Heavy horses are still a shining light for Bob

Things were a little different on Bob Pearson’s father’s farm. His father was a staunch believer in using Shires.

“All my schoolmates had either a grey Fergie or a Fordson tractor on their farms but my father would never have one. He used Shires all the time and we did everything from drilling corn to ploughing and harrowing. At one time we even had the snow-ploughing contract for the area. Dad never liked to see anyone idle so we always had jobs to do.

“When other farmers were replacing their Shires with tractors dad would buy them and find them homes. There was a time when we had as many as 18 on our 165-acre farm at Egton. I wouldn’t say he ever considered himself a dealer, but if he saw anything he fancied he would buy it. Then if someone bid him properly he would sell. He was only one of a handful in the country who kept using them.”

Bob inherited his father’s love of Shires and today, having recently turned 80 he is one of the most well respected breeders in the UK. He has also just completed another successful show season picking up trophies and championship rosettes at Rosedale, Stokesley, Danby, Wensleydale, Sedgefield, Ryedale, Hinderwell and Burniston.

“It’s not been quite as good as last year. We had 25 firsts in 2011, but we’ll settle for it. I couldn’t take them around the parade rings this year on account of a bad knee but I have shown them for 65 years. A local lady Judy Forrester helped me out by taking them around the ring for me at many of the shows, including Rosedale, where we managed to beat the Richardsons of Bewholme with our ‘pair in hand’. That was a feather in Judy’s cap. We earned ourselves a few Brownie points there.

“The best moment I ever had in showing was when we won the Champion of Champions event with a mare at Cleveland County Show in 2006.

“My dad used to show too. I’ve the winning tickets for his Rhode Island Reds poultry, which he won with at Crystal Palace in London back in 1936. In those days you didn’t go down to London with your exhibits, or at least dad didn’t. He put them in hampers and on to a train to London. They were then delivered to the show, judged and sent back. He must have only known they had won when they came back with the winning cards.”

Bob was born in Egton but has lived at Thornfields Farm, Fylingthorpe just a mile or so from the sea near Robin Hood’s Bay for nearly 50 years. He moved from Egton to work on a farm at Newholm near Whitby when he was 29 as a dairyman and farm worker. He married Joyce who passed away 10 years ago and they had one daughter, Helen.

Agricultural shows are keen to keep the Shire horse owners coming to shows as they are always a big draw amongst the public. In recent years some have started paying appearance money.

“At some shows we now get £25 for every horse paraded, whether it wins or not. Decorated horses get even more. It’s also nice to know that they are wanted and I hope we can attract others into keeping them. Up in Scotland there are a number of younger people now involved with showing Clydesdales. I hope that starts happening a little more with Shires in England.”

So will Bob be running alongside a Shire horse in a parade ring again next year?

“If my leg gets better I’ll be there. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”