2010 EVENTS
4th Annual Ploughing Match, Saturday October 30th 2010
The 2010 ploughing was held at Dairy Farm near Shaftesbury. The day was blessed by good weather, although the day was marred before the start by an incident involving one of the horsemen. After this unfortunate start, a spirit of 'keep calm and carry on' prevailed. Several teams made it onto the plot after a delayed start, including a pair of mules and a pair of Ardennais along with many familiar faces from other Society events.
Annual Show
the 2010 show saw cold but sunny weather and a good turnout of horses. The Society has been putting in a lot of effort to expand what the show has to offer, and the results could be seen on the day. All the members of the public I spoke to seemed very happy with the event. The showground layout was changed this year in repsonse to experiences and comments from earlier shows, and this was a move in the right direction. We are continuing to take in comments received and to plan further changes for the benefit of both the visiting public and the competitors. Thank you to everyone who came, we hope you had a good day!
Spring Working 2010
The Annual Spring Working this year was held on Sunday April 25th at Holdens Farm near East Knoyle.
2010 AGM and Dinner
The Society's Annual General Meeting was held on Saturday 13th February and was followed by the Annual Dinner.
Website redesign
Although not yet visible, much behind-the-scenes work has been going on for the website which will allow far easier updating and editing.
2009 EVENTS
2009 Ploughing Match: Cancelled
Due to the weather, the Annual Ploughing Match scheduled for Sunday 1st November was cancelled. The Wessex Heavy Horse Society would like to thank the ploughmen and women, volunteers, stewards, sponsors, caterers, first aiders and those of the public who still came along and gave their support despite the weather and aplogise that we had to cancel.
Annual Show and Country Fayre 2009
Results for the 2009 Annual Show have been posted and photos are being added to the gallery.
Annual Spring Working 2009
The annual Spring Working was on April 26th, off the A350. The day was somewhat slow to get started, with no horsemen ready for the 10am start time, but by mid-day there was a good turnout with singles, pairs and a three on the plot, some long-reining for experience and others trying out a range of implements.
Annual General Meeting 2009: Saturday 28th March
The Society's Annual General Meeting was held at the Fellowship Club, Hindon, on Saturday 28th March. Attendance was good, and it was nice to see so many members especially after bad weather forced the cancellation of the meeting on the the originally advertised date. The AGM was followed by a committee meeting.
Society Newsletter
Tony Baker has taken on the position of Editor for the Society newsletter, and has been doing a great job with a new format, Society event reports and full colour throughout.
Photo Gallery
Improvements to the photo gallery have been underway, and the new photo page is now live. Photographs are still being posted, and information is still to be added, but it is to be hoped that this new gallery will be more easily accessible to people viewing the site.
Obituary: Barry Giles
It is with immense sadness that we report the death of Barry Giles on the 9th February 2009. He was one of the West Country's keenest heavy horse enthusiasts, recognied for his breeding skills and ploughing ability. Our thoughts are with Valerie and his family.
2008 EVENTS
Annual Dinner 2008
The society's Annual Dinner was held on Saturday 22nd November at the Olive Bowl in Gillingham. The dinner included a raffle and a slide display of photographs from the year's events.
2nd Annual Ploughing Match 2008
The society's Ploughing Match was held on Sunday 2nd November at Peckons Hill Farm. The society thanks Mr. R. Blatchford for the use of the venue.
Limited Company
The Wessex Heavy Horse Society gained Limited Company status on October 20th 2008.
Web Address
The Wessex Heavy Horse Society now has the additional (and much shorter) web address (domain name) of http://www.whhs.org.uk/. The website will continue to be available at the previous address as well- both addresses point to the same site.
Annual Show and West of England Championships 2008
The 2008 Annual Show was on Sunday 28th September, on the Gillingham and Shaftesbury (Turnpike) Showground as usual. Initial indications are that the day was a resounding success, not least due to the immense effort put in by the organisers of the show ring, display arena and stalls but also due to the wonderful weather on the day. More details on the Events page. TynCelyn Photography also have several photographs from the show available for purchase.
Annual Spring Working 2008
The society's Annual Spring Working on Sunday 20th April was another friendly, well-attended occasion. More news later.
2007 EVENTS
24th November Annual Dinner
A Wessex Heavy Horse Society's Dinner was held on 24th November at the Olive Bowl, Gillingham. It was, as usual, a well-attended and enjoyable event with a varied menu and cood company.
10th November Quiz Night
Saturday 10th November was a WHHS Quiz Night in Hindon.
4th November 2007 Ploughing Match
A wonderful first event for what the Society hopes will be an annual affair. Sunday's weather was bright, brisk, and picturesquely autumnal. While not widely advertised, the site for the match was easily visible from the road and many members of the public dropped by to see what was going on. A more detailed report and results to appear with the site redesign.
23rd September Wessex Heavy Horse Show & Country Fair 2007
The Show this year was on Sunday 23rd September, on the Gillingham and Shaftesbury (Turnpike) Showground, and once more hosted the West of England Championships.
While the weather was good for the early part of the show, the skies darkened by lunchtime and the afternoon was somewhat wet. However, classes continued regardless, and compared to the disasters suffered by so many other events this year we can probably count ourselves quite lucky! More information and results to be posted with the site redesign.
22nd April 2007 Spring Working
A second successful Spring Working suggests that the Society's decision to make it into an annual event was the correct one. The atmosphere was very friendly and relaxed, and word had clearly got around because some people had travelled quite a distance to attend. A full report by Tony Baker will be available with the site redesign.
3rd February Quiz Night
The quiz night was a great success, with over a dozen teams of four answering questions ranging from famous horses to classic novels.
2006 EVENTS
18th November Society Dinner
Because most Society members are appreciative of good food and company, a second dinner was held in November. The Rose Bowl was the setting once again. A raffle and auction were held at the end of the dinner to help with Society fund raising.
24rd September Wessex Heavy Horse Show & Country Fair
The 2006 Show was very successful, with a good turnout and good weather. The organisation was smoothly handled and efficiently run, and there was plenty going on throughout the day. Photographs are now posted online (follow the link on the left), and prints are available in standard sizes, and as enlargements, coasters and cards.
23rd July Sponsored Ride
Ken and Cath Selway once more ran their annual Sponsored Ride. This year 60 horses and riders took part. Three courses were available at different distances, all riders who completed their course were awarded a rosette, and prizes were given to the rider with most sponsorship raised in each class. For the three mile ride, this prize went to frive-year-old Fran. The six mile class award went to B Gregory, and the twelve-and-a-half mile class prize was given to Jo Rossiter.
23rd April Spring Working
The Heavy Horse Spring Working was a great success, with several people using the relaxed atmosphere as an ideal opportunity to give their young horses experience of a working event.
1st April A Night at the English Races
A Race Night was held in Hindon, and proved very popular. It seems everybody likes a flutter, with every race attracting plenty of bets!
24th March Society Dinner
The March dinner was held at the Rose Bowl in Gillingham, which is a very pleasant venue. The event was well attended and the food was excellent.
11th March Skittles Evening
A Society skittles evening was held in Hindon, which proved to be a relaxed and friendly evening.