Monday 5th July 2004
Valuable horse harnesses and treasured rosettes stolen.
Report by Danny Howell:
Well-known horse ploughing champion Jack House, of Wilton, at the eastern end of the Wylye Valley, is heartbroken following the theft of valuable horse gear and prize-winning mementos from his farm at Quidhampton.
82 year-old Jack has been involved with horses all his life and is known nationwide for his immaculate ploughing at matches and shows. Now, following a robbery between 11 am and 2 pm on Wednesday 23rd June, Jack and his shire horses Captain and Punch are virtually redundant, despite a diary full of up and coming ploughing events.
He’s hoping he will still be able to go to an event in Wilton Park, this month, and he always likes to go to the Great Dorset Steam Fair. Also, in the autumn, is the National Championships. Jack said “The National is held at a different location each year. I’ve travelled all over the country to take part in it. I’ve been as far as Lincolnshire and Cumbria. This year, in October, it’s at Reading, which is much closer and I really want to go to that one, but we’ll have to see now.”
Jack added “The horses will be wondering what has happened. When they hear the lorry start up they immediately know they’re going off to a match. They get very excited. They love it as much as me.”
The callous thieves broke into a padlocked shed, by wrenching a clasp from a door, before removing ancient items of harness and ransacking a trunk full of colourful rosettes and certificates. Ironically, on the shed wall above the trunk, hangs an old framed picture with the words “The Lord Is My Shepherd, I Shall Not Want.’
Among the missing items are a whole set of plough harness and all its decorations including horse brasses, and three big collars plus one or two little ones. The stolen rosettes include the first one Jack ever won – for ploughing at a match at Rockbourne in 1938, and a special one gained for showing horses at the Royal Show in 1970. There were over 1,000 rosettes and certificates taken.
Jack said “I can’t see what they would want the rosettes for. They’re of no interest to anyone except me. I don’t know why they would want to take them.”
Jack is more concerned about the harnesses and collars. He said “I’ve been using those for years and years. They’re very old. I would estimate the value of all the horse items to be at least £4,000, probably more, because when things like that are offered at auctions the price goes up and up because they’re so hard to come by. You’ve got a job to get them.”
On discovering the theft, Jack’s initial reaction concerning those responsible, was to say “I feel like pitch-forking them.” A friend said “That shows how bad he feels about what has happened. He’s very upset inside. He told us he felt like giving up but we’ve persuaded him not to. You can’t give up when you’re down.”
Friends and others are rallying around Jack though. He said “People are stopping me in the street and talking about it. Other ploughmen have contacted me, showing their sympathy and wondering what they can do to help. A good friend, Ken Selway, from near Frome has offered to loan me some of his harness and tack so I can carry on. It’s nice to know that people care but I don’t know if I shall see my things again.”
People in the ploughing match fraternity are just as keen as Jack to discover who carried out the theft and to locate the whereabouts of the stolen items. A Quidhampton resident remembers seeing two men loitering near the end of the farm lane, about a week before the theft, but it’s not known if they are connected.
Members of the public are being asked to keep their eyes and ears open too. Anyone with any information is asked to contact PC Pete Jung of Wilton Police, telephone 01722 742101 or they can phone their nearest police station.