The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Jennifer reigns supreme
Local filly takes top title as quality field turns out for centenary event
The North of Fife Foal Show Society celebrated its centenary show in style on Saturday with a quality turnout of Clydesdales at Highfield at Howe.
The addition of ridden and driving classes heightened the event’s atmosphere, with the centre’s facilities proving a big draw for competitors and spectators alike.
Fittingly, the trophy for the supreme horse was won locally by breed stalwart and former Clydesdale Horse Society president Ronnie Black, with his sons Mike and Pete, from nearby Newton of Collessie.
Their show-stopper was the leading home-bred two-year-old filly Collessie Jennifer.
“This filly really is in top order, I just couldn’t look past her,” said in-hand judge Walt Bedford, who travelled north to Fife to adjudicate from Sheepwalk Farm, Escrick, in Yorkshire.
“She sets a tremendous standard in terms of the breed – she’s just so symmetrical and beautiful to look at.”
Only lightly shown this season, Jennifer stood supreme at both the National Stallion Show and the City of Aberdeen, but her reputation certainly precedes her after she lifted both the Cawdor Cup and Sanderson Trophy as the supreme of the Clydesdale breed at the Royal Highland Show in 2015.
Taking the senior animals right through the card, Mr Bedford opted to bring the reserve senior champion Roughlands Alana, from Iain Johnston, of Kirkton Farm, Bothkennar, forward to stand as reserve show supreme.
“She’s a big, rangy and good moving animal,” said Mr Bedford.
This May-born yearling, which was home-bred out of Barlauchlan Jubilee Princess, stood reserve at Braco and breed champion at Kinross.
Alana was also the first of four animals to stand in the overall line-up that were all the progeny of Ian Young’s Cawdor stallion Arradoul Balvenie (by Arradoul Cardhu), which stands at stud at Collessie.
Pulling Harry Emerson’s April-born Lutterington Harry forward to stand as foal supreme, Mr Bedford said: “This colt moves so well, but he also has a great width of foot and plenty of nice hair.”
Harry, which was home-bred bred out of Middlebank Anne, based at Collessie, had come to the show buoyed by recent supreme success at both Kilpatrick and Lanark foal shows and is another to be sired by Arradoul Balvenie.
His half-sibling Collessie Flash Girl, again by Balvenie, stood foal reserve for Charlotte Young and her father Jim, who came to the show from Hall Farm, in Ayr.
This March-born filly, out of Old Greenlaw Jura, won the filly foal class during the summer at the City of Aberdeen and similarly stood reserve overall foal to Harry at Lanark last week.
Champion of the ridden entry, which was judged by Niki Pargeter, from Northallerton, was David Burnett’s mare Swordale Lady Luck, ridden by his sister Morag Snow, of Incharvie Equestrian, Kilconquhar.