Despite the energy sapping heat, Richie and our two guest workers Greta and Julia had a wonderful weekend at the Allora Heavy Horse Festival.
I would have to say that it was the best organised event I have ever attended.
The organisers and volunteers were incredibly friendly and helpful and they made sure they were highly visible, on hand to help anyone who needed it.
The amenities also were kept spotlessly clean. I am especially grateful to organiser Clint who had set up a large and undercover area for the animals and organised hay for us when the local produce didn’t have any. Nothing was too much trouble for the volunteers and the atmosphere was great.
It was a huge weekend for us, especially with the loading and travelling on Friday although we did forget some essential items such as a bottle of gas, blankets (the girls slept outside) and a table for display.
I was grateful to friend Erin from Mane Matters who turned up with all of these items for us and cooked us a lovely dinner as well when we were exhausted.
Julia and Greta both suffered from the sort of heat that they just don’t experience in Switzerland and Germany.
Julia suffered from a bad migraine and some heat stroke despite wearing a hat and sunscreen, nonetheless, they both had the time of their lives.
As we packed up to go the people from the Candy Van behind us had been watching with amusement as we rounded up the piglets. The piglets had not been confined to a pen but could roam freely and we relied on them to come back to mum who was in the stock yard.
The pigs were the last to load and the Candy couple could see we were all hot by this time and kindly brought us over some cold water with a dash of juice for which we were very grateful.
Perhaps not unexpectedly, Julia and Greta were fast asleep within a few minutes of departing Allora for the journey back to Glenlyon, a remarkable feat considering that we were travelling in the old LandCruiser.
The girls remarked they were “blown away” by the kindness, friendliness and openness of Australian people they had experienced since their arrival in the country and that their time with us would be forever in their memories.
There is so much I want to write about from this weekend that I will have to cover it in the next few editions.
The highlights for me were seeing my first Fjord horse, watching the beautiful Drum horse, the working mules, the Suffolk Punch mare, and the teams of Percherons.
Unfortunately there was a lot I didn’t get to see as I was looking after our site and only had the opportunity for a few quick walk arounds.
I met two lovely ladies from Philosophers Rise Drum Horse Stud located at Buccan, near Logan, and they taught me a bit about the Drum horse, the traditional horse for carrying the Queen’s drums through the years.
The reins were tied to the riders feet to enable the drummers to have their hands free to play the drums.
The horses must have been incredibly well trained.
These horses were imported to Australia in the early 2000s from the UK and Ireland. The breed was created from crossing the Gypsy Cob horse (from which the Drum horse gets its colour and markings), a Clydesdale or Shire horse and there is an international registry for this beautiful breed.
When I asked why they loved their breed the reply was very quick: “they are our best mates,” not just of good temperament, but loving horses.
Later when I observed their beautiful stallion being prepared I saw this trait in action, a memory I will treasure.
I do have to mention the funniest thing I have seen on Traprock Flats Farm for a while.
Earlier in the week I would have given anything to have a camera on hand to capture the moment Julia and Greta ran flat strap down the paddock in pursuit of four errant calves that had found their way into the tree paddock.
I have quickly learned that if I say “too hard” the girls say “no way, lets give it a try!”
They succeeded in not only getting the calves out of the paddock but eventually getting cows and calves together and moving them into the neighbouring paddock.
Not bad work for two girls with no cattle experience who had been warned to be extremely cautious of cows due to the risk of being chased.
I did observe a moment where Marnie the Hereford thought she would play with the girls and ran at them bucking, which would have confirmed in their minds the advice they had been given, and I yelled out that she only wanted to play. But that picture of four galloping calves and two galloping girls will be forever in my mind!
