Horseyculture

Shows wouldn't be shows without horses, but the New Forest show blew me away with the variety of horse events on offer. There was the usual dressage and show jumping, along with competitive events for pony clubs, as shown in the first three photos. I even imagined Rebecca on one of the ponies.

However, the competition between the 'stage' coaches pulled by teams of four horses was stunning! Have a look at the next three pictures which focus on just 3 of the nine entries. All the horsemen and passengers were dressed up for the occasion, the horses were immaculately groomed (and mostly matching), and vehicles were beautifully maintained or restored! The first shows the London - Brighton carriage - I've always done the journey by car or train. The next picture will amuse Emily. It's a Wells Fargo stage coach! She banks with Wells Fargo in Santa Clara, and I'm going to send her the full-scale picture to show her bank in Califorrnia. The final picture shows a beautiful Welsh (?) carriage! The guy in his red coat was blowing his post-horn vigorously!

The final two pictures come from an equally interesting display of carthorses - equally well presented. The first team of four were Shire horses and the second were Persherons.

AS