A MARE owned by the Princess Royal was the star attraction near Wellington at the weekend as the Suffolk Punch Horse Hub (SPHH) held a South West regional event.

Tinglestone Winifred was brought to Middle Poleshill Farm, between Langford Budville and Bathealton, by the Princess’s head groom Katy Barr, who was helped on the day by Will Ansell and Kevin Brown.

Winnie, who is due to foal in 2025, gave a logging demonstration to show how small gaps in woodland could be accessed and logs removed without machinery.

She is stabled at Princess Anne’s Gatcombe Park estate in Gloucestershire, from where Ms Barr supports Suffolk horse activities across the country.

SPHH spokeswoman Julie Turner said: “We were all so grateful to her for coming to our day and not only for the logging demo but also all her help in other areas, too.”

Ms Turner, who runs the farm and its Suffolks as part of NewPole Livestock with partners Phil White and his son Rob White, said Ms Barr and Winnie ‘performed so well, demonstrating logging in our wood, showing how vital these skills are, and the low impact horse drawn logging is compared to heavy machinery’.

She said: “As anybody who puts on any event on a farm will know, it is a massive undertaking which has to be done while still getting all the everyday work that running both this farm and the Newlands dairy farm entails.”

The day also included a talk on basic equine reproduction by James Bosley, of Dilliway and Bosley Equine Veterinary Practice, who went on to pregnancy scan three of the farm’s mares.

NewPole farrier Mike Smith, who also makes Manor Knives, put on a display of his crafted work.

SPHH has more than 6,400 members worldwide and acts as a free information exchange.

The Princess Royal is patron of the Suffolk Horse Society and originally bought Winnie’s grandmother when the Hollesley Bay Colony Stud sold up.

Suffolk heavy horses were bred to work the clay soils of East Anglia but today are classified as ‘critical’ by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust.