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2007 Classic Six-Horse Hitch Champion  |
In 2007, the National Western Draft Horse Show hosted the North American Six-Horse Hitch Championship Finals in conjunction with the world-renowned National Western Draft Horse Show. Pictured above, the victory lap of the 2007 North American Classic Six-Horse Hitch Champion SIMPSON PERCHERONS GELDING HITCH shown by Jason Bexson, owned by Simpson Percherons of Rio Vista, CA.. Supreme Champion of Champions Little Star Hallie shown by Raymond Yoder, owned by Simpson Percherons of Rio Vista, CA. NWSS Open 6-Horse Hitch Champion  AMES PERCHERON HITCH shown by Jim Westbrook, owned by Ames Construction Inc. of Jordan, MN. For win pictures, champion images and show proofs, visite Schatzberg Photography |
The 2008 National Western Draft Horse Show and Pull, Jan. 24-27, offers more than $100,000 in premium money for both performance and halter classes. The draft horse competition is held in the Events Center, with many of the classes featured as part of four ticketed performances over the Stock Show's final weekend.
Ticketed performances are Jan. 25 at 7 p.m., Jan. 26 at 1 p.m and 7 p.m. and Jan. 27 at 12 Noon.
Draft Horse Shows are $12 for reserved seats during the evening performance on Jan. 25 and the matinee performances on Jan. 26 and 27. Tickets for the evening Draft Horse Show on Jan. 26 are $14, and a special $30 Draft Horse Combo is available to those who wish to see all four National Western Draft Horse Shows.
All draft horse breeds in the United States are products of northern Europe. They were originally developed for warfare to carry the enormous weight of soldiers in armor. The horses themselves were protected by heavy, jointed metal skirts and headgear and ridden by soldiers who were equally encumbered.
This early war horse, known as either the Great Horse or the Flemish Horse, is the forebear of all our breeds of modern draft horses.
(Exhibitors may visit the Exhibitor Premium Book page for entry information)
The Clydesdale
breed originated in Scotland, and takes its name from the river Clyde,
which flows through the district from which they came. The Clydesdale
was bred to not only meet the needs of those Lanarkshire farmers, but
also the demands of commerce for the coalfields and for the heavy haulage
on the streets of Glasgow.
The district system of hiring stallions was an early feature of Scottish
agriculture and did much to standardize and fix the type of the breed.
The records of these hiring societies go back in some cases to 1837. The
Clydesdale Horse Society of Great Britain was formed in 1877 and its American
counterpart in 1879. The Clydesdale has enjoyed a steady export trade
to all parts of the world, particularly to the British Commonwealth nations
and the United States.
The Clydesdale is a very active horse. He is not bred for action, but
he must have action. It is straight and snappy in movement. They carry
their hocks close together, both at the walk and the trot, and should
have broad, clean, sharply developed hocks and big knees.
The most common color in this breed today is bay, with a generous number
of browns, blacks and chestnuts. The preferred markings are four white
socks, to the knees and hocks, and a well-defined blaze or bald face.
However, there are many roans in the breed.
Though ranking third in numbers in the U.S., the Clydesdale may well be
the best known of all the draft breeds.
The most
direct descendent of the Great Horses is the Belgian, for it was his native
land that gave birth to the type.
It is also the most numerous of all draft breeds in the U.S. today. The
American Belgian is an offshoot of the Brabant horses, the big fellows
bred in the lowlands of Belgium.
The government of Belgium played an energetic role in horse production.
The official stud book was established in 1866, and the National Show
in Brussels became the great annual showcase. The result was a rapid improvement
as the draft horses of Belgium came to be regarded as a national heritage
and treasure.
The American Association was officially founded in February 1887. But
it was slow going for the Belgian until about the turn of the century.
An exhibit of horses from the Government of Belgium attracted a lot of
attention at the St. Louis World's Fair in 1903. American farmers took
to the Belgian horse. He was an easy keeper, a willing worker, had an
amiable disposition, and they liked his thickness.
