Heavy Horses and More
at the
Great Dorset Steam Fair.
|
Tarrant Hinton,
Dorset.
~~~~~
September 2nd – 6th, 2015.
by Rosemary Cooper.
The Great Dorset Steam Fair is a wonderful event, spread over a huge area of gently undulating
farmland in Thomas Hardy’s Wessex, a part of the country that I’d seriously like to explore. The fair is quite different from the country shows I usually write about, but incorporates many favourites in a fairly compact area; birds of prey, rural crafts, heavy horses by the dozen, and the food hall for good measure.
The name “Steam Fair” can lead you to expect lots of old-fashioned steam engines, and certainly there were, beyond numerous old-fashioned tractors, fairground organs and heaven-knows-what-else – mostly “man toys” – with lots of women exploring them as well. The trade stalls were worth a look and so was the auto-jumble to anyone who enjoys car boot sales. You need to be a good walker to explore all this part of the fair, but even if you are not, you certainly feel the marvellous atmosphere it generates!
I really appreciate the five-day duration of the event. There is time to chill out, and whatever you don’t see on one day, you can catch up on the next. This is in direct contrast to most shows, where after watching all the heavy horse events, I find that all-too-often exhibitors in other parts of the show are packing up to leave before I can get there. This familiar pressure only made itself felt on the last day with a time clash of heavy horse teams and a fantastic bird of prey display, and its early closing time of 3pm .
| Heavy Horses. |
| Rural Crafts. |
| Ben Potter's Eagles and Vultures. |
| A Great Place to Stay. |
Heavy Horses.
The first day featured ploughing. It’s great to see heavy horses working,
though plough horses are more likely to be cobs than modern show heavies
because of their lower point of draught. (This is the angle between the horse
and the ground – the taller the horse, the steeper it is, so the harder it is for the
horse to plough.) Not surprisingly there were also some stocky foreign breeds
working. It’s fascinating to watch the way these horses turn to face the other
way, performing a full pass like dressage horses.
Five breeds were present, namely Suffolks, Percherons, Clydesdales, and a
few little Comtois in addition to Shires. The “Comtois Queen”, Jane
Wordsworth, has imported so many of the latter for different people that these
stocky little chestnuts with their flaxen manes and tails need much less
introduction than they did ten years ago. You can’t help noticing how
enthusiastic their owners are about them!
I enjoyed meeting Charlotte Grey with her Shire, Silver (Dothan Silver Coin).
He was having his mane plaited in red and yellow without the usual flights,
because once the plait was complete, she sewed woollen baubles in the same
colour into place, with red and yellow plaits looping down along his mane.
These decorations looked magnificent with Silver’s traditional Liverpool Docks
harness in the display of decorated harness, but on competition day (Saturday)
Gawin Holmes’ Clydesdale, Sorbie, won this class, wearing traditional
Northumberland harness ornamented with red and blue ribbons.
Eugenie and Randy Hiscock’s Donhead Hall stud is in Dorset, and they do a
great job of promoting the Suffolk breed. Some years ago, Randy had the
excellent idea of combating in-breeding in Suffolks by introducing different
bloodlines with a stallion imported from America, Garretlands Golden Eagle.
Randy’s magnificently turned out Donhead Hall team also demonstrates that
mares can work just as well as geldings. He drove two bright chesnut daughters
of Golden Eagle, Minnesota and Liberty Bell, and an older mare, Anastasia, a
red chesnut out of his former champion, Alexandra. The fourth member of the
team is Anastasia’s son by Golden Eagle, the 12-year-old gelding Nevada, who
is leader also of Randy’s unicorn.
Another Suffolk worthy of mention is Glen Cass’ Kentwell Paigale (Cowslip),
a very good-looking horse who shines in hand, in harness, and as a riding
horse. In the Ladies’ Cart class, his driver, Zoe Meek, looked elegant in yellow,
white and black, perfectly complementing her golden hair and his bright
chesnut coat.
The John McDermott family horses, driven by daughter Claire, are always
small agile Percheron mares who excel in different disciplines. David Curtis
also has a wonderful pair of Percheron geldings, Ron and Tim. Now Ron is in
his teens he has turned white, and I can no longer recognise him as the dapple
grey who, as Hales Creon, won the Supreme Driving Championship at the final
Royal Show, in company with stablemates Hales Faunus (Freddie) and Hales
Xanthos (Rosie). Then his breeder, Owen Garner, was driving, and the judge’s
comment was: “Wow! Fantastic!”
