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Great Yorkshire Show 8th - 11th July 2025
My favourite show of the calendar. It is one of the biggest showgrounds with a huge,
cheering crowd and a show where you get three times more steps in than any other show.
We had three days there this year with a day off in between competing which meant we had
chance to have a good look round and relax a bit.
The walk up to the ring is a long way from the horseboxes and past cows, large crowds and
a lot of ridden horses. A lot for any animal to take in, particularly novices or highly strung
ponies but if they cope with Great Yorkshire, there are not may places that they wouldn’t
cope with.
A lovely course set although a bit longer than the previous shows and a couple of turns that
would test concentration and agility. Tod Price had a new pair out for the smalls, Pie &
Mash. Tod had driven before but one of them had only been driven single. Tod didn’t hang
about but clipped a ball with a respectable time, only 3 seconds behind the final winner.
Veronica Kelland with Track & Trace had a fast round but clipped the same ball as Tod.
The set of cones coming out of the slalom appeared to be the one that most people had.
Not for Clare Barcroft with Ant & Dec or Maggie Fairburn with Bangers & Mash who
both raced to a beautiful fast clear round. Karen Morris, concentrating too much on her
novice pony missed a turn out of the box and going through a wrong set of cones were
eliminated, frustratingly as they were flying. Bribery & Corruption smashed the existing
times by over 5 seconds but took the bogey fence and another to come out with 15 time
penalties. Kim Scott with Smokey & the Bandit raced to a spirited fast clear to win the
class. 1st Smokey & the Bandit, 2nd Bangers & Mash, 3rd Ant & Dec.
Bitter & Twisted were first to go in the large class with John Cornell. These lovely roan
ponies having a great opportunity to open up in a huge ring. John set a blistering time but
clipped a costly ball adding five seconds onto his final time. Alan next to go and the one to
watch with Pride & Joy managed to shave 3 seconds from John’s time but unusually
clipped a ball. Lily Owen with Cookie & Custard clipped a ball but with a fast time. Wing
& a Prayer were last to go with nothing to lose and Karen, driving her temperamental mare
and her trusted 26-year-old palomino set off with the bit between her teeth. For the first time
this year, a smooth fast uncomplicated clear to win the class. 1st Wing & a Prayer, 2nd Pride
& Joy, 3rd Bitter & Twisted.
After a day’s rest in the blistering sun, the championship day was here and still as hot. The
crowd were on form cheering for every driver. You knew if a competitor had a ball as you
could hear the loud sigh from the grandstands. Everyone positioning themselves to see the
huge screen to keep an eye on the times of each competitor, although the cheer, the oo’s
and aaah’s and applause from the crowd was a good indicator. Bribery & Corruption were
first to go with John Cornell and put in a time so fast, it was the second fastest of all of the
rounds over the days. This really set a precedent for the remaining drivers. Drivers came
and went with close but not quite times, six of the times within a second of each other, such
close competition. John went in with his second pair Bitter & Twisted beat his own time by
just over a second but clipped a ball. Alan was next to go with John watching the screen
intently and the smooth exhilarating Pride & Joy were foot perfect to go into the lead. Only
Karen Morris to go with Wing & a Prayer and another smooth, very fast round to finish
0.25 of a second behind John with Bribery & Corruption. Champion Pride & Joy,
Reserve Champion Bribery & Corruption, 3rd Wing & a Prayer, 4th Smokey & the
Bandit, 5th Bitter & Twisted, 6th Ant & Dec.
We can be seen on Channel 5's 'Today at the Great Yorkshire Show ' which was aired on Friday 11th July. Available on catch up on My5.
Royal Welsh Smallholders Show 17th - 18th May 2025
A great early show for the SDA, held in the grounds of the Royal Welsh Show. We were
parked at the top of a hill with a great view over the showground. They always have a lot of
people attend to watch and we race in a large but slightly undulating ring. The weather was
kind to us unlike the storms of the previous year and there is always a lot of places to eat
meaning that it is a show I am relieved of cooking duties.
The smalls class saw Karen Morris go first with her new novice pony who completed a
steady round but clipped 2 balls. Smokey & the Bandit with Kim Scott went in next to take
15 seconds off Karen’s time with a fast clear which set the time for others to reach. Track
& Trace, Ant & Dec and Mild & bitter chased Kim’s time with great rounds but could
not get near the 58.39 time that was still in the lead. John Cornell on Bribery & Corruption
threw caution to the wind with a fast round which looked as though he may go into the lead
but clipped a ball. The time could not have been closer at 58.40. 1st Smokey & the Bandit,
2nd Track & Trace, 3rd Bribery & Corruption.
