A GENTLE giant was one of the star guests at this year’s North Wales Shire Horse Society open day.

Visitors from as far as 200 miles away came to Bodelwyddan Castle for the Show, which promotes shire horses and all working breeds, to meet Sovereign - described as “probably the world’s tallest horse”.

As well as Sovereign, the day also featured working horse and logging demonstrations, shire horse dressage to music, parades of horse drawn vehicles, a free land train, Robinson’s brewery horses and dray, Arclid wedding carriages, vintage tractors, Bernese mountain dogs, a dog show, craft stalls, a hog roast and children’s activities.

Eddie Harris, chairman of the society, said: “The open day was a great success. The main ring didn’t rest all day.

“A disabled driving demonstration, put on by Liz and John Scrivener, took place. A fantastic carriage came into the ring, designed to take a wheelchair and with a quick release mechanism which separates the carriage and the pony with one gentle pull on a cord ensuring the safety of the passenger and the pony in the event of an accident.

“Sovereign did a wonderful job and helped raise money for Hope House children’s hospital by taking part in a guess the horse’s weight competition.”

Mr Harris added the society “felt proud” that their show was unlike most others.

“Our horses don’t just walk around the ring but pull vintage pieces of history along with them or are adorned with decorative harness. All is just stunning to watch,” he said.

“People think of shires as dray horses or plough horses but our heavies with their beautiful white feather can be just as graceful as any fine breed of horse.

“I would like to thank all our visitors for your support, my fellow members for putting on yet another cracking show and our beautiful horses.”