Gentle giants take over Keystone

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This article was published 20/07/2023 (1152 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Clydesdales have earned the nickname “gentle giant” because they are easy to train, good-natured and they like to work, says a participant in the 2023 World Clydesdale Show.

The show runs from today until Sunday at Brandon’s Keystone Centre, with entrants taking up two arenas, four barns and the Canada Room, which measures 21,000 square feet.

Heavy horses are always a crowd favourite, said Charity Thevenot, an exhibitor from Boulder Bluff Clydesdales in Strathclair, who added the only time some people will ever see a Clydesdale is during the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair.

“A lot of people enjoy the heavy horses, and when they see them at our Winter Fair, they may see 40 or so. We have more than 350 entered, so a lot more — and full days of it. We have everything from foals in the halter classes, barrel racing, jumping, right up to the eight-horse hitch,” said Thevenot, who is also the secretary of the show.

This is the first time the show has come to Western Canada, having previously been hosted by Ontario, Wisconsin and last year in Scotland.

Brandon was booked to host the event in 2019, but it was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Thevenot said the planning committee never gave up.

“We were just really excited by the idea of putting on a world show and having all the people that we know in the industry come to kind of our stomping ground,” Thevenot said.

There are entries from across Canada and parts of the United States, including Bret Fielding from High Point Clydesdales in Logan, Utah.

Fielding has 14 heavy horses in the show, which came in three trailers; one hauled by a semi, the others by one-ton pickup trucks, also carrying 50 bales of hay and 50 bags of oats.

In his eight-horse hitch, Fielding said, the two horses side by side in front are usually the smallest, but also the most athletic.

And while driving the wagon, the lead two are 45 feet in front, which calls for a cool head and strong hands to hold the reins, Fielding said.

“When you drive an eight, you have four lines, or four reins in each hand and every one of those tells the horse what’s going on,” Fielding said. “If you misplace one line with another, you’re turning the wrong way really fast or, at the wrong time.

“And when you go into the ring, you want to arch around those corners, so, you’re telling the lead pair to go left, and the wheel pair you usually take right, because that’s going to keep your wagon up against the rail.

“So, there’s a lot to learning how to drive, and you usually learn by doing it wrong a couple of times. You learn really fast,” Fielding added as he laughed.

Running alongside the Clydesdale Show at the Keystone Centre in barn 11, is the World Heavy Horseshoeing Championship, held in Scotland in 2022.

This year there are seven teams of four who will measure the heavy horse’s foot, cut pieces of steel, forge them in fire reaching temperatures of 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit, and make four shoes where time and accuracy are of the essence.

Competitor Iain Ritchie learned his craft in Scotland, working for a seventh-generation farrier, which is someone who makes and fits horseshoes.

Ritchie brings his winning ways as the nine-time Canadian champion by achieving the highest points given by judges, past winner of the Canadian Horseshoeing Championships, and during the Calgary Stampede he “won the draft-horse shoe competition, two or three times.”

“This helps increase my skill set, it increases attention to detail, and keeps up my fitness. If you get tired, lazy or slow, you start cutting corners every day. This keeps me faster and more efficient because I shoe five days a week. Plus, I love the camaraderie, the networking, and the laughs,” Ritchie said.

There is a charitable component to the Clydesdale Show, where young spectators will be invited to ride stick horses in between classes. While kids entertain the crowd — showing off their riding skills, volunteers will collect donations for the Westman Dreams for Kids Foundation.

Doors opened today at 7 a.m., with the last show of the day beginning at 1:45 p.m., including four classes. There is no show this evening due to the competitors’ banquet.

Friday’s show schedule is from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday is from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

On Sunday, which is the final day, doors open at 9:30 a.m. Events include the eight-horse hitch class, team barrel racing, and presentation for the best driver of the show.

Tickets are available at the door for $20 a day, or $60 for four days. Those aged 15 and under are admitted free. For more information, visit worldclydeshow.com/info

» mmcdougall@brandonsun.com

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