It's known as the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair and as agricultural shows go, it's one of the biggest in Western Canada.
For Zane Pickering's teams of Clydesdale horses, the six-day fair in Brandon was the perfect place to catch a healthy dose of spring fever.
The star athletes of the Falcon Contracting stable made sure they put Prince George on the map, winning the Big 6 wagon hitch class Thursday at Keystone Centre, the home of the Brandon Wheat Kings junior hockey team.
"This is for show (rather than pulling weight), so you're judged upon driving execution, the looks of your team, the way they're harnessed up, and that they're driven in unison," said Pickering Friday afternoon, while on his way back to Prince George.
"It's top honour. Last year we placed fourth, so our horses have come a long ways. They were young horses last year and they've had seven shows since then and all the ground work has put them into contention with all the top national teams.
"They definitely know where Prince George is in Brandon, Manitoba now."
Boarded at Fawcett, Alta., about an hour north of Edmonton, Pickering's nine registered Clydesdales range in age from three to six years. All have been hand-picked from several breeders in North America.
"We've purchased them out of about 1,200 horses we've looked at," said Pickering. "We track bloodlines and pick horses (whose sires) have good reputations for what we're looking for - disposition, presence, strength and action."
Gord Campbell of Fawcett was on the lines for the Big 6 team. Pickering says he'd eventually like to take that step from owner to driver.
"I've been doing a lot of practice with them and I want to get a little more tied into it before I get into the show ring," said Pickering. "Most people who have teams have teamsters working for them because they need more attention than you can give them if you have a full-time job, so we have trainers working for them."
For the hitch teams, this was their first appearance in a show since the World Clydesdale championships in London, Ont., in October. The Royal Manitoba Winter Fair started on Monday.
Pickering entered horses in several classes in Brandon - single cart, tandem cart, two-horse, unicorn (three horses hitched single-file) and the four-up and six-up wagon classes. Out of 12 entries, all of his teams finished fifth or better.
On Friday, 15-year-old Paige Laycock of Lloydminster, Alta., won the junior team class, driving Sir Dave. Rein Roy of Lloydminster, 16, drove Clydesdale Creek Princeton to the top honour in the youth cart class. Falcon's four-up wagon team placed fourth out of 10 in their Thursday competition. On Wednesday, the heavy draft team finished third in the open breed class.
Next up for Pickering is the Wild Rose Fair in Olds, Alta., in late June, and the Calgary Stampede, July 8-17.
