Chin-chin! Gentle giant celebrates national Shire show with a pint
Cheltenham Festival fans weren’t the only ones enjoying a tipple last week, with one gentle giant also taking to the pub for a pint.
Mare Queenie visited the aptly named Shire Horse pub in Stafford to promote this year’s Shire Horse Society national show (17-19 March), which was a “marvellous” success.
The 18hh Shire, owned by Mick Hanson, received a warm welcome and was served a pint by the mayor of Stafford, councillor Geoff Collier.
“Shires traditionally love beer, and Queenie enjoyed her time at the Shire Horse, meeting people and helping to raise awareness about our big show,” said Victoria Clayton, Shire Horse Society secretary.
The annual event is in its second year and the number of trade stands has almost doubled since 2016.
The show is open to the public and widely regarded as the largest gathering of the breed anywhere in the world.
Around 250 Shires were present at this year’s event, at Staffordshire Showground.
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“The Shire Horse Society was thrilled to return to Bingley Hall for our national show, and delighted by the warm welcome we received,” Ms Clayton told H&H.
“We had competitors from across Europe and the UK for three days of marvellous competition, giving us the chance to showcase this wonderful breed of horse.
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“The atmosphere was great and the show was a big success. We are looking forward to returning next year.”
The national show is the flagship event of the Shire Horse Society — the only charity dedicated to the protection, promotion and improvement of the Shire horse.
The organisation was formed in 1878 and is based at Shire Farm, Rockingham Castle in Market Harborough, Leicestershire.
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Rachael joined Horse & Hound in 2014, initially as a digital sub editor then became part of the news team as a writer in 2015. The philosophy graduate studied journalism at the Press Association before working as a local reporter at the Brentwood Gazette. Rachael is now a mum of two and still loves all things equestrian, including hacking, dressage and jumping with her cob Bert. Rachael left the H&H staff to go freelance in June 2019, but still contributes to our magazine and website, as well as our sister magazine Country Life, among others.