Irish Draught Horse Society

ANNUAL BREED SHOW 2009

Tue, 09 Dec 2008 15:07:09 +0000

THE IRISH DRAUGHT HORSE SOCIETY (GB)
ANNUAL BREED SHOW 2009
19 & 20 SEPTEMBER
AT WESTON LAWNS, BULKINGTON, WARWICKSHIRE.

Following many requests from the Membership for a change of location of the Annual Breed Show, various Members of Council have searched long and hard to find a suitable venue. We are delighted to announce that we will be moving back to the Midlands, to Weston Lawns Equitation Centre in Warwickshire. This exciting new venue is easily accessed from Junction 2 of the M 6; please note that whatever your computer/sat-nav tells you, even if you are coming from the north, Junction 2 is the easiest and quickest way to the venue.

As our Show is late in the season there is always the worry of bad weather and cancellation due to rain sodden fields. There will be no problem with this issue at Weston Lawns as they provide very large all-weather rings with a fabulous surface. There is also a lovely canteen that overlooks the two large rings, masses of outdoor seating, a large lorry park, and plenty of proper loos! If you want to know more just visit their web site atwww.westonlawnsequitation.co.uk

A new show committee is currently being formed, but any enquiries regarding the Show can be made to either:

Louise Morton, tel. 01283 716573 e-maillingbournestud@btopenworld.com or

Brian Gates, tel. 01461 700434 e-mailtreasurer@irishdraughthorsesociety.com

The Council of the Irish Draught Horse Society (GB) would like to thank the outgoing show committee namely, Ellen Walton, Sue Benson, Jackie Murray and Yvonne Thomas, for all their hard work and dedication over the past four years, and to express their sincere thanks to all the stewards, helpers, competitors, and particularly all our generous sponsors for supporting our show.

Ebony Hill

Sat, 15 Nov 2008 22:32:31 +0000

EBONY HILL - RID STALLION
By Touch of the Blues RID ex: Embla Bow by Colman

It is with a great deal of sadness that Ogilvy and Allan Webster report the sudden and tragic death of their stallion Ebony Hill. Hogan was euthanased at the Royal Dick Veterinary College in Edinburgh on Monday 27th October.

After displaying classic grass sickness clinical signs, he was referred to the Dick Vet by our own vet. A laparotomy was performed which revealed a small length of ileum had slipped into the inguinal canal, this obstruction had caused compromise of the intestine and our boy was euthanased under general anaesthetic. This has only been seen once before at the Veterinary College in sixty years.

Although Hogan had only been with us for just under a year he had already settled in and had become a much admired and valued friend. Hogan knew when we were near by and always welcomed us with a friendly whinny. We have never dealt with such a gentleman, a true gentle giant.

We have eight of our own mares in foal to Hogan, due next year and when he was alive we were eagerly awaiting our new family members. Now that Hogan is not with us anymore we are now even more eager to see his foals safely on the ground.

I�ve never seen a horse fill a stable as he did, and his empty box at the top of our yard is a very sad sight for us all.

Sleep tight Hogan
Julie

The British Breeder Magazine

Sat, 18 Oct 2008 15:55:00 +0100

PROMOTE YOUR STUD, STUD BOOK and BREEDING INDUSTRY SERVICES TO THE ONLY SPECIALIST MAGAZINE IN THE SECTOR IN THE UK

The first issue of The British Breeder proved highly popular with both readers and advertisers alike and production of the second issue is now well underway. Launched as part of the initial development of the Lead Body for British Performance Sport Horses and Ponies (PSHP) the magazine is free to all PSHP individual members and bulk copies will be provided to member stud books and other organizations for distribution as they wish, and readership is therefore directly targeted to the sport horse breeding industry in the UK.

THE BRITISH BREEDER MAGAZINE ISSUE No 2

The forthcoming issue of The British Breeder is an ideal vehicle for studs, breed societies and related sectors of the sport horse breeding industry as it will include:

o A special illustrated feature on a number of the most successful breeders in the 2008 Futurity plus full listings of all Elite and 1st
premium winners in the Futurity

o Results of major breeding events including studbook gradings

o Regular columns devoted to:

o Stud News

o Breed Society News

o British horses and ponies in sport

o NED News

o What�s on (list of calendar dates etc)

o Reports on PSHP events including stallion parades and roadshows

o Research news

o Product news and book reviews

o A question and answer column devoted to a different breeding personality every issue

o Advertising at a range of rates from 4-colour full page to b/w � page

o Loose inserts by arrangement

The copy date for both editorial and advertising for the 1st issue is 7th November 2008.

