The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Deadlock in judging of heavy horses
TOUGH CHOICES: Umpires kept busy
It was a case of deadlock amidst the judging of Scotland’s heavy horses on the opening day of the Royal Highland Show.
Competitors and judges locked horns alike as the call was made not once but twice for an umpire to step in and decide on final championship line-ups.
Beverley Halls and Sandy Baird were the first to reach a stalemate in the Highland pony arena – giving Mary McCall- Smith the final sway to pull forward the popular stallion Glenbanchor Gillebrighde as Highland Pony supreme.
This five-year-old stallion, sired by Moss-Side Quercus Rubra (by Moss-Side Iain Mor), which is owned and was shown by Inverurie’s John Reid, had already stood as champion of champions at the Royal Northern Agricultural Society’s show at Thainstone in the spring.
“He’s just unmistakably a true Highland,” said Mary.
“He’s very ‘pony’, very correct and I just really love him.”
Indeed, when Mary judged the male breed ring at the Highland in 2012, she took Gillebrighde through the ranks to stand as reserve male and then reserve overall for the breed.
“He’s very pleasing to the eye and he is so true to type,” agreed Mrs Halls, who had championed the stallion from the male ring.
On the losing side of the battle Mr Baird had found favour instead with the female leader Heald Town Bonny, an eight-year-old daughter of Major General of Whitefield, from Tracy and Ivan McMillan.
“This mare had lovely presence and she moved well,” said Mr Baird.
In the judging of the Clydesdale horses Ronnie, Mike and Pete Black, from Newton of Collessie collected the Cawdor Cup championship for the fifth time – but the second in their own right.
Their winner, which took another umpire decision to prevail as overall for the breed, was the yearling Collessie Jennifer – bred from former Royal Highland champion Ormiston Mains Amber.
“She’s just a filly that is full of quality,” said female judge Tom Fountain, from Marston Montgomery. “It’s hard to find fault with her.” Ultimately agreeing with Mr Fountain’s observations, Cheshire’s Philip Moss took her forward over another Cawdor winner – Doura Master Eddie from Charlotte Young – in his role as intermediary.
“It’s fabulous to have two Cawdor champions at the top of the breed,” he commented. “But I just felt the filly is outstanding. She was just that little bit more fresh in her limbs. I really think she will go on to be one of the all-time great breed champions.”
Finishing tantalisingly close to his first ever Ingliston championship, Dollarbased Robert Sibbald showed Shielhill Diamond Jubilee to take the reserve female Clydesdale honours.
Robert co-owns the home-bred threeyear-old mare by Mollinhillhead Celebrity with his grandmother Mrs Rimmer. This was their best result at the Highland so far.
The tussle for top spot between these two top Clydesdale females is now proving somewhat of a regular occurrence.
On their last head-to-head at the National Stallion Show, in March, it was Jubilee that prevailed to stand as Clydesdale breed supreme.
At the Winter Fair in November the roles were reversed once again with Jennifer just pipping Jubilee to the overall plaudits.
“This mare is a really great example but for me, on the day at Ingliston, the yearling filly just came into the ring with that touch more X-Factor,” added Mr Fountain.
Doura Master Eddie, the top male and reserve overall, was commended by male breed judge Walt Bedford as both “tall and handsome”.
“I thought he thoroughly deserved to take the overall win,” he added. “It’s rare you’ll get a stallion that is busy at stud coming out to look and perform so well. That really has taken some doing.”
Emotions ran high in the Shetland Pony ring when Westpark Royal Star bounced back from colic to take the clear overall championship lead for HP Sleigh & Son, of St Johns Wells.
This nine-year-old was bred Harry’s aunt Marjorie Martin.
The stallion, which was reserve male and reserve overall at the Highland last year, suffered an impaction colic in May following a successful outing to Fife Show.
“It’s thanks to our vet Hamish Hunter and everyone at Ardene that he’s not only still here but has bounced back so brilliantly,” said Harry. “The win means so very much to the whole family.”
Westpark Royal Star’s 2015 success brings the Sleighs’ tally of top Royal Highland wins – shared between the Shetland and North Country Cheviot sections – close to 50 championships, since 1892.
It’s fabulous to have two Cawdor champions at the top of the breed. PHILIP MOSS