I've just received this from Tessa Westlake, of the Racehorse Rehoming Centre in Chard, Somerset, reporting great success for their Open Show last month.
The show was a great success, the weather held and the turnout was very good and up on the last two years.
Sadly this year all the clear profit will be used to purchase replacement haylage as we lost our whole crop of winter feed due to the dreadful weather prior to the show. and we are finding out that (of course) haylage and straw will be at an all time premium so, IN one hand and OUT the other.
Also this is the time of year where inquiries come in thick and fast from owners asking for placements for horses they can no longer keep or are retiring through injury from racing. we have just had an request to take in 3 from the same racing yard all with tendon troubles, also its the time of year where inquiries from prospective loanees start to dwindle. So it looks like a long hard winter for us.
The show its self was fun and relatively stress free for most of the volunteers, although the St Johns Ambulance were considerably late in arriving, holding up the start of the Show Jumping and giving me a few palpitations.
And the second lorry to arrive, having taken a incorrect angle into the field, promptly got a back wheel suck in a ditch having to be rescued by our very old but thankfully still virile tractor.
Stan Mellor enjoyed judging the two racehorse classes with the knowledgeable help of World Horse Welfare (ILPH) officer Jeff Herrington and his wife Mary.
Winner of the Show Horse Class was Becky Hunt on Gordys Joy who also took the Performance class and obviously the overall championship.
Happily there were no similarities to the start of the Grand National and only one near miss where one rider lost a stirrup as the horse, aptly named Storm Damage, bronked slightly in his show. Rider Neil Ransford did extremely well to stay aboard! Showing is not Neil's forte, he is best known in the trail/hunting field.
Sadly this year all the clear profit will be used to purchase replacement haylage as we lost our whole crop of winter feed due to the dreadful weather prior to the show. and we are finding out that (of course) haylage and straw will be at an all time premium so, IN one hand and OUT the other.
Also this is the time of year where inquiries come in thick and fast from owners asking for placements for horses they can no longer keep or are retiring through injury from racing. we have just had an request to take in 3 from the same racing yard all with tendon troubles, also its the time of year where inquiries from prospective loanees start to dwindle. So it looks like a long hard winter for us.
The show its self was fun and relatively stress free for most of the volunteers, although the St Johns Ambulance were considerably late in arriving, holding up the start of the Show Jumping and giving me a few palpitations.
And the second lorry to arrive, having taken a incorrect angle into the field, promptly got a back wheel suck in a ditch having to be rescued by our very old but thankfully still virile tractor.
Stan Mellor enjoyed judging the two racehorse classes with the knowledgeable help of World Horse Welfare (ILPH) officer Jeff Herrington and his wife Mary.
Winner of the Show Horse Class was Becky Hunt on Gordys Joy who also took the Performance class and obviously the overall championship.
Happily there were no similarities to the start of the Grand National and only one near miss where one rider lost a stirrup as the horse, aptly named Storm Damage, bronked slightly in his show. Rider Neil Ransford did extremely well to stay aboard! Showing is not Neil's forte, he is best known in the trail/hunting field.
So WELL DONE to all concerned, competitors and helpers. It sounds like it was a great success and a day to remember ! (And I'm intrigued by this 'still virile tractor' ! The mind boggles. Any chance of a pic, Tessa ?)
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