For the large class, it was lovely to see one of our previous drivers Jane Logan drive Mild
& Bitter HC to help Sally identify the best bit. Alan Clarke was first of the large ponies and
put in a jaw dropping time that was nearly 8 seconds quicker than Kim’s winning time in the
smalls. John Cornell with Bitter & Twisted tried with a fast clear round but could not get
near Alan’s time on this occasion. Lily Owen, our young driver drove a beautiful clear round
with Cookie & Custard and Karen Morris had the temperamental mare of Wing & a
Prayer call the shots clipping two balls. 1st Pride & Joy, 2nd Bitter & Twisted, 3rd Cookie
& Custard.
The Championship day saw everyone trying to work out tactics to get anywhere near Alan
Clarke’s time the previous day. Every single driver went in and took seconds of their time in
the heats, Lily taking nearly 10 seconds off her previous time but clipped a ball. John Cornell
and Karen Morris with two pairs through to the championship. Bribery & Corruption,
Smokey & the Bandit and Bitter & Twisted flew around the course with accurate fast
clear rounds but could not get near Alan’s sub 50 second round. Champion Pride & Joy,
Reserve Champion Bitter & Twisted, 3rd Smokey & the Bandit, 4th Bribery &
Corruption, 5th Ant & Dec, 6th Track & Trace.
North Somerset Show 5th May 2025
Another first-time event for the SDA, the North Somerset Agricultural Show returned for its
163rd edition at the North Somerset Showground in Wraxall, offering a vibrant celebration of
rural life and countryside traditions. It was a huge show for a 1-day event.
The track had some technical turns and angles in a large beautiful but slightly slopey ring
making the turn to the slalom more difficult that it walked. The cones out of the box tripped
up a few drivers as they sped downhill and turned to the next set of cones.
Following the loss of one of her best ever small ponies from Pepsi & Shirley, Karen Morris
recently broke and brought out one of her field ornaments Daisy with the well-established
Shirley and a new name of Odds & Sods. Not knowing whether the atmosphere would be
too much and ready to pull out of the competition if she felt it might be too much, Karen went
into the smalls class with no expectations. The pair did a surprisingly decent round and clear.
Track & Trace upped the pace by a fair few seconds, but Kim Scott came through to beat
Veronica by a second on the talented but strong Smokey & the Bandit. The clear rounds
prevailed with Smokey & the Bandit first, Track & Trace 2nd and Odds & Sods 3rd .
In the bigs class, Karen still struggled with her mare and although she had a great time, the
added time of balls put her into 3rd place. Lily Owen with Cookie and Custard drove another
beautiful fast clear round only to be beaten by the ever improving Bitter & Twisted.
A quick turnaround for the championship, with John Cornell and Karen Morris having two
pairs in the Championship. As always, the speeds got faster as the drivers knew where they
could slice valuable parts of a second off the time.
John Cornell had the fasted time of the day on Bitter and Twisted but clipped a ball, still
bringing him into 3rd place. Kim Scott & Karen Morris also had very fast times but both hit
balls costing them dearly. John Cornell with Bribery & Corruption could not have asked for
more and won the Championship with a foot perfect round. Only the ponies 2nd season
together and are really starting to bond and show huge potential. Veronica Kelland put in a
beautiful fast clear round to grab Reserve Champion.
Suffolk Country Show 20th - 21st April 2025
The season started with a brand-new show in Suffolk. When we arrived, the set-up was very
different to what we were used to. A ring had been set up for each competition or display.
We had set times and they moved the crowds to each arena throughout the day which
actually worked quite well. We did have to ask them to extend the arena as I am not sure
they had seen scurry before. A very relaxed atmosphere and great for a first show.
The smalls class saw Clare Barcroft out with Ant & Dec, loaned from Alan Clarke. Clare
drove a lovely clear round which ended up with a 2nd place. John Cornell went in with Bribery
& Corruption with a great time but had 3 balls down. Track & Trace with Veronica Kelland
flew with the fastest time of the class to win.
The bigs class saw a lot more clear rounds except for Wing & A Prayer with Karen Morris,
very apt names for a challenging mare. One of the drivers said, they knew Karen was in
trouble when she was laughing coming through the start. Lily Owen, our youngest driver ran
a beautifully driven fast clear round with her ponies, Cookie and Custard to come in 3rd . John
Cornell with his 2nd pair of ponies absolutely flew with Bitter & Twisted to go into the lead but
was beaten by the foot perfect current National Champion Alan Clarke with his amazing
ponies, Pride & Joy.
Onto the championship with more accuracy and faster speeds and all drivers trying to get
near Alan’s speeds. Claire Barcroft let the brakes off to go over 10 seconds faster than her
first round. Wing & A Prayer had a somewhat more sensible drive, with a great time but one
ball. The stunning roan ponies of John Cornell laid down another amazing time but was short
of the Championship time by just over a second. Pride & Joy took the Championship with
Alan Clarke, Bitter & Twisted Reserve Champion and Ant & Dec 3rd.