My favourite of all is Lyn and Malcolm Scurrell’s dapple grey Percheron,
Willingham Flo (Polly). A few years ago, when she was still strongly dappled,
her photo appeared on Facebook, where people suggested that a horse with so
many stars should be called Galaxy, and even asking if her dapples were real!
Now at the age of 12, she’s rather paler; but like every Willingham Percheron
she combines great elegance with the power and substance you expect in a
good Shire; also she has a head like a fine quality riding horse, clearly showing
the Arabian ancestry of the Percheron. She pulls a neat little agricultural cart,
but shows her paces when Lyn drives her in a ladies’ cart.
The Clydesdales present include Alasdair Govan’s four bay geldings, Edward,
Mac, Donald and Thomas. It’s always a treat to meet Alasdair, one of the
friendliest people on the circuit, as is Gawin Holmes. Gawin also drives a team
of bay geldings, Tom, Jerry, Sorbie and Jake, sponsored by Co-operative
Funeral Care North. The Co-operative Funeral Care South is made up of John
Goodwin and his team of bay Shires, Oscar, Sidney, Dizzy B, and Jim, who
shine in any company and more often than not, win the class.
However in the Teams display, it was interesting to see the Horse Drawn
Occasions “chequerboard” team, consisting of two grey Shires and two
Suffolks. It’s not a show team because of the contrast in colour and breed, but
the effect of alternate chesnut and grey horses is very attractive.
I found plenty more horses shown by familiar faces and new ones as well – I
certainly never realised before just how many horses are brought to this event.
For four days, people can enjoy displays of harness, ladies’ carts, team
driving, and more, all with a knowledgeable commentary by David Jeffries.
There is also a very enjoyable musical drive of eight pairs, which I was told
was put together by John Goodwin and David Curtis.
Another display in this arena was John Parker with a team of four lovely grey
Connemaras with long snow-white tails. Wouldn't heavy horses be more
beautiful as well as happier with tails like that? What's wrong with plaiting
tails up for show? Do their hindquarters really look bigger if they only have a
little spike of a tail? If so, then why can't the illusion be seen by artists who
have to look harder than most in order to draw a life-like sketch? Or do you
merely want to see the horse’s massive hindquarters with nothing hiding them?
Do you have a problem with horses as God (or Nature) made them? Really?
On Saturday, plenty of in-hand horses put in an appearance for Show Day.
Champion was Old Croft Empress, a four-year-old barren mare, a bright bay
with three white legs. A daughter of Dothan Charlie and Acle Marchioness, she
belongs to the Langley and Teasdale partnership. The reserve championship
went to the second in the same class, four-year-old Hireathog Holly, a black
beauty by Spring Show Champion Penrhos Braveheart. Owner Morley Roberts
always turns her out magnificently, with eye-catching red plaits that show her
colour to advantage.
Rural Crafts.
A few hundred yards away from the horses, people were enjoying tractor
pulling, monster truck displays, old-fashioned fairgrounds and quad bike
stunts. With time to explore, I headed for an enormous rural craft marquee
that seemed to go on, and on, and on...
Here were all kinds of wonderful things that would have tempted me in the
past, but now I’m so short of space, it’s necessary to be strict. When
something catches your eye, it’s wise to ignore the cliché of: “ I wish I’d
bought it when I saw it.” – invented to part people from their money. Instead,
walk on and look at other stalls, then see if you remember what caught your
eye earlier. If you forget, you were right not to buy on first sight. If you can’t
get something out of your head and you know exactly where you will put it or
when you will wear it, then return. Someone else might have bought it by then,
but – hey! – we all have different tastes! Not once was I disappointed!
