The Wessex Heavy Horse Society is based in the Wessex region of the South of England and covers the area between the Heavy Horse societies of the Southern Counties and the Western Counties. The Society was originally formed as the Wessex Shire Horse Hiring Society, and was re-named in 2004 to reflect the broad membership base in all the British heavy horse breeds. The Society welcomes members from all over the UK, both horse-owners and non-owners.
The Society organises various events for members, including workings, open days and social events. Regular meetings are help throughout the year and all members are welcome to attend. The focal point of the year is the Annual Show, which includes the West of England In Hand and Harness Championships.
2010 AGM and Dinner
The Society's Annual General Meeting will be held on Saturday 13th February at The Olive Bowl, Gillingham, Dorset, starting at 6pm. It will be followed by the Annual Dinner. Further details to follow.
Dates for your Diary
Annual Spring Working: Sunday April 25th
Annual Show: Sunday September 26th
Ploughing Match: Saturday October 30th
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
The weather could not have been better for the Show, the turnout was wonderful, and the day seems to have been a success. The Society would like to thank everyone who made the day possible- our sponsors, the judges, the stewards, the committee, and everybody else who pitched in to help. There were one or two places where circumstances got the better of us, but these were very much in the minority. Results have been posted and photos are being added to the gallery. Comments from those who attended, including constructive suggestions for future events, are welcomed.
The Wessex Heavy Horse Society would like to express its thanks to Wadworth for their continued sponsorship of the show. Their support is hugely appreciated.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
