I really didn't think that I would ever set foot on a Shire Horse Show in Peterborough again but some things in life just don't happen like we think they will. So it was on March 19, 2010 when we started off side by side with our friend Karin heading for a great weekend in England.

The trip was splendid aside from a little trouble with GermanWings. We landed in London-Stansted, picked up our car (the first one had a flat tire) and headed up north to Peterborough. Udo drove quite good with his two chickis on board and even driving on the wrong side of the road was no problem for him. He was becoming the Master of the roundabouts., hehe...

We soon noticed that we were a great holiday-team and as so often the three of us always had the same things in mind. Meaning we noticed that we were hungry so that we had a nice traditional English breakfast at Little Chefs.

Shortly afterwards we arrived in Peterborough but were way to early to check-in which was actually not a problem for us at all. We visited the little town which was quite charming although it was totally under construction.

Then it was time to check-in. Karin's hotel had a nice little pub where we HAD to have our first Guinness. And I had the chance to make friends with a nice four-legged fellow...

Afterwards we needed to take a small rest und then got ready for the official dinner of the English Shire Horse Society. We had great people at our table and had a lot of fun with Suse, Klaus, Karin, Tom, Bryan and Barbara. Benni who had been stuck in a traffic jam joined us a bit later on. Tom and Bryan did a fantastic job cutting and serving the magnificent Angus Beef for us all. The dinner was great and afterwards we went to Karin and Tom's hotel to end the evening with a couple of Guinness and a bit of whisky.

I was totally excited about the show the next morning. We had to walk over to the showground because we had left the car there the last evening. We had a great breakfast at Little Chefs again (yummy - yummy) before we got over to the showgrounds. The weather was very English but they had built a riding hall so that the rain and wind couldn't bother us at all - and it didn't.

My heart started to beat faster as soon as I saw the Gentle Giants. We eagerly watched the breeding classes and were amazed by the carriages and their brilliant horses. Udo and I really had gotten the goose-bumps...

In the afternoon the time had come for the most spectacular class of all: the stallions. It was just so fascinating  to see these beautiful horses. They were dressed up in the traditional style and had their mane and tail done. Their owners, most of them elderly men, presented their horses with pride. We did see things of course that we didn't like but we had to accept that "other countries have other manners.

 We were totally amazed by the harness class - some of the horses really looked like ornaments - they reminded us of Christmas trees on four legs :)

We went to the pub at Karin's hotel in the evening where we met up with Sam & Jen and Matt & Joanna. MANOWAR-friends who had made the journey to catch up with us and get a taste of the Shire Horses on Sunday. Karin had to go to bed early - she would be judging the next day - and Tom and Benni were tired too, so that the 6 of us had our little House Of Death Party in England. It was really great to see the four of them. Sam drove us back to the hotel - again it was 6 of us in a tiny Opel Corsa - where we fell like stones into our bed.

The next morning I let Udo sleep-in because I wanted to be over at the show grounds very early with Karin. It was to be her big day today. She would be judging all the mare classes. This was a great honor for a German judge to be able to judge at the show of the English Shire Horse Society. The sun was shining and I enjoyed my walk over to the showgrounds where I met up with Mrs. Judge Karin and Tom :)

I was very excited and proud as Karin started off. Her job was surely not going to be an easy one.

I grabbed myself a big mug of coffee and my camera and after the first classes had been judged I headed to the stables. It was a wonderful morning and I felt full of energy and took great pictures of all the Shires.

Udo arrived a bit later on and we went on a small shopping tour - there were many little stands where they sold horse accessories, dishes, plates and of course food and beverages. We went back to the stables after Jo & Matt and Sam & Jen had caught up with us and Jen actually got the chance to pet the first horse of her life.

In the afternoon the most thrilling class of the day was to be judged - the champion mare. We Manowarriors were watching and had already picked out our favorite mare. Haha, and it was our Number One who actually won. You could see the pride in the owner's eyes.

And then the time had come to say goodbye. The preparations for the grand finale were taking place in front of the riding hall where one could see so many horses and carriages. I had tears in my eyes as I left the showgrounds. I really love these Gentle Giants from the bottom of my heart.

Jo & Matt had already headed home. Sam & Jen joined us for a short while in a near pub. Their flight was due so we had to depart quite abruptly. It was great finally meeting Jo and seeing Matt again. And Sam & Jen are such a great couple and we are really looking forward to all the great events that we'll be able to witness together this year!

Karin, Tom, Benni, Heinz, Paul and two friends of Benni joined us at the pub where we had great food and drinks. It's always exciting to meet new people. I had a couple of whiskies together with Karin at the bar - we drank to a great day and to our friendship. Afterwards when all had left Udo and I decided to make ourselves comfortable for a little while sharing our thoughts about the weekend. We did hit the sheets quite early because we had to be at Karin's hotel at 7:30 am for breakfast the next morning. The last English breakfast - guess I'll miss all the great fat in the morning...

Tom had already left us and it was Udo and his two chickis on the road again. We drove back to the airport where we returned the car and then headed to downtown London by bus. We had to pay to deposit our luggage and the bus wasn't really cheap either yet we were still in a great mood.

After arriving in downtown we did something very typical for Udo and I. We did sightseeing our way (be quick or be dead) being able to see all the great and famous buildings in a matter of hours. We had a lot of fun and London is truly a fascinating and charming city with friendly people. I guess we'll have to visit the place again - maybe even bringing a bit more time with us :)

We had earned ourseleves a cold fresh Guinness and great Fish & Chips after our strenuous sightseeing tour by foot so we decided to have a little break in a pub.

The weekend had been a dream for me and it was over in a flash. And there we were sitting in our plane back to Germany. I was totally wornout, had caught a bit of a cold and was angry at GermanWings but all that didn't count because I was so unbelievably happy having been able to experience so many wonderful moments.

I wouldn't want to miss a minute of it and I'm already looking forward to Karin's and Tom's Shire Horse & Clydesdale Show on August 14, 2010 at the Dudelhof. Let's see who we'll see there again...