Today's Belgian is a big, powerful horse that retains the drafty middle,
a deep, strong foot, a lot of bone, heavy muscling and the amiable disposition
that the best of the early Belgians had. His qualities as an easy keeper,
good shipper and willing worker are intact.
What then have American breeders done to change him? They have developed
a horse with far more style, particularly in the head and neck, with more
slope to the shoulder and pastern, and the clean, flat bone that goes
with such qualities. The modern Belgian is a great wagon horse, as well
as a doughty work horse. The fact that Belgians are equally as effective
in pulling competition as in hitch competition says it all.
The typical Belgian stands 16 to 17-2 hands tall, with some up to 18 hands.
The average weight is from 1,700 to 2,100 pounds. Even today, Belgians
are used on thousands of farms and ranches throughout the United States
as economical power.
Ranking second
in popularity in the United States is the Percheron. The cradle of this
breed is one of the smallest provinces of old France. It is a region of
green hills and verdant valleys, well-suited to the production of horses.
The Percheron is believed to have an infusion of Arab blood. Whatever
the mixtures that went into the breed, the area in France was famous as
a horse-producing area long before a systematic effort by means of a stud
book was undertaken. Strangely enough, the American stud book founded
in 1878 preceded the French stud book by five years. This accounts for
some of the early confusion in this country regarding the French draft
horses, because they were being imported in considerable numbers from
the north of France before pedigrees existed.
It is said that in 1884 more than 2,000 Percherons were brought to the
U.S. from France. With this big start, and effective promotion, the Percheron
quickly moved into a position of dominance.
The breed is a medium-sized breed, but with plenty of large and small
horses. The basic colors are black and grey, with a fairly even division.
A few Percheron breeders have favored the chestnut or sorrel color in
recent years, but it is still accurate to refer to them as the black and
greys.
In general conformation, the Percheron is not unlike the Belgian. In fact,
except for color it would be difficult to distinguish between some animals
of both breeds. Both breeds are well-muscled, short-backed, drafty animals
setting on good feet and legs. Both are free of the feather that characterizes
the Clydesdale and Shire.
In action, the Percheron is a free-mover, characterized by a snap and
boldness that is not unlike the Clydesdale. They are intelligent and willing
workers, and this combination of size, with refinement and action with
tractability, has won the allegiance of many people.
The Shire
was developed in the country known as the fens in eastern England. As
with the other breeds, his origin is murky, but it is supposed that during
the time of the Norman Conquest in 1066, the conquerors took some of the
Great Horses from Europe across the English Channel and crossed them on
native mares. Eventually, a distinct type evolved that was known as the
Old English Black Horse.
Historically, the Shire has been a massive horse. In the early days of
this century they were routinely called the largest of the draft breeds.
Coupled with their great size, the Shire has been noted for docility and
a great willingness to pull. The docks of Liverpool called for a huge
horse able and willing to move huge loads, and the Shire became the answer
to that call.
Although springing from a race known as the Old English Black Horse, the
breed has not been a color breed. For a long period of time, bays and
browns were more commonplace than blacks. There are also roans, greys
and chestnuts among them. The color markings are not unlike the Clydesdales,
with the desired pattern being four white socks and a well-defined bald
face. In recent years the fashion in both England and the United States
has tended to favor blacks, but the other colors persist and are favored
by many breeders.
The breed has considerably more refinement than in the early years and
the coarse, bushy feather is gone, replaced by a fine, moderate amount
of feather on the legs.
The American Shire Horse Association was formed in 1855, and there were
regular entries in the stud book until 1955. All organized activity ceased
until 1961 when a small and dedicated group of men rescued the Association
files and put it back in business. In 1965 it was registered as a non-profit
corporation.
In 1967, a young black stallion was imported from England into the Idaho
country where so many of the remaining Shires were. This importation served
to revive interest in the breed and has been followed by many more imports
since then. Percentage-wise the Shire probably has more recently imported
breeding than any other draft breed.
The Shires have made a significant comeback in the last 25 years, and
are one of only two breeds that have a grading up program.