I don't quite understand the rules of the Mini Major class, other than the fact that there are teams of two - a young rider and an adult in the ring at the same time, trying to complete the course as fast as possible one after the other.
What I can tell you though is that it's exhilarating to watch - those ponies can't half shift!
A fresh bag of doughnuts in hand, and aching feet, were not a good combination so we desperately needed somewhere to sit down for a while. I suggested we try for the main ring as the stands are often quieter later in the day and sure enough, we managed to find some good seats up at the back where we could rest our weary limbs and pig out on tasty food.
The Heavy Horse Turnout class was nearly finished, so we got some nice views of the teams as they trotted round the ring, chains and harnesses jingling.
After the coos, we moved on to the big stable block at the back where all the Highlands and Shetlands are housed during the show. Unfortunately the Welshies and other pony breeds seem to be kept away from public view which is a real shame.
On the way there we spotted a few decidedly un-ponylike creatures as some of the Clydesdales were readied for the harness turnout classes later on.
Ever since I started going to the show with Magda, who really loves cows, I've taken more of an interest in the cattle.
More specifically the Highlands!
Let's be honest, how can you resist them?
They've got heaps of character...
...and they're just...
...so...
...FLUFFY!
They were also incredibly quiet and mostly ignored the visitors, choosing to concentrate on their hay, but this wee calf didn't mind us touching all it's floof.
A post shared by Christine Sutcliffe (@lynkhart) on
One of the Queen's bulls was there too, and he was quite the looker. I always like seeing black Highlands as they're a bit different and there's just something really appealing about them
Though not quite as striking as the Belted Galloways, which are my second faves.
(they're just not fluffy enough though. 😢)
Next up, PONIES, PONIES PONIES! (and bonus Clydesdales)
While I was photographing the warmup ring, the others had already gravitated to the ring next door, where the Novice Riding Horse* class was in full swing. (*I think that was the class name anyway!)
I'm really not happy with how my photos from the last post turned out, but luckily for me, the sun came out when I took a few shots in the warmup ring and they came out a lot nicer. Some were still horribly out of focus though, so I had to do some emergency edits and they still look awful. :(
The heavy horse stables are always a popular place to visit at the RHS, but a little dark, so the majority, if not all of my photos were taken with my phone, as my camera (even on his good days!) doesn't do well in the gloom.
Not that we could ever have our fill of ponies, but we decided to head off for the big barn full of Clydesdales after seeing the main ring. The route there took us past one of the collecting rings, which happened to have several tiny ponies in situ!
Just along from the Highlands in the main ring, the Welsh Sec Bs, Ds and Connemaras were being shown. We wandered along to the Connies first, but by then I'd managed to get my camera working again so we doubled back to see the smaller ponies.
As I said in my previous post, I travelled to the RHS this year with two companions, my friends, Tomás and Rory who had come up specially!
We rose early (well, for me anyway!) on Friday to go to the show. The bus into town was a little late, but the Edinburgh ones leaving the depot were very regular and after missing one as the baguette I'd chosen to buy for lunch later apparently had to be toasted first, another arrived a few minutes later.
The forecast was for rain until midday, then cloud and sunny spells for the rest of the day.
The rain showed itself within a few minutes of setting off but we hoped it'd pass over quickly.
