The Pony Club

The Pony Club is an international voluntary youth organisation for young people interested in ponies and riding. There are around 350 branches and 550 centres in the UK alone. The Pony Club has been the starting point for a large majority of equestrian team members and medal winners.

At the Blackwater Country Show the Essex Farmers Branch of The Pony Club will entertain the crowds with a timed challenge event at lunchtime. So come and cheer on your favourite team!! We invite you to us after the event at the show or more information can be found at www.pcuk.org

Clydesdale

The Clydesdale is a breed of draught horse from Scotland named after the region and traditionally used for pulling heavy loads. After the Second World War the high levels of agricultural productivity could only be attained using tractors and sadly, horses were replaced by mechanical power. The breed remains 'at risk' with approximately 700 registered brood mares in the UK and about 100 registered stallions. Today, however, more and more people are using Clydesdales not just for showing and driving, but for farm work, horse logging and even riding; all of which will help to preserve this handsome, powerful horse.

Shires

The Shire comes from America and is the tallest, largest and most commonly found modern draught breed in the UK. They can be black, brown, bay or grey in colouring. After the First World War, numbers declined due to the introduction of motor-lorries and tractors, and the Second World War heralded the abrupt end of the horse age. The use of Shires in the modern age is more widely spread such as for pulling beer and bread deliveries, street cleaning and rubbish collection and they continue to be used in agriculture and timber operations to complement mechanisation. Research indicates that Society's are working to re-introduce Shire horse-power on canals for business and leisure.

Percheron

Originally from 'Le Perche' in the north west of France, the Percheron is a cross breed of Arabian and Flemish stock. After the First World War, the Percheron was imported to England as a general workhorse. Impressed with its docility, activity and power and ability to work both in mud and on hard surfaces enthusiasts keep the breed alive on farms in Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Lincolnshire, Co. Durham, and Hampshire. Now in the 21st century with energy crises and oil shortages, there is a tremendous amount of interest in the breed with many new studs being started in various parts of the country.

Suffolk Punch

The Suffolk Punch Trust was set up to purchase the stud of Suffolk horses from the Prison Service when the latter decided it was no longer able to maintain it. While the stimulus to found the Trust was the fate of the horses, the charity has been set up as an educational one whose aims are to educate children and adults about rural and agricultural matters and the natural environment. It will continue employ prisoners as part of their rehabilitation. The Trust raised enough money to buy the horses and the farm on which the stud is situated and became the owner of these on March 31st 2006.

The farm was formerly known as Sink Farm, Hollesley and Suffolk horses have been bred there since 1769 when it belonged to the Barthorp family. The Trust has found the 1890 field plan and what is now an expanse of arable land will be converted into permanent grass with hedges and we also have the original field names. This is a type of habitat which is rare in Suffolk and will encourage the conservation of wild life partial to this type of environment.

The stud has three stallions and a professional stud groom, Bruce Smith, and its importance for the survival of the Suffolk breed is of considerable significance. There are, of course, facilities for taking in breeders' mares and we hope to increase the size of the stud. The Trustees believe they are creating a project which, besides maintaining the stud, has so much to offer a very wide variety of people.

Essex Police

Due to a lack of Government Funding, for eight years Essex Police had been without its own horses and had to 'buy-in' mounted policing from the City of London Police.
In December 2007 the mounted patrols were reinstated providing public reassurance through visible policing.

The Essex Police Mounted Unit is based at Writtle College in Chelmsford and currently has four fully trained horses and four more in training. They serve both urban and rural areas supporting the delivery of neighbourhood policing.

Through the training programme the horses can qualify in public order policing to be used to police football matches. It is also essential that they continue to experience road use and the EPMU would like to thank road users across Essex, particularly in Writtle and Chelmsford where the unit is based, for their patience when driving behind police horses on patrol.

The Essex Police Mounted Unit has a stand with their horses at this years show.

Carriage Driving

Horses and ponies have been driven for thousands of years and even in the 21st century it's still a popular pastime for people of all ages and from all walks of life. There's a hard core of carriage drivers attracted beyond the speed and skill of scurry driving to the further challenge of horse driving trials. Shetlands and miniature ponies, elegant Gelderlanders or huge Shires, there's someone who drives them competitively.

The new arena challenge competition combines the need for accuracy and skill driving through sets of cones with the flexibility and daring of driving the course as fast as possible. The driver must also negotiate what's called an obstacle, choosing the quickest route through what look like mad roadworks
barriers. Gaps or "gates" are labelled A, B, C - up to E or F and - as you've guessed - these have to be driven in order. Pairs of cones are set out - with a ball on top of each cone - so any "clunk" and the ball falls, adding penalties to the driver's time. How quick can they go? Are the little ponies faster than the big horses?

It's teamwork on the carriage that makes the winner, with a groom on board, hanging on and using his or her balance and weight to keep the wheels on the ground. The pony or ponies - or horses - need to be well trained and obedient, quick and nimble. It's exciting, it's a new national challenge competition: come and watch!

Find out more about horse driving trials in East Anglia at www.eacdg.co.uk or call 01473 735732. There are many events and they are free to watch.

If you wish to attend the Blackwater Country Show as an exhibitor please contact the relevant person or the show office for an application pack or click here to apply online.