‘She rides like a sports horse’: Clydesdale mare switches harness for double bridle on route to ridden heavy horse championship
A Clydesdale mare who is part of the Bandirran stud’s driving team cemented her career as a ridden horse by lifting the season’s main ridden heavy horse accolade at the 2021 Horse of the Year Show (HOYS).
Scottish producer Kirsty Aird was in the driving seat of Margo Mcintyre’s Dillars Ideal nine-year-old Glenside Matthew’s Flower Of Scotland (Thistle). The pair qualified at Royal Cheshire County back in June.
“She’s always deserved her chance as she’s a lovely mare with a lot to give,” said Kirsty, who last won at HOYS in 2018 in the M&M workers with Fell stallion Greenholme Emblem. “We knew she could do it but she just needed that little bit of luck.”
Thistle is based with Ron Brewster and his team, and driving is her first career:
“I go and ride her once or twice a week and then we meet up at shows,” said Kirsty. “She has a lovely attitude which makes my job a lot easier.
“She’s very mannerly, comfortable and goes off the leg; she rides like a sports horse.”
Thistle’s trip from Scotland was broken up by a stop at a friend’s house:
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“We gave her a rest day so she was fresh for today,” explained Kirsty.
When asked about her plans for the supreme, Kirsty told us to “wait and see for that one.”
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Born and raised in the Lake District, Alex has grown up on the showing scene. She has qualified and competed ponies at the Royal International, Horse of the Year Show and Olympia and has first-hand knowledge of the current issues in the showing world as well as the horses, ponies and riders who compete in the sport. Alex joined H&H in January 2018 as showing editor, cementing its place as the leading equestrian publication for both showing reports and current showing news in the UK. She moved on in October 2024 to pursue other opportunities, but continues to write for us on a freelance basis.