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Egham
Egham Royal Show
After a long hot summer we had rain on Saturday which made the ground fabulous to drive on and somehow we managed our races in the sunshine! We had Phillip commentating who knows the sport well and shared lots of facts with the crowds.
The smalls heat really showed the thrills and spills of scurry racing. John Cornell with Bribery&Corruption started with the bar set high with a time of 60.10sec but unfortunately clipped number 10. Another very unfortunate ball fell for Kim Scott and Smokey&The Bandit, the rear wheel of the carriage just breezed a little too close to number 12 while racing for the finish.
Veronica Kelland with Track&Trace gave us our first clear run of the day with a time of 61.02sec which gained her that rosette we all want- 1st place!
Pat Coyne with Guinness&Gold ran HC and had an accidental showjumping incident on cone number 12. Pony (Nemo) cleared cone and ball with scope to spare but the carriage bulldozed through taking their 3rd cone of the round.
Sally Newell with Mild&Bitter showcased Shetland pony brains at speed. Just coming out of the slalom Mild&Bitter took a cheeky right turn instead of the planned left as per course. After a quick loop the loop and a few words from Sally the boys made a clear round to the finish.
Karen Morris’s Hugs&Kisses did a superb round but got caught out by ‘the commentators curse’, just after the words, “she will be aiming for a clear now…I hope I haven’t jinxed her” splat went the ball on cone number 10.
The afternoon bought on the bigs heats, we were down a couple of teams of bigs so the battle was very much between John Cornell and Pat Coyne with all the smalls joining in the fun by entering HC. John with Bitter&Twisted made a blistering time of 55.14 but also went on a demolition spree adding on 25seconds. Whereas Pat Coyne with Guinness&Gold kept all the cones and balls in place which gained them 1st place.
We love Egham Royal Show, as on Saturday night the SDA swap their show jackets for cowboy boots and head to the beer tent for an evening of line dancing with the Egham Residents’ Association!
Sunday bought in the sunshine and the crowds ready for the championship, Phillip really got the crowd cheering everyone on. We had a fun class in the morning which showed some fantastic driving with only one ball down in the entire class.
Perhaps it was autumn air coming in but all the ponies went into that Championship bouncing and ready to race. Karen Morris’s ponies Hugs&Kisses went into their round like seasoned scurry ponies you could hear Karens voice shouting “steady” as they flew in, round and out the box. Pat Coyne had a slight directional crisis and took out a cone in the box and found another on route to the finish. Kim Scott often makes note that at home her ponies don’t see eye to eye, with Oreo often biting Honey, however I have clear photographic evidence that sometimes Honey can have a cheeky nip at Oreo on route round a scurry course too! And Sallys' Shetland pair showed the advantage of little legs and tight corners with some impressive driving, fully redeeming themselves from their first round on Saturday and taking 4th place. Veronica was chasing and chasing but John Cornell delivered two amazing clear rounds with both his pairs and took Champion and Reserve Champion, beating himself with Bitter and Twisted for the last run of the day.
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.
