Cannon Hall Farm: Yorkshire farm’s shire foal Captain ‘stole the show’ at the region’s biggest agricultural event after winning red rosette
A shire foal called Captain is Cannon Hall Farm’s first heavy horse to win the red rosette award at this year’s Great Yorkshire Show.
Cannon Hall Farm’s shire foal Captain ‘stole the show’ in his class at the Great Yorkshire Show this week, winning the red rosette for first place in his category.
Captain is the foal that was sired by the farm’s beloved stallion Herkules, whose sudden and tragic death broke hearts of the public and staff at the farm after news of his passing spread worldwide to millions of social media users.
Farmer Robert Nicholson, whose family run the farm, explained that this win is so meaningful because of Captain’s heritage.
“This is a tribute to Herkules. It feels like a wonderful moment, for Herkules to be celebrated at the Great Yorkshire Show - a show that he’d been to himself as a yearling - is a really proud moment,” he said.
“He was an outstanding stallion, a really good example of the breed. We never dreamt that we’d ever had a stallion like him on our farm and we only did because he came to us on a young foal and he kept ticking the boxes. He won at Penistone Show, he passed all his stallion tests.
“To lose him so suddenly was a real blow - but he fathered three foals for us before his passing and this win for Captain shows that we have not lost him completely.
“It feels all the more special because our dream would be for Captain to become a breeding stallion himself. It’s early days but this is a really positive step along the way.”
Herkules, who appeared with farmers Rob and Dave Nicholson on the TV series Springtime on the Farm, died after suffering a sudden colic, resulting in a blockage and damage to his intestines.
He was rushed straight to Rainbow Equine Hospital where he underwent emergency surgery in a desperate attempt to save his life but sadly died in 2025.
Cannon Hall Farm is a member of the Shire Horse Society and has been named one of the few UK registered breeding centres due to its efforts to protect the breed. Its foals racked up to almost £50,000 worth of unexpected vet bills in 2026.
Rob said: “We have had such a difficult year with our horses - you really can’t believe everything we’ve gone through.
“From a dummy foal, to Ruby’s struggles it really has felt like one battle after another. We are lucky that some of them have survived - but it has been a really difficult time.
“To start the Summer with a win for Captain, especially being Herkules’ foal, is just the boost we all needed.
“When problems occur with horses of this size it tends to be very serious but thanks to the work of Rainbow Equine and our farm team, we have managed to save all the patients and everyone at the moment is on the road to recovery.”
This year, the farm welcomed five shire foals, but out of the five, two needed urgent care with Soldier and Iris both needing to be hand-fed every three hours for a month because their mums were unable to do it.
Anyone who would like to adopt the shires at Cannon Hall Farm can do so on the website.