 |
 |
 |
 
|
Victor has One Foot in the PastIt seemed like the clocks had gone back a week early at our Caldecott Visitor Centre on October 21st, when the cast from the upcoming musical The Hired Man arrived to meet a certain celebrity Shire.Players from the Spotlight Musical Theatre Group in nearby Beccles, Suffolk came along in their elaborate early 20th century costumes to take some unique cast photos with our lovely adoption horse Victor. The play focuses on rural and industrial working life in a Cumbrian town and although down here in Norfolk we have little to offer in the way of hills or dales, we were happy to offer an authentic working horse for their publicity photos instead!
Shires like Victor are the largest of the UK’s native breeds and originate from cold-blooded heavy horses. Centuries ago they were often used as war horses as they could carry knights in their 400lb armour with ease. The Shire’s combination of strength and gentleness has made them popular working horses and they played a vital part in agriculture across the UK for many hundreds of years, although they came very close to extinction after the Second World War when technology and machinery began to replace them. The play ‘The Hired Man’ has central themes about working the land in the early 1900s and horses like Victor would at that time have been very common sights, ploughing and harvesting crops. These days, of course, Shires are less common and they generally have much easier lives than their ancestors did. As 18.1h Victor will remain in the care of Redwings for the rest of his days, the most stress he encounters is deciding whether or not to have a sleep…what a hard life it must be! During the photo shoot, laidback Victor behaved like a true celebrity and managed to charm the entire cast who were delighted with the result - what a star!
‘The Hired Man' runs from 12th -16th Dec at the Public Hall, Smallgate in Beccles, Suffolk and tickets are available by emailing nickwarnes@aol.com or from Saxon Therapy Centre, 35 New Market, Beccles, Suffolk. Our Caldecott Visitor is closed for the Winter, reopening April 1, 2007. However, you can see Victor and his friends at the Christmas Open Weekend at our Hapton headquarters on December 2nd and 3rd – telephone our Visitor helpline on 0870 040 0033 for details.
| 
    |
