, beating colts from all other sections of the Welsh Stud Book.
Competing with Cracklin Rose for the title of best female were the fillies who won the young stock classes plus three other adult mares; the junior brood mare and senior and junior barren mares. Winning yearling was John Elgan Evans' Eglwysfach Nansi; the two-year-old was Mark Swistun's Llanmorlais April, by Thorneyside the Predator, and the three-year-old was the Bigley family's Llanarth Gwyneth, a daughter of this year's top senior stallion, Llanarth Fiery Jack.
Matty Attrell also bred the winning junior brood mare; the Everitt family's 5-year-old Danaway Honey Boo Boo, another daughter of Danaway Tango. Junior barren mare was Dorian Lloyd's Perthog Gwenan Mai, a six year-old by Gwynfaes Culhwch out of Perthog Champ, with an amazing record. Reserve champion last year, she won the Prince of Wales Cup in 2015 when she was only three.
Senior barren mare was Clifford Merrick's Brynithon Scarlet Ribbons, a fourteen-year old by Thorneyside the Jackpot. The face markings of most winners were stripes or blazes; but Scarlet Ribbons, a bay with three white feet, has such a beautiful even star that I can't help thinking of the eventual reserve champion female, Glansiedi Arwen Evenstar. By Caenest Tywysog out of the Kilgour Welsh Monarch mare Glansiedi Misty, Arwen Evenstar is a chestnut fourteen-year-old as lovely as her Elven namesake. Second to Cracklin Rose in her class, she's a regular here, and among other placings, stood third to Cracklin Rose in 2012.
As a colt, Cascob Delwyn's route to the top first involved victory in the young stock championship over the winning yearling, Marie Apicella's Bookhamlodge Daniel and three-year-old, Ronald McNeal's Danyreglwys Jac Daniels**, who is by Llanarth Fiery Jack out of Danyreglwys Ebony. When Delwyn took on the mature stallions, he met the senior winner, Simon Bigley's Llanarth Fiery Jack, as well as Jesse Penfold 's Gwynfaes Cyleddon Wledig, a four-year-old by Gwynfaes Culhwch out of Gwynfaes Elliw. Cyleddon Wledig has a number of successful full brothers, including last year's reserve male champion, Gwynfaes Seren Wledig.
After finding Llanarth Fiery Jack in a number of pedigrees, it was very interesting to see him in person, winning a strong class from another chestnut sabino roan by Danaway Tango, Peter and Jackie Denning's Danaway Danny.
A dark bay with a stripe and four white feet, Fiery Jack is by Menai Sparkling Magic out of the Thorneyside Flyer mare, Llanarth Pam Evans. Male Champion here in 2014, his wins include the Supreme Championship at the Glanusk Stallion Show in 2016, and qualifying for the Cuddy Supreme In-Hand Championship at the Horse of the Year Show on four occasions. Nevertheless, this year he had to be content with the reserve male championship.
During the senior stallion class, I was lucky enough to sit next to a woman who'd been a professional handler of cobs in the show ring until an accident with a horse of a different breed left her paraplegic, so she'd had to reinvent her life. She told me how she'd handled stallions, first going to meet them in the early morning so she could get to know a horse by lunging him. Then when he had to trot out, she could allow him a long enough rein to show himself off fully by trotting straight, looking where he was going.
In contrast, she thought most handlers in the ring seemed apprehensive about showing a stallion in the company of other stallions, so they kept their charges on a tight rein with their heads bent left. What she said made sense. Certainly these tight-reined stallions could move fast and pick their feet up, but how much better would they have looked if they could have moved naturally!
We both remembered a stallion who has sadly died of old age. His owner bought him here year after year, and when his turn to trot out came, the man gently put his right hand on the horse's withers, and away they went, in perfect harmony yet as fast and as showily as you could wish! What a lovely sight! Why aren't there more like them?
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In-hand classes of course attract huge entries, but there were still ninety-nine Welsh cobs forward in the ridden classes. Judges Sarah Chapman and Gwyn Dobbs found their champion in Claire Evans’ 10-year-old dark bay stallion Northwick Notorious; the second time Claire has won this championship.
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** UPDATE. Later in the year at Brightwell's Cob Sales, Danyreglwys Jac Daniels fetched £15,500, the successful bidder being Melanie Alford.
RESULTS.