Even with the strictest criteria, I still spent serious money in this marquee…
First I fell in love with Koncept22's dichroic glass jewellery. Dichroic glass is
more expensive than many forms of jewellery, but its brilliance makes it well
worth the extra. I selected an iridescent blue and purple pendant with a golden
sheen, but couldn’t find ear-rings in a style I liked to match. A little further on, I came
across Watch this Space, displaying resin jewellery made by owner Tora and
partner, to a special formula that ensures glorious colour. Sure enough, there
were brilliant blue and purple ear-rings in a style that caught my eye, and both
sellers were very friendly and helpful when I compared them with the pendant,
offering an exchange if I didn’t get a satisfactory match. My first choices matched
exactly! Then I had a further jewellery-making idea involving leaf-shaped
pendants and earrings in brilliant green, and Tora couldn't have been more
helpful. She hadn't got the right jewellery on the stall, so she brought it the next
day.
Rural craft marquees contain things for everyone. After too much exertion, my
back hurt. A friendly seller called Andy let me try the benefits of Emu Oil. The
tiniest smear, well rubbed in, made that pain disappear immediately. The rest
of my back was complaining to a lesser degree, but to have no pain at the
worst point showed me the benefits of the cream. £20 seems a lot for a small
pot, but you need so little. After buying a pot, I calculated that each time I used
it would cost me about 20p, and it lasted until I was asleep that night.
However the most wonderful discoveries in rural craft marquees are made by
folk who appreciate the difference between cheap Chinese charity-shop fodder
and fine hand-made craftwork. I’ve heard the tale of a woman who saw a stall
of expensively and beautifully crafted figurines, priced according to their
worth, and squawked: “They’re £3.99 in Aldi!” I have news for her. Artists
don’t enjoy starving in their garrets!
Don Bishop’s landscape photography won the Mary and Bernard Cole
Memorial Cup for the best-presented stand. Walls are for hanging pictures. I
could appreciate the challenges Don had to overcome, spending many hours,
often making repeated visits to a chosen spot, waiting for perfect weather
conditions, and then the light, and the clouds… But as for finding space for a
photo… as an artist, my house is my gallery so I’m even stricter about buying,
or usually *Not* buying!
Yet one of Don’s photos haunted me. It was that ethereal phenomenon of the
newly risen sun above a sea of cloud with “island” hilltops, but the towers of
Corfe Castle loomed atmospherically above the mist. I knew I’d find space!
Then came the greatest discovery of all – Mirror Reflections – Susan Plain's
mirrors! The sun shines into my house all day long, lighting up a collection of
brightly coloured glass on every windowsill, hence mirrors with frames of
colourful glass drew me to them like a magnet. Rich bright colours for a rich
bright life!
Most had highly original frames of stained glass – some rainbow coloured,
some in a more limited range. I imagined them in sunlight. What would it be like
to actually live with stained glass instead of merely admiring it in churches or
grand buildings? Since it’s so therapeutic to gaze at my present glass
collection, how much more so would it be if I had one or more of these
mirrors hanging where the sunlight caught it, to enhance a room full of books
and artwork? Like any beautifully hand-crafted item that took many hours to
make, they are not cheap, but why should they be? Every good craftsman or
woman works for very much less by the hour that the folk who criticise their
prices!
I saw a way to prevent the mirrors from taking the wall space I reserve for
paintings. Many were tall and narrow. Would they fit in the narrow space
between the curtains and the windows, at right angles to the glass? Now I’ve
got my choices home, the answer is: “Yes, they do, as though made for the
space, and they look simply MAGNIFICENT!” What’s more, they create the illusion that the room is wider as well as lighter! Susan, I’m coming back for more!
Ben Potter's Eagles and Vultures.
Outside, near the heavy horse ring, there were birds of prey. Ben Potter has a
pair of the biggest eagles in the world – Steller’s Sea Eagles – along with three
vultures, a Bald Eagle and a White-tailed Sea Eagle. Ben is a strong supporter
of conservation projects to breed these birds in huge aviaries as they get
scarcer in the wild. Then, if safe habitat can be found, birds can be eventually
be released into the wild. The idea is to fly birds like Arthur, the white-headed
vulture who tries to eat any lady vulture he meets, and young birds, who will
eventually mature into breeding pairs. Ben ploughs the fees earned by this
display into conservation projects, while with his assistant, Rebecca, he earns a
living flying falcons to scare away flocks of birds from places where they clash
with human interests. Three new falcons
are being trained while going on tour with the team of eagles and vultures; I met
Mad Max, Rebecca's gyrfalcon hybrid.
