Plato is Supreme Champion at Devon County.

The year after the Royal Show we entered the Devon county show. The Devon show had many more classes for coloured horses - it is not always easy to find competitions that will allow stallions to compete allong with geldings, mares and foals.

It was a long drive to get there, Plato had to spend at least four hours in the horsebox and that was after leaving home at six o'clock in the morning - work out what time we got up to get the horse washed and ready.

We arrived at the show, and tied him up to the horsebox. Plato is in a minority of stallions that you could just tie up to a horsebox and leave without fear of him breaking loose and causing havock.

First he won his in-hand class and was declared champion of the in-hand classes.

Afterwards a distinguished gentleman came up to us and said "Nice sort, if he wasn't coloured he would not be embarased in a hunter lineup at the Olympia Horse of the Year Show.

What we later discoverd was that this man was the seniour judge for Hunters at the Olympia horse show ... a real complement - Just have to get some black paint to cover up the white bits and its off to Wembley !!!

Then he won the ridden class and was also declared champion of the in-hand classes.

And to cap it all, he was then finally declared supreme champion of all the coloued classes. I was so proud of him.