This is a way for you to reach the sport horse and pony breeding industry and its clients directly in a way never possible before and we look forward to your support.

News items should be sent to

Celia Clarke

The Editor, The British Breeder, 85 Fishers Field, Buckingham MK18 1SF.

Tel: 01280 812281. E-mail: celia@cwath.demon.co.uk

For advertising information please contact

Jan Rogers at the BEF.

Tel: 07725 332595 E-mail: janrogersequine@aol.com

Change of Royal Show dates 2009

Sat, 18 Oct 2008 15:52:57 +0100

The Royal Show dates for 2009 will be Tuesday 7th � Friday 10th July. The decision to change the dates was made by the Society�s Trustees following consultation with exhibitors and other Show Societies and will enable the Show to sit more comfortably next to other events in the calendar. Hugh Oliver-Bellasis, Chairman of the Royal Agricultural Society of England commented on the change of dates; �The Society thought long and hard about the change of dates for its prestigious flagship event. However, it was felt that to move the Royal Show back by a couple of days would help to fit in to the Show schedule and would be more convenient for both livestock exhibitors and stand holders�.

JOY AT HOYS FOR ENID AND ABBI

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 15:47:12 +0100

There was much celebration yesterday, Thursday 9th October, when our own Enid Lord and her home bred mare, Ballineen Glen Abbess, made history in the Cuddy Final at the 60th Diamond Jubilee Horse of the Year Show at the NEC, Birmingham.

Abbi is the first Irish Draught Horse to qualify for the Cuddy in the entire history of the Championship and a little band of dedicated Irish Draught (and Enid) supporters made the trip to the NEC to give them encouragement and support.

The pony section was judged first and the winner was a beautiful Welsh Section 'A' stallion, aptly named PINEWELL BUCKS FIZZ.

When the 10 finalists in the horse section paraded into the ring, Enid with Abbi and her foal, Ballineen It's William, by Bealagh Blue, received an enthusiastic cheer from the Irish Draught supporters.
The standard was extremely high and the excellent judge looked at each horse thoroughly, taking everything into account.
A fault with the sound system almost cut the class in half as several of the finalists tried to bolt for the exit, but Abbi just turned around to check that there was no mad machine-gunner in the audience and then turned back and stood squarely in her hoofprints whilst the class continued. William never moved a muscle.

The placings were read out in reverse order from 10th place. When placings had reached 6th place and still no mention of Abbi we were on the edge of our seats! 5th place - by now no fingernails left, and then "In fourth place, Mrs Enid Lord's home bred and produced Irish Draught mare, Ballineen Glen Abbess..." we were out of our seats!

The winner of the Cuddy In-Hand horse section was Robert Walker's VANTAGE POINT, but in the Final, held on Thursday night, the wonderfully athletic pony lived up to his name and took the Trophy with Vantage Point as Reserve.

To qualify in the first place and then to come fourth in this prestigious Championship is a wonderful achievement in anyone's book, but add to that the fact that the first three were all shown by professional handlers and producers and it really puts things in perspective.
As one supporter said 'This is the biggest thing to happen to the Irish Draught in decades' - who could argue?

Enid was full of praise for the organisers and the people on the ground at HOYS who 'couldn't have been more helpful'. They provided Abbi and Foal with a very large stable and her neighbours, who had the heavy horse teams for the musical display, really pulled together and helped Enid with her preparations tremendously.

WELL DONE, ENID AND ABBI (NOT TO MENTION YOUNG WILLIAM) ON YOUR GREAT ACHIEVEMENT!
Norma Grubb

Where would people like to see the Breed Show held?

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 20:53:55 +0100

Where would people like to see the Breed Show held?

Re: The Forum and discussion started 22.08.08 by Simsarstud - HERE

Hello to everyone from the Show Secretary,

The above discussion on the Forum is very interesting and has brought up some very pertinent points. I would like to share with you all the basic requirements we need for a two day show, as well as how we try to offer the very best we can source for members. I hope the discussions that ensue will take into account some of these points, so that we can all feel we have had some contribution towards making the Annual Breed Show even better. We are always looking for new ideas and new people to be involved with the Show, so please feel free to make comments and ideas and we hope you will get involved with YOUR SHOW, it�s not too late for this year.

