Heavy Horses at the Royal Norfolk Show.

Heavy Horses at the Royal Norfolk Show.

The Norfolk Showground,
Norwich.

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July 1st - 2nd, 2015.

by Rosemary Cooper.

The 2015 Royal Norfolk Show took place under the blazing skies of high summer; incredible weather for an incredible show. As one of the high points of the show season, it has a wonderful sense of occasion, making it well worth the long journey from Wales, and now it has happily moved into that sorry gap left in early July by the demise of the Royal Show.

Its two days are crammed with classes of every description for all four breeds of British heavy horse, and, unlike most of the events I visit, there was hardly a moment to see other parts of the show. Most classes took place in the beautiful Ivan Cooke ring, with a welcome group of trees at one end for spectators to escape the heat of the sun; exhibitors sweltering in their hats and jackets were less fortunate!

Copyright Rosemary Cooper, 2015 .

Agricultural Turnouts.

Harness Classes.

And It Doesn't End There!

Shires in-hand.

Copyright Rosemary Cooper, 2015.

The first day, Wednesday, began with in-hand classes for Shires, judged by Mr Graham Ward. I've been admiring Jim Yates' lovely Sheepwash Derbyshire's Eventide since she first hit the show scene as a two-year-old, and in all that time I can't recollect seeing her beaten at a county show. This show was no exception; I wonder if Jim has managed to keep count of all her championships over the last five years? She is a bright bay like her sire, Trem-y-Wyddfa Mascot, who won the King George V Cup in 2005. Her dam, Sheepwash Honesty, was given to Jim's neighbour Fred Gillett, on condition he kept the unusual prefix. Although she was bred just down the road from Jim's farm, for the first year or so of her life, he didn't even know she was there! She now has her second foal at foot, a filly, Cowerslane Georgie, by Jim's stallion Cowerslane Imperial.

With “Evie's” record, it's not surprising she'd already qualified for the Shire Horse of the Year Show, so the qualification passed to the reserve champion. This was the jet black mare who finished second in “Evie’s” class, Bryan Banham's five-year-old Acle Wilhelmina.

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Clydesdales in-hand.

Mrs Nicola Pargeter made the long trip from Northumberland to judge the Clydesdale classes, an innovation this year with an encouraging turnout for a show so distant from traditional Clydesdale country. John and Margot McIntyre triumphed with their turnout horses, taking the championship with Vicky, who was top barren mare, and the reserve with their gelding, Bailey.

Copyright Rosemary Cooper, 2015.

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Suffolks in-hand.

On the second day Mr John Peacock had to sort out strong classes of Suffolks. He found his champion in Fiona Clark's son of Euston Bobby Dazzler, Shotleyfield Dazzling Duke, who later won the Jack Juby MBE Perpetual Challenge Trophy for the best Suffolk or Percheron stallion. In the process Duke beat Aimee Balls-Jones' Percheron, Boyland Albert. Reserve Suffolk champion was the Fleming's lovely barren mare, Eyke Samphire.

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Percherons in-hand.

Mr John McDermott had smaller numbers of Percherons to judge. I'm a huge fan of the Willingham Percherons, so whenever I visit a big show in Percheron country, I hope to see Gordon Bailey show one of his string of magnificent mares. Unfortunately Gordon and his chosen mare were missing because he was ill. I wish him a speedy recovery! However, the champion, Boyland Albert, is an attractive horse who has found his way into my sketchbook.

(In hand judging is not a spectator sport when the horses aren't moving – time passes much faster if I sketch them – and later when I paint them, people compliment me on a knowledge of equine anatomy hard to gain by other means.)

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Young Handlers.

Each breed had its own Young Handlers class, producing four winners who were all sixteen-year-old girls, and well supported except for the new Clydesdale section. However Clydesdale winner Shannon Pawsey had two bites at the cherry, also finishing third in the Percheron class won by Alice Hunns. Georgia Wright won the Shire class and Francesca Aitchison the Suffolk equivalent.

