Stallions and Colts at the 2018
National Shire Horse Show.
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This year's show was a triumph for William Bedford's four-year old Landcliffe Charlie, who narrowly missed the championship last year. Third here as a lightly shown two-year-old, he'd then stood at the head of the three-year-old class, but the judges called in the referee. Charlie changed places with Matthew Gregory King's Snelson Gatsby, who won the championship with Charlie in reserve spot; later in the year Charlie stood reserve Shire Horse of the Year. This year he is reserve no more!
As judge Jason Holder said: “He's a really worthy champion, totally conditioned to perfection! Absolutely on the money! And judging is a real honour!”
“My sort of horse”, added co-judge David Worthington.
As before, Charlie was handled by William's brother Walt, who has nothing but praise for the stallion's intelligence and temperament. It's the fourteenth Spring Show championship won by the Bedford family and the eleventh in which Walt has been involved. Charlie's devoted groom, 21-year-old Harry Bedford, was welcomed into the ring for the presentation.
Charlie is a bay by William's Martonian Norman, a short-lived and beautiful son of Moorfield Edward, out of Landcliffe Wendy, who had to be put to sleep while he was still a foal. Though Wendy's dam is unrecorded on the All Breed Pedigree website, her sire, Landcliffe Tomahawk, is by another Bedford-owned Spring Show Champion, three-times winner Deighton Commodore, and out of Landcliffe Louise, a mare whom William bred 31 years ago. She was by Deighton Bomber, who was also Spring Show champion after Walt and brother Paul outbid the knacker man.
This year the stiffest competition in the four-year-old class came from Richard Green's Ringston Rueben, who the previous day had qualified for HOYS as a riding horse! Best shod in the class, he was handled by David Beardmore. As Jason Holder said: “Rueben and his stablemate Acle Supreme (sixth in the senior class) are look-alikes; both very attractive bright bays.” I was keen to see what Rueben could achieve if Charlie should be awarded the championship, but this year no second-placed stallion contested the championship. Instead the reserve championship went to the winning two-year-old, Martin Fountain's junior champion Woodhouse Rainman.
“He's a big rangy colt who is sure to win the championship some day,” commented Jason Holder. “I wouldn't mind owning him,” added David Worthington. “He just needs a bit of time to make a good stallion.”
Rainman is bred from Shire horse royalty, being by Metheringham Upton Hamlet out of the following day's female champion, Martin's Woodhouse Calendar Girl, and claiming Moorfield Edward as both grandsire and great-grandsire. Between them, Rainman's parents have won their respective National Show Championships five times, including Calendar Girl's victory the following day, and also been Shire Horse of the Year five times.
Second and third were also sons of Hamlet. Paul Bedford's colt Acle Challenger, out of Acle Nancie, finished second, with the Whittaker and Pompeo joint-owned colt, Fellthorpe Fascinator, third. Bred by Mrs Oliver out of Ruskington Georgie Girl, he was shown by Edward Whittaker.
This class also included the best grey colt in the show, Paul and Yvonne Simmons' Cumeragh House Silver Bullet, who beat his full brother, yearling Cumeragh House Upton Silver, for the title. “A very well-grown two-year-old, beautifully presented,” said Jason Holder.
Both colts were bred by Lew Harrison, by the black Acle Nelson out of Ballyedmond Hessie, whose grey colour comes from her sire Metheringham Upton Baron.
Last year's winning two-year-old, Philip Moss' beautiful black Hillmoor Trump Card, took the three-year-old class and reserve junior championship.
“He's a big upstanding horse who flexed his hocks and moved with real purpose. He gave a tremendous show.” said Jason Holder.
Trump Card is another son of Martonian Norman, out of the Walton Supreme mare Hillmoor Duchess. In second place was another black, the Lockley Topsman colt Metheringham Upton Ferguson, whose owner/breeder, Geoff Robinson, received a long service award the following day.
The senior class was the biggest, with nine horses forward. Paul Clayton triumphed with Trem-y-Wyddfa Huw's Curiosity, one of many champions bred from the Griffith family's great brood mare, Trem-y-Wyddfa Rosemary. They include the 2005 National Champion, Trem-y-Wyddfa Mascot, and more recently, last year's winner of this class, Trem-y-Wyddfa Courage.
“He was brought out well,” said Jason. It was a difficult class to judge, but he was a clear winner.”
In second place was the 2016 class winner, William Bedford's nine-year old Hillmoor Double Trouble, a half-brother by Knutsford Edward II to Hillmoor Trump Card. Richard and Robert Bedford's Rookhills Leapley Lad, a black six-year-old bred by Chris Sessions, by Cae Mawr Aristocrat out of Trelow Commodore's daughter Red Brae Susanna, came third.
In the yearling class, it's always interesting to see how the previous season's foals have overwintered. Lockley Valentine, a son of Caerberllan Real Enterprise and Daresbrook Rose, had his share of wins in foal classes for owner/breeder Jayne Malkin. Arclid Minshull Major, by Marieth Major out of Arclid Mickaela, had gone one better for breeder Tony Bull, winning an overall championship in the face of stiff competition. Nevertheless they finished second and third to a bay colt from Sweden, Christer Paulsson's Herkules What's Wanted. He comes from English bloodlines, being by Moorfield Ted out of a mare bred by Marvyn and Rosemary Messer, West Winds Cari Ann.
“The winner had real killer instinct!” said Jason Holder. “He'll be a serious winner in years to come; that's for sure! The yearling class had the most quality horses in it; the first four or five all have a real future.
“Far too many colts are exported before they are given a chance,” he added.
“Everyone's got to make a living, but we need some kind of togetherness to keep more top
horses in the country.”
Meanwhile anyone who has attended the show over a period of years can see that, except
for yearlings, the numbers in stallion classes are far less than they used to be.
Originally published in Heavy Horse World,
Britain's biggest equestrian magazine specialising in heavy and working horses.
Results
Judges Jason Holder & David Worthington.
Yrlngs – 1, C Paulsson's Herkules What's Wanted; 2, Mr C & Mrs J Malkin's Lockley Valentine; 3, P Bedford's Arclid Minshull Major.
2-y-o – 1, jnr ch & res ch, L M Fountain's Woodhouse Rainman; 2, P Bedford's Acle Challenger; 3, T Whittaker's & M Pompeo's Fellthorpe Fascinator.
3-y-o – 1 & res jnr ch, P Moss' Hillmoor Trump Card; 2, G Robinson's Metheringham Upton Ferguson; 3, W D Griffith & Sons' Shirland Ricky.
4-y-o – 1 & ch, Wm Bedford's Landcliffe Charlie; 2, R S Green's Ringston Rueben; 3, T J Yates' Goose Green's Tom Finney.
Senior – 1, P M Clayton's Trem-y-Wyddfa Huw's Curiosity; 2, Wm Bedford's Hillmoor Double Trouble; 3, R & R Bedford's Rookhills Leapley Lad.
Best grey colt – 1, P & Y Simmons' Cumeragh House Silver Bullet; 2, G Robinson's Cumeragh House Upton Silver.
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