Catch Up with Clydesdale Cathcart Lofty

Further to our previous interview with handsome Clydesdale stallion, Cathcart Lofty and his devoted owner Samantha Weir, we caught up with Samantha to find out how the campaign is going for getting Lofty to the USA, to compete in the World Clydesdale Championships. CLICK HERE to read "Five Minutes With... Gentle Giant - Cathcart Lofty".

"We are off today to get Lofty's show shoes made and fitted - it takes about 6 hours for the farrier, Darryl Bossley, who is a perfectionist and the best!" says Sam.

"On a different note - we're excited because there is a new book, 'The Clydesdale' by Mary Bromilow from Scotland, being released by Amazon Books this month that includes three photos of Lofty and I,"  CLICK HERE to view details of the book.

On the competition front, Lofty had a very successful Canberra Royal, winning the stallion class (from strong competition) and Reserve Champion Clydesdale Exhibit. "I rode Lofty in the Saturday Grand Parade and the officials were so impressed they approached me and asked if I would come back with Lofty for a ridden heavy horse class next year, which is awesome!" exclaims Samantha, adding, "Lofty was also Champion Clydesdale at Goulburn, winning the led and ground driven (there was a disappointing turn up this year as the Shire Show was on the same weekend as Goulburn), however, we got some fantastic photos of Lofty and a following of Horsezone readers and ABC listeners who came to meet Lofty and take photos of him."

"At the moment we are getting ready for Sydney Royal.  Lofty's new stallion harness for Sydney and then the World Championships arrived on Friday - it was made by Seamus Saddlery from Jersey in the Channel Islands and looks great."

"We are also very excited about our big drive north to Gatton, Queensland, for the Heavy Horse Field Days (30 April - 1 May).  In addition to competing over the two days, we are also doing a Freestyle Dressage display sidesaddle."

It certainly seems to be all happening for Lofty and Samantha as they continue their journey to the World Championships being held in Madison, Wisconsin USA, in October this year.

Sam is continuing to raise funds for their USA trip - she aims to raise $50,000 - because as mentioned in our previous interview, Sam is not coming home without Lofty so she needs extra money for the return trip for her gentle giant.  In addition to selling other horses and gear, Sam is also selling Lofty's semen to earn the money, saying, "At the moment I'm just trying to make sure I can raise enough money to bring Lofty back to Australia, so now we're sort collecting semen off him and freezing it, got it on ice, so we're sort of putting it on the market now."

If you are interested in breeding your mare to Cathcart Lofty, CLICK HERE to view his stallion listing on Horsezone. Also, be sure to 'Like' Cathcart Lofty's Facebook page to keep up to date with all his news!