Whatever happens during his time in the arena, Ben can keep up an amusing
and informative commentary. His relationship with his eagles and vultures
comes over clearly; and so do their individual personalities. It seems wonderful
to me that these great birds, who are not tame in the way that parrots become tame,
can be set completely free while still sitting happily on their perches, and Ben
needs body language to persuade them to fly. After a short delay, they take off
– “free as a bird in the air” – and return of their own free will – because they
know they’ll receive food. Meanwhile, having watched many birds of prey in
the wild, I’ve always thought that if they didn’t get hungry they wouldn’t
bother to fly at all. Ben’s birds bear this idea out; they can take a lot of gentle
persuasion before they consent to take off.
Once in the air, however, they sometimes have other ideas. When Thelma, the
little Hooded Vulture, takes her turn, Ben relates how she once landed on a
mediaeval barbecue and started stuffing herself with half-cooked food.
“A sparrow just flew this way”, remarked David Jeffries during his
commentary, as Arthur cruised over for a look at Saturday’s heavy horse
show. David had reason to be worried; on Wednesday, Rupert the Steller’s
Sea Eagle had opted for a longer look at the horses. He’d decided to land in
the middle of the arena during a display, so for twenty minutes both rings came
to a halt. To lure him back, Ben released his prospective mate, Camilla, and for
a while two of the biggest eagles in the world circled the biggest horses in
England, until the eagles grew tired of the game, and headed back to the person
they associated with food. Small dogs and off-site rabbits were safe – a snack
provided by Ben was a lot less bother for them than catching anything for
themselves…
Once the display is finished, Ben and Rebecca are the friendliest people with
the warmest welcome for a bird-lover like me. I'd first met them and their wonderful birds at the Royal Bath and West Show, where the wholly unexpected sight of the biggest eagle in the world had stopped me dead in my tracks.
Where to Stay.
There's no problem knowing where to stay. Campsites where people like
me can stay in luxury surround the event. It's called “glamping” (glamour
camping), and I love camping on site; it always seems to me far better than
staying off-site and enduring the inevitable traffic queue twice daily. I believe
there is an even more upmarket option for people prepared to pay more, but I
love my tent so much I never investigated it.
I know people who don't fancy camping because they imagine that campers are
cold and wet. Why? In the 1930s, when money was short and people couldn't afford better holidays, they endured cold wet tents. If people not alive then, who don't like the
idea of camping, were to think about the following equation –
– Tent manufacturers want to stay in business.
– Modern technology can design fabrics good enough for space travel.
– People don't do things if they don't enjoy them.
– then they would realise that modern campers stay warm and dry!
It beats paying the infamous single supplement for the worst room and the worst table to be treated as though you have an infectious disease, only to run out of money half-way through the summer!
I've been a backpacker, but with a car to carry my stuff, I now camp in style.
My tent is bigger and once it's up, I lay a strip of colourful carpet and a faux
fur rug. I put a brightly coloured chair inside the tent, with cushions to make it
the right height. Then comes the airbed – utter luxury to someone who was
once accustomed to sleeping on hard ground! I'm through with sleeping bags,
so I have a duvet covered in cherry-red velour, and super-soft blankets… I’ve
never been able to decide which bed is more comfortable, the one at home or
the one in the tent!
Just look inside and all thoughts of discomfort are banished – my “portable
bed-sit” proclaims luxury! What's more, fellow campers always seem very
friendly. Although the fairground and various entertainments ran until some time past
midnight, the sound gave me no problem getting to sleep. I pack earplugs.
In the evening, the sound added to the atmosphere, especially on the first night
when the music changed to Carmina Burana: “O Fortuna... Velut luna...” The big wheel
shone white in spotlights with a tall rainbow coloured ride besides it.
So I not only enjoyed comfort close to the event, but the stewards thoughtfully
placed me as close as possible to the heavy horses and my other interests.
On this weekend anyone prepared to travel a long way usually has an
impressive choice because of the clash with Burghley Horse Trials and the
Chatsworth Country Fair. Some of the people I met hadn't missed the event
once in 35 years! I’ve now tried all three, and my mind is similarly made up. With respect to the other two, no matter how much I've enjoyed them in the past, since I’ve discovered what the Great Dorset Steam Fair is really like, I’ll be back every year!