AS A wind of change has whistled through Whitehall in recent days with the advent of the country’s new coalition government, the equestrian world can only but wonder what changes it will bring and how it will affect the industry.

Addressing the country’s finances has to be top priority and I can’t help thinking that the possible changes to and probable increase in VAT will be the ones most likely to hit hardest. There is no doubt that we will have to pay so perhaps it is a matter of enjoying our horses and ponies while we can afford them. Sadly for the fox hunting enthusiasts they may have to wait some time before the ministers bring back their issue for debate if, in fact, they ever do. It would hardly be seen as an endorsement of good government in such speculative times if valuable Commons’ time was taken up to discuss hunting by hounds when there are more pressing things on the national agenda like hunting for solutions to a plethora of problems that affect all and not a relative few.

Like many people who have been disillusioned by politics in recent years, I for one hope that this coalition works and works very well; I am tempted to ask the question, could it be any worse than the attempts of single party governments? Sadly, it excludes the best brains from the other political parties but then again, that might be too much to hope for in the short term. Politics with a big ‘P’ aside, I hope that it works well enough to provide a template for a coalition among the horse and pony societies whose collective efforts would surely be greater than the sum of their fragmented individual parts. Just as our new government is working towards the best deal for Britain, then likewise the best deal might be struck for the equine enthusiasts by a coalition of their various societies.

A political wind of change there may have been, however, it’s a weather one for which we are all wishing at the moment, preferably coming directly from the South-west. Here in the east we so desperately need some warm, soft rain, the kind that helps grass grow. Like many others, our fields have turned green but there is very little grass in evidence such that we have decided to continue bringing mares and foals in at night and feeding them while stocks of haylage are still aplenty. I’m glad for the organisers of Ayr Show that the west winds didn’t blow during their weekend unlike last year which proved a complete wash-out. However, it was ‘sods law’ that I had to judge working hunter ponies outdoors on one of the wettest mornings in recent months; there’s nothing worse than everyone and everything getting soaked including the paperwork. Something as simple at a weatherproof clip board (the kind with a clear plastic lid) should have been a boon to the steward on the day had it been designed for portrait sheets and not landscape. Given that most of the ‘worker’ mark sheets are printed in portrait, it proved as useful as the ball point pen that wouldn’t write on the wet paper.

It never fails to amaze me how ingenious people can be and one of the best solutions to wet weather I have seen in recent years was at a big agricultural show when the weather had been dreadful for two days without any let-up. My show ground neighbour and her family had used a garden gazebo as living accommodation, however, on the morning of their class, it was quickly converted into a cosy stable for both people and pony. Needless to say the pony was neither up nor down, very quickly acclimatised to her new surroundings and her young owner was in her element. Grooming turned from a chore into a pleasure and better still, the sun came out in time for her class.

Over the years I have spent many a day in the rain at shows, either showing or judging; it is all part of living in a country surrounded by water and influenced by prevailing winds, particularly moist ones that have travelled miles across an ocean. We appreciate that it is part and parcel of life in Britain so we really do have to get on with it although I suspect that we are becoming a bit softer and, if not that, certainly less tolerant of the weather. Nowadays, I’d think twice about setting off to show ponies on a very wet morning particularly one with a poor forecast for the day. In fact, I probably wouldn’t go. I wonder if that has anything to do with the current trend of entering on the day, something which has become very popular with exhibitors despite the penalty of as much double the entry fee. An organiser friend of mine tells me that at her recent show in the south of England, they took an unbelievable £7000 on the morning of the show in late entries. This had nothing to do with the weather but suggests to me that people don’t have the money to splash out earlier than necessary and prefer to wait until the day of the show when they know that their animals are ready for competition.

Entries on the day are not helpful to show organisers who have no idea how many entries they have until the day of the show dawns and an impossibility for the show’s time-tabler. The same organisers are culpable in some ways as, for the big shows in particular, the closing dates for entries are months in advance of the date of the show. With soaring entry costs, it is little wonder that exhibitors choose to hold off, albeit at an enhanced fee, until the day of the show. With the availability and use of extensive word processing facilities and computer programs by the printers of the catalogue and in show offices, surely it is time that this time lapse is addressed by show organisers or could it be that they want the exhibitors’ money in the bank for as long a period as possible? From collecting entry money to paying out prizes, in many cases we are talking four to five months and that does amount to a considerable amount of interest even in these frugal times of low interest when the total entry money is considerable.

I can hardly believe that for the second year running a Welsh cob exhibitor from Essex has denied himself the opportunity to compete at the Royal Highland through a problem with his entries – and yet again, all through his own making. If you remember I reported that last year he entered his mare in the wrong class and despite coming all the way north she had to remain in the stable due to the show’s rules. This year, by reading the closing date on the ticket booking form instead of the entry form, he missed the actual entry date as the two dates are completely different; even the new computerised entry system (which worked perfectly for me, I must add) was unable to save him this time. Hopefully, 2011 will prove to be his lucky year when he enters on time, enters correctly and lifts the Highland Show championship after three years of hoping.

This year’s show will also find itself missing two enthusiasts with sad news of the death of Jim Cormack recently and Jenny Campbell earlier in the year; emerging from different generations, their enthusiasm for the Show was comparable. Mr Cormack from Forth in Lanarkshire and a former chef, found huge enjoyment in the show ring at Ingliston with his Welsh ponies and cobs which he successfully showed himself in-hand. When his daughter came along the family interests expanded into the ridden classes and in recent years it was his grand daughter and her lead rein ponies that drove the interest all the while he continued to support the led classes. The Royal Highland Show across all its livestock sections depends on family interests like this, the back bone of the showing interests if truth be told.

Another pony enthusiast, particularly Welsh which she bred at her beautiful Wedderlie Estate near Duns, Berwickshire, Mrs Campbell had witnessed with interest all the changes of the Royal Highland over nine decades and was instrumental in quite a few herself. She had the added bonus of gaining the respect of Council members through her association with the Aberdeen-Angus breed which carried her prefix like her ponies and which she bred so successfully and as her daughter and son-in-law, Marion and John Tilson, still do at Wedderlie. The name Campbell, through her well-respected husband, ‘Jock’, had further association with the Royal Highland as he carried major office within its organisation for many years including chairman. It was during his role as light horse chief steward that his wife played a significant supportive role with her extensive knowledge and experience in that field.

The show scene mourns the loss of not only these individuals but also the many people like them who make up the showing community, albeit contributing from different directions. It is the sum of their collective individual efforts that make the difference and just like the new government, the trick will be cementing their efforts and enthusiasm together in future years.