WAIWERA

Otago Witness, Issue 2892, 11 August 1909, Page 39

WAIWERA

Augu-st 9. — Although \\v have be»~i rp^ding ropoits of very severe weather in other pane we haie so far escaped very well any extreme-. We have certainly hact some changes, but on the whole the season co far has been a good one. The land naturally at this time is rather w&t, and ploughing is a little delayed, especially on the lo\s -lying lands. Turnips arc holding out well, and gra e s is springing en warm faces, coji&equently stock are in good condition in moat cases. Hor«e Parade.— Already quite an interest has been aroused heic- among our ho-ise-owners about securing the chief prize at ths- coming horse parade, being myself an admirer of good horeei. I willingly accepted the invitation of John, Mr Irving's chief groom, to have a look at his various charges of which Mr living's stud con-«i-/Us. Before mentioning the stock, however, I might make a few remarks on the farm an-d general improvement.-, 2tc. Knowing the property — or properties-, larhei — before Mr Irving purchased them, with a view of making them suitable for a stud (farm- -which he is undoubtedly doing to perfection — one is surprised to find the paddocks, which were such littletime ago, full of bogs, little creeks, etc., and in come cases overrun with gorse, now thoroughly cleared, drained, and in some cases limed, and well laid out in suitablesized paddocks provided wkh up-to-date feeding-boxes, shelter sheds, and other requisites, making it a compact and valuable property. I found the stock in the fiiok

of condition under the care of John, whe^ by the way, seems to have a pretty ixem hand in the management of the horses^ which include, I suppose, some of the bsefc Clydesdales in the Dominion. Although* John and I differed a little at times in our ideas as to merits or demerits, on the whole our views agreed, with one marked exception. This point we shall reserve until after the awarding of the bigprize at the forthcoming parade, at whici> doubtless this etud will be well represented. I did not ascertain the exact num; ber of horeei now on the farm, but !• would say about a score, consisting ot matuj-ed horeas down to foals. Among the fillies' two are being- prepared for future! shows. John and I clashed here a. httle r and the judges will have to decide for us Of the brood mares I find one has since been sold in Australia for a very, high figure. This is not to be wondered at, seeing she was a great prize-taker. Notwithstanding the success of this valuable beast John, who, I should say, was really an authority on these mattere, declares the one left to be without doubt tha best, if not ir the Dominion, in the province. These axe big claims, no doubt* and perhaps not without justification. J.» is rather early, or, rather, the wrong tin* to pass a definite judgment on the toalSj, of which there were eeveral which will,no doubt, be heard more of as they de^ velop Coming now t< the stables we fin<* the pick of th© lot ir the two-year-ol« colt, BarroD Clinton, a very appropriate name, being among the first horses to b« bred a' the Clinton Stud Farm. All who. have seen this youngster proclaim nntt one of the foremost horses of the day. ±1« is undoubtedly a noble-looking animal, an<£ in John's words hard to beat. A vert valuable animal, no doubt, of which muctt is expected ii the ring, a* well ac for stod purposes. Of Silver Crest John has a ver* high opinion as a stud horse and his pro* geny a?e turning out remarKably well. Thcelebrated horse Royal Derby is still in th« pink of condition, and » too well kn?™} to need comm-en. here. I have oauttoj pedigrees, which can be had at any tim« hy anyone interested from the owner oS groom. After completing our rounds w^ adjourned to John's office, there to inspect the records *nd view the photos and drawings of most of the famous horses o« the day in Scotland. The« remarks app^J solehr to Clydesdales. John also radW me from a Home paper how the }**&* ar.ri.ve at and give their decisions. In as way that is quite an education to a novice they mention ir detail all points of *«™* also where each animal inspected fail. ihiS is what I have always advocated as tn« only possible way tc givs general »tis*action. I would advise all judges to take; a note of this and copy the Old Lan<* that is still a Jong way ahead of us in many^ respects. Let us see to it, too, that we get judges who know a horse from a cow^ and keep judging on the highest scalej Thanking John we parted, promising _tq meet, if possible, at the parade. 3