The 50th Royal Welsh Show held on the permanent site at Llanelwedd was blessed with glorious weather which attracted a record attendance of 241,781 and the highest single-day attendance ever of 72,315 on the Wednesday to welcome the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall. The total horse entries were 3,287 of which 2,038 were in the Welsh classes with several more Welsh entered in other sections, riding pony breeding, workers, palominos etc.
Star of the Show was the 15-year-old Section C mare Synod Lady Lillian which the Williams family of Cardiff bought from Synod Stud on the 2010 Brightwells Cob Sales; her namesake Cilwen Lady Lillian, who appears in her pedigree six times, was Royal Welsh champion in 1923, 1927 and 1930. Synod Lady Lillian was Section C champion with judge Mr Len Bigley, Tom and Sprightly overall Welsh champion with judge Mr Cemaes Evans and HOYS Cuddy qualifier with judge Mr Carl Hester (where the coloured Welsh part- bred Harrowclough Evie was reserve), Mr Hester also awarding her the In-hand supreme (with the Shire Sheepwash Derbyshire Eventide reserve) and finally the Supreme Horse Championship where the Show Hunter Pony Helsington Material Girl (who was ridden champion here and also last year) was reserve.
Reserve Section C champion was Menai Stud’s two-year-old filly Menai Curiosa well-shown by younger son Thomas Jones, this was only the start of Menai/Friarly/Friars successes in Sections A, B, C and D over the four days. David Oliver’s yearling colt Rhoswen Guardsman enthralled everyone with his spectacular movement and won the Section C male championship, a mean feat for a yearling against some well-known mature stallions.
Section A judged by Mrs Gillian Oldham provided the biggest competition with 530 entries which included 94 barren mares and 75 yearling fillies. Friars Stud came to the fore again winning the championship with the nine-year-old brood mare Friars Still My Sunshine who had qualified for HOYS Cuddy at Cheshire County and she was reserve to Lady Lillian for the overall Welsh award. Reserve champion was Mr Sandy Anderson’s junior stallion winner Thistledown Porsche who was a consistent yearling winner, then had time off from showing for Stud duties. Thistledown had 18 ponies entered in Sections A, B and C and won four 1st Prizes, three 2nds and four 3rds. Reserve female champion was the junior brood mare winner Brynodyn Savannah who was HOYS Ridden Pony Of The Year in 2011 and her brother Brynodyn Sirius repeated this feat at HOYS in 2012 and also won the first-ridden class here and was reserve mini champion to the lead-rein Colne Tulip owned by Cadlanvalley Stud. Another yearling colt to shine was Idyllic Stud’s good-moving Springlane Prophet who was reserve to Porsche for the male championship.
The Queen’s cup, first awarded in 1958 goes to different sections every year, last year it went to the champion pig, this year it was awarded to Megan Lewis’ ten-year-old Section B brood mare Cwrtycadno Perlen leased to Waxwing Stud while Megan was horseriding for four years from Beijing to the London Olympics for charity. Perlen is a very worthy representative of her illustrious ancestors, her dam Thornberry Royal Gem was Royal Welsh champion in 1993, her grand dam Cwmwyre Samantha was champion in 1987 and another daughter of Samantha, Thornberry Demelza was champion in 1989.
Overseas influence was very much evident in Section B’s judged by Mr Meirion Davies, the 2nd prize brood mare Linksbury Stud’s Valeur Dancing Fairy Lustre bred by the Reichert family was reserve champion; David and Eirian Williams’ Moelgarnedd Stadros, son of the Australian-bred Westonpark Musk Rose was male champion, the yearling colt Imperial Jeronimo and the brood mare Imperial Jessandra imported by Thistledown Stud from Australia were 1st and 3rd, the junior brood mare Stougjeshoeve Elaine owned by the Verbaas family from Holland won her class, the stallion Paddock Marquis and the barren mare Hoekhorst Juliette were both 2nd for Robert Hoeke from Holland, Ingrid Delaitre from France showed a yearling filly and Matts Olsson from Sweden showed four.
Wednesday is “Cob Day” and the excitement reaches its peak at 2.30pm when twenty or more senior stallions have the whole of the main ring to “go wild” and every one has plenty of vocal support! One did not envy Mrs Wendy Burt the task of sorting out this mass of talent but she awarded the George Prince of Wales cup (which had only left Wales six times previously in 105 years) to the nine-year-old stallion Trevallion Black Harry owned by the Attrell family from Kent who also won it last year with their home-bred mare Danaway Cracklin Rose. Black Harry is sired by Trevallion Harry who won 2nd prize here no fewer than eight times but never made it to the top spot; now Black Harry has made it up for him. The Jones family’s brood mare Fronarth Super Model was reserve champion, her dam Fronarth Welsh Model was champion here in 1991, 1994 and 1996 and full-sister Fronarth Model Lady champion in 2002, 2005 and 2007; what a family!
The Welsh part-breds were judged by Mr Emrys Hughes and the youngstock beat the adults for the major awards. The champion under 148cm was the three-year-old colt Telynau Covent Garden and the champion over 148cm was the three-year-old filly Penskyber Mayflower who also won the overall. The Welsh gelding classes introduced last year were so successful that the number of classes was increased to four; judged by Mr John Green the champion was the seven-year-old cob Brynmeillion Del Boy from Derbyshire who also competed under saddle and in the workers.
There were 197 ridden Welsh section C and D with the Misses Emma Boardman and Tracy Milward judging ride and Mrs Lorraine Thomas and Miss Tanya Baldwin the conformation. From these enormous numbers, Menai Thomas (last year’s Olympia best of breed) was champion C and Menai Martino (son of the 2000 Royal Welsh In-hand champion Elonwy Shooting Star) was champion D and the two sisters Marged and Beth Simons from Pembrokeshire were reserve in both cases, Marged riding the Section C Yrallt Mayday Surprise (3rd at HOYS last year) and Beth riding the Section D, former winner here Powysvalley Tobago.
There were 177 entries in the four HOYS qualifying ridden classes judged by two Scottish ladies Mrs Jo Jack from Fife and Mrs Cheryl Frith from Argyll. Champion was the palomino Section D gelding Soden Gwynfor who was a “bargain” at last year’s Brightwells Cob Sales purchased as a stallion by Fiona Cork who rode him for new owners Mark and Katherine Wilson of Gelligaer. Peasedown Section C’s always do well in performance competitions and the winner Peasedown Betty Bo was reserve champion to Gwynfor. Lexi Trodd Bohin collected the HOYS ticket riding the palomino Section B Gigman Pizzaz and another ticket in the Section A class riding Colne Taboo who was 2nd to India Latter’s Dutch-bred Powys Sprite who had already qualified.
The Welsh harness classes judged by Mr Alun Lewis were very spectacular where the champion was another palomino, the Section C Cargarsar Silver Shadow driven by Claire Granger and reserve was the Dutch-bred and owned Section A Bruinderinks Arno.
Both junior and senior Young Handlers get substantial prize-money of £80, £60, £40 and £20 and overall champion was Abbie Devenney of the Julmar Stud in Lancashire.
Report by Dr Wynne Davies,M.B.E.