Theshow team has looked for other locations in the central area of the country, remembering the members who live in the extremities of the country like Aberdeen and Cornwall, but to no avail. We did arrange a show in Worcester area about five years ago but had to cancel it due to lack of entries. However, this doesn�t mean that we will not go to that area again, what it does highlight that we have to be sure we would get the entries. At present we regularly have people from Aberdeen who do the 10 hour journey to Lincoln to attend the Show.

When looking for a site, our requirements are - first the date - as we have qualifiers for several championships, it needs to be towards the end of the show season, but we have to consider the horses we are catering for; both ridden horses and in-hand. The former tend to be stabled and rugged, but the in-hand horses are out, so the date has to be before horses� coats start to break. This takes us to late August or early September. The Bank Holiday weekend isn�t a good choice as every one in the country is on the roads, so traffic delays are very much more prevalent. Pop festivals, car and bike rallies, you name it, they are all held on the August Bank Holiday weekend.

The facility requirement is currently four good-sized level rings with collecting areas plus a ride-in area. At least 135 permanent stables are required. To hire sound temporary ones for bigger horses for a one-off show is very expensive. Good lorry and car parking is also required. The site needs to be serviced by good road access and motorways.

Having found a site that meets all the criteria, it then has to be at a reasonable COST, some locations are just prohibitive. There are stable costs (which include straw supplies and a clearing up cost) as well as premises and facility hire. The total cost of staging a two day show of our calibre is in the region of �25,000.

Lincoln has been provisionally booked for the next two years and we will continue to do so each year until another location has been confirmed, to ensure that our show can take place. Show grounds do have bookings in for several years ahead. Ideally the Society would like the show to move between two or three locations, within the central area of the country every two or three years, but as yet we haven�t even found facilities that meet most of the �yes tick boxes�

Sponsorship contributes hugely to the success of our show, and it takes many different forms. We are greatly indebted to our all our sponsors, from the many members, who generously give �20, �100 or even �500 year after year, to the company sponsorship we receive from Blue Chip Feeds, NFU Mutual and WeatherBeeta.

Many, many people contribute towards the show in kind, such as stewards, judges and those involved in transporting equipment, manning the show office and stand, all of which if charged would considerably increase the total cost of staging the show. Wherever the show is held there needs to be someone involved in the organising team, who lives in the area, as numerous trips are needed to arrange for show ground requirements down to tables, chairs and dustbins, catering and caters, security needs, stewards, first aid and veterinary cover and even clearing up after the show. Without thishidden form of sponsorship the show just would not function.

The number of rings could be possibly be less if a suitable indoor school could be used for say, a �Gala Performance� on the Saturday night. Racecourses have been visited and facilities checked, but all have additional the mandatoryinfluenza and tetanus vaccinations requirement, an added cost to some people, but none of the locations looked at have been able to meet our criteria.

Having given a broad outline of our present requirements, if there is anyone out there who would like to become involved in finding a new location with these facilities then please get in touch with the show team or our Chairman. We would be delighted to talk about any new locations within the central area of the country.

Also I feel this is the time to say that the present show team, having run the show for several years now, would be very pleased to welcome �new blood� in with a view to take over the running. So those of you out there with new views and ideas together with those who wish to have some team involvement, come and see what has to be done. Together with a new location you could take the show from strength to strength, so give it some thought and get in touch with us. We will be happy to talk to you and assist you.

By the way, if you feel you can offer some sponsorship, ��ounds or people (to assist on show days) for this year�s show, please get in touch with one of us, either, e-mail myself, belahladyAToneclickmailDOTco.uk or tel 01430 810692 or through our chairman Gaynor Mitchell e-mail Gaynor.mitchellATlineoneDOTnet or tel 01695 573406.

Thank you for your time, and hopefully we will see you all at the show in September.
Ellen Walton

HAPPY ENDING

Sun, 03 Aug 2008 16:09:24 +0100

HAPPY ENDING

By SNOWFORD STOKER out of TRINITY by MERRYGOLD.

1988 to 2008

�Happy Ending� was bred by my life long friend and veterinary surgeon Jackie Ross and so called, because he was the last pure bred foal born by Snowford Stoker who died suddenly the following year.

He was a super, big upstanding foal and there was no question he would stay entire. He was broken and inspected at three, when he was deferred until the following spring for having too much quality, he subsequently passed at four. He was considered, at the time, to be a modern Irish Draught but when he was re-inspected at six years, he passed with a record score.

