Calling all Shire horse and heavy horse lovers!

There are a couple of events taking place this year, which I wanted to tell you about.

Saturday 21st March 2026 - there's the  2026 National Spring Show at Kelsall Hill Equestrian Centre, Tarporley, Cheshire, CW6 0SR.  It will include in-hand classes for pedigree Shire horses.  

Thursday 27th August 2026 - the National Summer Show will be held at the Society's headquarters at Rockingham Castle on the Northamptonshire/Rutland border (LE16 8TH).  There are classes for turnouts, harness, agricultural implements, in-hand and ridden exhibitors. 

The Shire Horse Society is dedicated "to the protection, promotion and improvement of the Shire Horse".  And the National show gives us a great chance to get an insight into the most wonderful of horses, the Shire.  

This will be a wonderful chance to see some incredible horses! 

Find out all about the Shows and book your tickets here.  And you can visit the Society's Facebook page here.

Also, if you love huge horses and you're further south, a great place to visit is the Horse Trust in Buckinghamshire (opens early February to the end of November, you need to book).  It's home to retired military and police horses (huge) and Riding for the Disabled ponies (tiny, mostly), as well as rescues.  They do a really good cream tea, too.   

The South of England Showground, Ardingly, also has a number of events during the year, including the London Harness Horse Parade , held on Easter Monday (6th April 2026) with all sorts of horses and ponies from Shires to Shetlands.