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Ridden Class.

Two fairly recent innovations now well established in the show schedule are the classes for ridden horses and for two-wheeled carts. Watching either of these from under the tall shady trees, there wasn’t a better place in the world to be! Mrs Pargeter judged a strong class of eleven ridden entries; riding every one in spite of having given birth only five weeks earlier. With three breeds present, a Shire, a Suffolk, and a Clydesdale filled the first three places. Michelle Hutley piloted Wendy Toomer-Harlow's Horsmans Ace Card (Badger) into the winner's spot. The next two places went to Mr and Mrs Murrell's Mynchen's Manor Pollyanna, with 16-year-old Lizzy Murrell, and N and J Heavy Horses' Glebe View Barney, with Shannon Pawsey, already mentioned as Clydesdale Young Handle winner. Badger won himself a ticket to the ridden final at Equifest.

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Ladies' Carts.

A couple of ladies who had already tasted success filled the top two places in the two-wheeled cart class. Margo McIntyre and Bailey looked immaculate and took first place; equally eye-catching was Wendy Toomer-Harlow with another of her Shires, Walton Bomber in second, but it must have been a hard decision for turnout judge Mr John Fairbairn to place them ahead of Zoe Meek with Glen Cass’ marvellous Suffolk all-rounder, Kentwell Paigale.

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Trade Turnouts.

Trade turnout classes at this show are very strongly contested, and a highlight of the show is the King George V Cup, to be won in the pairs class. This included half a dozen of the top turnouts in the country, with another half-dozen crowd-pleasers making for a well-filled ring. This year, first prize went to the bay Shires of John Goodwin. The Southern representative of Co-operative Funeral Care, John went on to win the next day's singles class as well as being third in the teams. Also involved in the shake-up of the pairs and singles were Tom Henfrey's magnificent black Canadian Percherons, who are many-times champions like their rivals, David Curtis’ equally splendid grey English Percherons, yet this time both had to battle it out for second and third places.

The teams class went to David Mouland's unicorn of sorrel Belgians, averaging about 19 hands tall, and with David's usual leader, Supreme, back in top form. Since John and Margo McIntyre decided to bring their Clydesdales south of the border more often, they have chalked up a formidable number of victories and surely have many more still to come, but this time they had to be content with second place.

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Agricultural Turnouts.

An interesting implements class was won by Hazel Chapman and Whitton Teazle with a flat roller. Winners of the agricultural single class were Mary Fuller and her family’s grey Percheron, Jester, to a Wiltshire boat waggon. A few years ago when Jester was heavily dappled, he was if anything, even more eye-catching, but as far I know, they have yet to be beaten. Andrew Thompson’s double-shafted Oxfordshire Cotrave waggon, with his pair of Suffolks, Craik Howe John Boy and Mulgrave Pascal the Rascal, pleased judge John McDermott just as much in the pairs class. (I have a soft spot for Pascal the Rascal because of his rich red colour and wonderful name.)

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Harness.

Two harness classes delighted the crowds. John McDermott chose Pip Read’s black Cragg Hall Connor, with traditional brass harness, as winner of the Shire class, and Mr Wager’s Suffolk Lagan Oswald as winner of the class for the other three British breeds.

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And it doesn’t end there!

At most shows, once heavy horse classes are over, I hope to be in time to see the chickens and the craft marquee before exhibitors pack up at the end of the day. This time, I couldn’t even think about it, so my sole magnet was the exhibition of paintings and sculpture by local artists, and at the end of the first day I enjoyed a lovely long browse. I was of course drawn to paintings of heavy horses, some of them quite recognisable as individuals. My favourite was a watercolour of Gawin Holmes driving a pair of Clydesdales to his Co-operative Funeral Care dray (the Northern branch) complete with groom Davy Collins.

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The Royal Norfolk Show. Official Site.

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