He was a wonderful mover with natural balance, cadence and elasticity, but initially he simply couldn�t work out how the jumping went. After a lot of time, patience and money for broken poles, he suddenly got it! He had finally worked out that over the fence was far easier than through it, and when he did get the idea he was fantastic.

He was just rising six when he was 100 day performance tested, one of the select few to achieve Grade one Elite status.

Nothing fazed him, he was clever, quick and very talented, in the three years that followed we had a lot of success with him and he tried his heart out every time he stepped into a show ring. For Lester (as we called him) life was a blast and everything he did was full on.

He was a tremendous character and enjoyed the travelling and excitement of shows but was never difficult with other horses in close proximity, he knew the different jobs he had and didn�t confuse the two.

His ability, looks and action made him a popular stallion, he had covered a considerable number of mares in the UK and his young stock were beginning to win in the show ring. In 1997, as a nine year old, he was sold to Penmerryl Farm, Virginia, along with Touch of the Blues and five pure bred mares.

In 2000 I met him again when I was employed as stud manager at Penmerryl Farm until 2003 when I returned to England. He was then sold to Indian Creek Ranch, Montana where I understand, he ran with his mares until he died, an arrangement I believe he would have loved.

I read of his death with a very heavy heart and hope that out there somewhere, somebody has a son of his to carry on the line.

Maggie Spreckley

Internet Explorer Problem

Sat, 19 Jul 2008 17:02:16 +0100

I've had a couple of reports from people ....... who, using Internet Explorer, as soon as they come on the website, the page opens then Internet Explorer closes down !!!!
Without more details of the 'actual' pc configuration I cannot resolve this ...... however, as far as I can figure it, (and what I've read online), this appears, on a few pc's, to be caused by a recent 'Windows update', so may get resolved eventually. In the meantime, the only thing I can suggest is to download and use the excellentFirefox browser.

Of course, for people this is happening to, they probably cannot even get to see this !!;-))
But if you know anyone that is experiencing it, then please pass this on.
Dave

Updated 17 Aug, 2008
It seems like this problem effects Internet Explorer 6 (and previous versions), so updating to IE7 may solve it -

Download Internet Explorer 7 here
Download Firefox 3 here

* CUDDY FIRST FOR IRISH DRAUGHT *

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 14:33:00 +0100

PRESS RELEASE dated 11 JULY 2008 from Irish Draught Horse Society (GB)

*** CUDDY FIRST FOR IRISH DRAUGHT ***

Enid Lord and her magnificent home bred RID mare, Ballineen Glen Abbess, with pure bred colt foal at foot, Ballineen It�s William, made it a first for themselves and the Irish Draught breed when they won the Supreme In-Hand Championship at the Great Yorkshire Show on Thursday 10th July 2008, thus qualifying for the Cuddy Final at the Horse Of The Year Show in October 2008.

Due to the extreme wet weather, the qualifying class had been moved to the Grand Ring. The going was atrocious but Enid and Heather Glendenning, who had been drafted in to lead William, put on a wonderful personal show, which impressed judges and spectators alike. They proudly stood directly in front of Her Majesty The Queen, in the Royal Box, to receive this prestigious award, to the obvious delight of a huge audience.

This was the icing on the cake for Enid who had enjoyed successes earlier in the week. Abbi won the Irish Draught Brood Mare class on Tuesday, followed by the Irish Draught In-Hand Championship, which was a qualifier for the Supreme In-Hand Championship.

On Wednesday, in the Heavyweight Hunters, Abbi was placed second in a very strong class. Her foal at foot, Ballineen It�s William, by Enid�s own RID stallion Bealagh Blue, won the Heavyweight Hunter Colt Foal class, was Best Overall Hunter Colt Foal and crowned it all by being Reserve Champion Hunter Foal.

This is just the latest in a catalogue of wins for Abbi who in 2007, at fifteen years old and five months in foal, won the Ridden Championship at the Royal and then travelled up to the Great Yorkshire Show to win the Ridden Irish Draught Class, the Brood Mare Class and In-Hand Championship, before going on to win the Blue Chip & IDHS (GB) �2,000 Challenge Final at the Irish Draught Breed Show at Lincoln in September.

Enid, from Penwortham, Lancashire, was truly delighted with her three days at the Great Yorkshire and said she will be proud to represent the Irish Draught at HOYS.

Broodmare Inspections

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:53:22 +0100

Please note that the closing date for the Broodmare Inspections is the end of July, and not the end of June as stated in the newsletter. However it would still be helpful if members could apply as soon as possible, in order to assist in the tour planning process.
Heather Chaplin