The end of the RHS posts is nigh!
(and about bloody time too, this took way longer than anticipated!😅)
Showing posts with label Royal Highland Show. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Royal Highland Show. Show all posts
Wednesday, 4 July 2018
Royal Highland Show 2018! Highlands and Shetlands Ahoy!
Visiting the stables is always my favourite part of the show as it's really the only time you get to physically interact with the horses, and as I don't have any other horse time these days, it's a precious resource!
Royal Highland Show 2018! - Clydesdales!
Clydesdales are often described as 'gentle giants' and it's an incredibly apt description.
Tuesday, 3 July 2018
Royal Highland Show 2018! Cattle
After ogling the cobs for a good long while, we headed off in the direction of the stables, stopping en route to say hello to the cows in their big shed.
Royal Highland Show 2018 - Cobs, Cobs, Cobs!
As everyone who knows me will attest to, I love cobs, so when I realised there was a Ridden Show Cob class at the RHS this year my heart leapt!
Royal Highland Show 2018 - Showjumping and Sunburn!
The showjumping was due to begin in the main ring, so we loitered around the big collecting ring for a little while, taking in the competitors warming up.
Royal Highland Show 2018! - A Parade of Ponies (and Clydesdales :P)
By
this time in the day we were both getting pretty hungry, and once Magda spotted
a stand selling pizzas made to order, our fate was sealed. There was
a really interesting selection to choose from (I was very tempted
with the black pudding and apple!) but we decided to share a venison
pepperoni one as, at a whopping £9 per tiny pizza, it was already pretty pricey!
It was delicious, but half as small and twice as expensive as I'd
have liked!
Royal Highland Show 2018! - Riding Horses
Once we'd had our fill of tiny ponies, we meandered up to the Thistle Ring nearby, to the Riding Horse class, and what a beautiful selection to look upon!
Royal Highland Show 2018 - Working Hunter Pony!
This year there were thrills and spills a-plenty!
One of my favourites was this tiny little pony who proved that size is by no means everything, especially when it came to going fast and jumping!
Royal Highland Show 2018! - WHP Warmup!
One of my favourite classes at the RHS is the Working Hunter Pony - nothing beats tiny ponies zooming around and flying over rustic fences! I always like the collecting ring for photography as its a smaller space than the actual jumping arena so you've a much better chance of capturing the action than when the ponies are miles away on the other side!
Royal Highland Show 2018! - M&M Championship
We never have any specific plans for anything, and as some classes linger on for far longer than the schedule would suggest, it's sometimes anyone's guess as to what's on when! At one point we stopped outside the main ring to watch the M&M championship, but we couldn't get very close for photos so moved on after a while.
As previously stated, I'm a sucker for a nice bay and what a nice one this is!
Royal Highland Show 2018! - M&M and Part-Bred Arabs
I'm a little late to the party this year, due in part to the fact that I came home from the show with 2644 images to sort out and a super nasty sunburn on my face which is still visible over a week later! Flickr was also an issue as it took the best part of a full week to upload everything.😖
As ever, all photos sans commentary can be found -here- and feel free to use any for colour/drawing reference.
The RHS' official facebook page had -this- wee video which gives you a feel for what the whole show was like.
Wednesday, 28 June 2017
Royal Highland Show 2017 - #11 Mini Major
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!
Royal Highland Show 2017 - #10 Heavy Horse Turnouts
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.
Royal Highland Show 2017 - #9 Ponies, Ponies, Ponies! (and Clydesdales)
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.
Royal Highland Show 2017 - #8 Touch The Floof!
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.
...and believe me, it was very floofy.
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)
Royal Highland Show 2017 - #7 Novice Riding Horses
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!)
Royal Highland Show 2017 - #6 WHP Warmup
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. :(
Royal Highland Show 2017 - #5 Working Hunter Pony
Once we'd exhausted our fill of heavy horses, we went in search of lunch, a seat and more ponies...
Tuesday, 27 June 2017
Royal Highland Show 2017 - #4 Clydesdales, Belgians and Percherons, oh my!
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.
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