Capel Manor provided a lovely setting for the Show

On a warm September day the Suffolk Horse Society held its annual 'Suffolk Punch Spectacular' - a show solely devoted to the Suffolk Horse - in the attractive grounds of Capel Manor near Enfield. Bearing in mind the great scarcity of this, the most distinctive and possibly the rarest of 'rare breeds', the show did extremely well to attract so many individuals. When it closed with the Grand Parade the ring was filled with several rows of these great chesnut horses (traditionally the 't' in chestnut is not used when describing the colouring of this breed). It is highly unusual for any equine breed to comprise a single colour only, and to see a whole ring full of them is indeed a 'spectacular' sight.

Nigel Oakley with 'Punch' timber snigging

The first competition of the day to test the handlers' skill was the timber snigging in which the experience of the handlers and the horses' training and obedience were tested by pulling a piece of timber through a series of cones. The course was very tight and it soon ruthlessly exposed any flaws in the competitors' expertise. Unquestionably the equine star of the class was Rede Hall's 'Punch', a gelding who competed three times for different handlers. As the commentator pointed out, the horse must have begun to memorise the course! His final round under the guidance of Barry Adkins proved the winning one.

A promising class of Young Handlers was assessed by Mrs Carol Burr who said "they were a nice lot but, of course, some of the horses knew their job well which made them easier to handle." Nevertheless, the children proved themselves quite capable of showing these big horses most competently and to good advantage. The winner was Clare Fleming from Woodbridge. Daughter of the Society's Chairman, she obviously grew up with an interest in the breed. Clare was showing a three-year-old filly 'Eyke Beauty', which she admitted was her favourite among the family's horses. Apparently she really enjoys showing and plans to add to her success in the ring.

Paul Rockham's team of four

There was a fine display of Horse Drawn Vehicles and Implements: firstly the pairs and singles and then the teams of four. Randy Hiscox produced a very smart railway delivery waggon drawn by a pair but he later added another pair and appeared in the display of teams. Unusually, this team consisted entirely of mares - Donhead Hall Alexandra, Josephine, Juliette and Stephanie - all of which are in foal! Paul Rockham's 'Anti-Waste' waggon was another very polished turnout to appear in both sections and of considerable interest was the Massey-Harris 'Muck Spreader' in original condition. There were three teams of four on show and apparently it is many years since there was such a good turnout. It is extremely difficult to attract heavy horse teams to shows at the best of times and even more so in the case of a rare breed such as the Suffolk Punch. Most county shows would struggle to produce such a fine display.

We were treated to a fascinating display of a Hermaphrodite Waggon by Martin Goymour of Bramham Zoo. He originally appeared in the ring with the vehicle in the form of a harvest waggon (the commentator recalled them being used at apple picking time for working between the rows of trees collecting the boxes of fruit). This particular vehicle is relatively 'new' … the axle bears a date of 1942 but the waggon was constructed a year later by Cooks of Lincoln. Pulling the vehicle was Wandle Sandy, a 15-year-old gelding who certainly 'knows the ropes' since he was formerly owned by Young & Co., and was used regularly to deliver beer in London and appeared in trade turnouts. Sandy was unhitched and the front portion of the waggon was unpinned, leaving a tip cart to which he was quickly re-hitched and driven around the ring. The same process in reverse was carried out and the harvest waggon was easily reassembled.

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