Willie and the special dray made for him by Marksway...

A special dray was made for Willie and he then enjoyed a hugely successful period travelling to big shows all over the country. Duke and Regent were among the 3 top teams competing. Possibly Willie s proudest moment came in the early 1990's winning the Single Championship at the Peterborough Summer Show with Duke. There were 26 entries in the class and it was clearly no walkover! In fact a lot of trophies were amassed during his years under Sponsorship, yet although Willie was naturally proud of these achievements, he ascribes them to his horses rather than himself. He has a wonderful picture of Regent and Duke posed behind a picture groaning with trophies "all won by Regent in a single year" - presumably Regent did it all by himself - with no help from Willie?

Betty and Regent, Willie and Duke and some of Regent's trophies!

Collecting silverware is not Willie s motivation in showing his horses. However, as is evident both by observing him behind the scenes at a show or just listening to him talk about his years showing his horses... he simply thoroughly enjoys driving them and turning them out to his own satisfaction. As long as he has achieved this the judge s decision is secondary. Not only that, but being by nature cheerful and sociable, Willie enjoys the camaraderie of the showground and mixing with horsemen of all ilks behind the scenes.

Marksway's decision to cease sponsorship of his team was undoubtedly a turning point. The reason was simply that they wanted to seek other forms of company promotion and did not reflect on Willie in any way - on the contrary, they have provided him with a glowing testimonial to aid his search for a new sponsor... but it has made it harder for Willie to compete to the same extent, having to fund the costly business of moving horses and vehicle around the country.

The rare barrel dray - before...

Other changes have inevitably occurred. Regent is no longer living. He died aged 21 and is buried on the farm, the site being marked by a flowering Cherry tree. Both Betty and Willie really miss him and reminisce a great deal about the happy times he brought them. Willie s team now consists of Duke and Earl... Earl was a four year old stallion when Willie had him. Barely halter broken, he had been running with mares prior to his arrival and yet in no time at all he was broken to harness (approximately 2 months) and working beside Duke - as if he'd always been doing it! They now pull a rare barrel dray (only 3 were ever made) which Willie completely restored and painted himself. His unfailing eye for detail producing, as only to be expected, a superb result...

...and after Willie's restoration work

Willie isn t quite ready to give it all up just yet... he would love to carry on for at least a couple more years. The horses are still in their prime after all and above all he thoroughly enjoys doing it. The costs of maintaining his lorry and of transporting them and the dray to shows are not easy for him to bear and it is hoped that a suitable sponsor will seize the opportunity to avail themselves of Willie s expertise before long. After all, a dray emblazoned with the sponsor s name is a marvellous means of promotion - being seen by people from all over the country, and above all, by associating the sponsor with something as magnificent as a pair of black Shire horses in hand...

Whatever the future holds, Willie and Betty have obviously enjoyed the show so far. They speak with some nostalgia of their youth and their days at Preshaw Park (and the fact that it has been sold and built on to provide luxury apartments) of all the shows, the people they've met, and above all of their horses, especially Regent, of whom they were so proud.

In their hall there is a wonderful photograph. It shows Duke and Regent pulling the dray, suitably bedecked with flowers and white ribbons and a lovely bride. This proved to be Regent's final appearance, but despite advancing years, he still looks marvellous... a picture to treasure for always.

Willie Clark and his team of Black shires, Duke and Earl, are still available for weddings. To book this most distinctive form of wedding transport please contact:

Willie Clark
1 Woodside Farm
Privet
Nr Alton
Hants

Willie would also love to hear from anyone interested in sponsoring his team and barrel dray on the show circuit...

Producing a prize winning trade turnout is demanding and if you have ever watched one of these classes you may have wondered just how the judges arrive at their decision since invariably they all look wonderful... In a future article Willie will explain the preparation involved in producing a winning turnout.

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