A true champion of the Clydesdale breed, Hugh Ramsey was born into farming on Millisle Farm in Garlieston, where he worked the land the traditional way—sowing, seeding, and ploughing with the powerful Clydesdales, even as tractors took over. His lifelong dedication to preserving the breed earned him an MBE from Princess Anne for services to the Clydesdale horse. Now celebrating 60 remarkable years at the Royal Highland Show, Hugh is joined by daughters Elaine Ramsay and Annette Noble, and granddaughter Ailsa Noble. Elaine continues the family name from Garlieston, while Annette and Ailsa carry on the tradition at Peggyslee Farm in Nile Mile BurnPenicuik—each generation proudly following in the footsteps of their father and grandfather. Ailsa has just had a baby girl called Rosie, she is 6 weeks old and the family hope that Rosie will continue on the tradition that her great garndfather started.
00:00We came here about 37 years ago, my husband and I, just after I got married, and we brought one Clydesdale up from down at my parents' down at Wigtonshire.
00:10And we just had a foal and we started the prefects Peggy Slea Clydesdales then.
00:16And for a few years we used to ponies and we always just had a foal every year, Clydesdale foal every year.
00:23And then when Niels got a bit older we got into the driving.
00:27So you'd be about 16 then.
00:30And we got into the driving and then riding, so and it's just gradually, we've just gradually got more horses.
00:38It came from my father, like I was born into it. He lives down in South West Scotland and he had Clydesdales all his life.
00:46Worked on the farm, worked the horses when I left the school.
00:52At that time it was just changing over for tractors. We didn't have a tractor at that time.
01:00But shortly after that, a year or two after that we had. We did all the work on the farm with them.
01:07All the seeding, all the ploughing. We did all the work with Clydesdales.
01:13Once the tractors came in, the horses went off. Right? And that was them.
01:17I thought odd ones had come back on, you know, into the farms.
01:20But never had horses maybe for 20 years, 30 years, 40 years.
01:26But they come back. They're odd ones, didn't you know. But we'll be one of the few that had horses forever.
01:35We walked them in the farm right up to about the 80s. Oh, I never used the tractor.
01:40Driving side, showing side, that didn't come to later. So we weren't using the horses so much in the farm then.
01:48So I came a wee bit later. But no, just one of these things that was just born in me.
01:57A hobby. It started just as a hobby. I studied the local shows and went a wee bit wider.
02:04This year I showed at the Highland was 60 years this year. That was the first year.
02:09Yes, I always used young horses. I just like bringing them on and somebody wanted to buy one.
02:14I sold it on and either bought another young one or bred one.
02:19So we grew up with it. And I think the big thing is because we usually buy them,
02:24either breed them or buy them as yearlings and we bring them on. And so it's the thing,
02:30we break them in like from three year olds. And it's nice to see them, you know,
02:35when you first break them in until you see them in the show ring. That's the thing I get out of them,
02:40you know, just to see how they're going and how they've progressed. And, you know,
02:45from a wee one running about in the field to them in the show ring, pulling a carriage.
02:52This is just the second year he's not actually driven at the Highland show and that's him been
02:57showing for 60 years. So a long time. So 58 years he's been driving it.
03:03They all helped me. All my family, my son and my three daughters. They did. They went with me and helped me.
03:12And it worked for there. I won my last six horse team when I was 80.
03:21I was 80. Well, I could get up onto the wagon then, but I can't even know.
03:26Well, I went to the World Clydesdale Show in America. I was in Canada that year,
03:34wherever it was, wherever it was. And then I came straight back into London and went to Buckingham
03:39Palace to get the MBA. Oh, unreal. Fantastic. Getting photographs and seeing the palace.
03:47Oh, very good. Excellent. Sister, sister does it. Older sister. So she's continuing on with the horses,
03:55my father's horses. I've been doing it ever since, well, ever since I was born. Mum took me around the
04:00shows with her. So I was just kind of growing up with the love of it really. And I'm very lucky that
04:05Mum's let me do a lot more than what a lot of people do. A lot of people want to hang on to it for
04:10years before they hand it over to another family member. So she's let me do a lot more,
04:14which has got me a lot more encouraged and enjoy it a lot more. She doesn't drive at six. She just
04:18drives up there for her. But it ails her up. She drives at six. She's very keen. Oh, yes. I enjoy
04:28watching them. Criticise a bit. Good criticism. First time. I never went to the Highland Show until maybe
04:34I was about 16. 16, yeah. Remember the first Highland Show. It was great fun because we could stay away.
04:41It was great fun staying away from home. I think it's definitely a woman thing. I think it's nice
04:45to see that a woman's driving. So it's nice to get another woman out there driving, especially
04:50younger ones as well, because the people you're competing against are like,
04:54don't know, like 50-year-old men who've been doing it for years. So it's nice to show that
04:59younger generation can do it. And it's especially females as well. A lot of females now used to be
05:06that you very rarely ever saw a female in the show ring. But now we're getting a good few.
05:12It's very good for the sport. It's good for the Clisela horse.
05:16When I first ever drove my first ladies cart at the Highland Show, he kindly let me borrow his
05:21practice one because I didn't have one at that time. And it was orange. And we were the only orange
05:26cart in the ring out of about 20 odd carts. And I thought this was brilliant that no one else is
05:30orange. And you got fairly noticed. So then for my 21st birthday, Mum and Dad bought me a cart and
05:35asked me what colour and it had to be orange. Shows are just as big as the Highland Show. This one
05:40might seem a bit bigger because it's like our local big show. So there's a lot of family and friends
05:44that come along as well. But they just get treated the same as if you go to Suffolk, Three Counties,
05:49New Forest. It's just the same prep. What prep goes into getting them ready? Quite a lot,
05:53actually, because it takes months before because we have to get them all fed properly so that they've
06:00got enough weight on to show. And with the driving horses, we start in January to get them ready,
06:07you know, to get them fit to go around the ring. And then just before the show, we give them all a
06:12good bath and wash all over, maybe two baths sometimes if it's just the first show, wash all
06:18their legs and get them ready. We don't obviously pleat them up or do any of their tails until we
06:25get to the show. But it's just getting out everything, getting them in the right condition
06:31for a show, you know. So they have to be fed twice a day and just plait your food into them really,
06:38isn't it? Yeah, and mostly they have the weight and the stamina to get you around the ring as well.
06:43Nothing worse if you're going around the ring and your horse isn't fit enough and it can't pull the
06:47carriage. It's a little bit embarrassing as well. We normally take a six horse team but this year
06:53with the baby, we're only taking a four horse team and we're taking one in hand. I'm probably
06:59quite excited and you just want them to do well, you know, when you get in the ring and come out,
07:04you know, just have a good drive. That's the main thing, you know. It's, sometimes it does do
07:10well. As long as you have a good drive, that's what matters. I get excited. I also get quite nervous
07:15because I'm now the driver for the team, so it's like, it's not just yourself, you are the driver,
07:20but it's the team behind you that's working just as hard as you are, so you don't want to let anyone
07:24down. You go to try and win, but if you didn't win, that's it. You don't bother. There's so much
07:34bickering, you know, between competitors and that. I thought they were out for the word go to, when
07:42you come out of the ring, that's who finished. For the in hand, it's confirmation of the horse,
07:47so they want them to be straight in the front and to be close behind when they're walking and trotting,
07:53a nice flat bone. But then the only, the hard bit is every judge has got a different opinion,
08:00so you, what you think you could have your best horse, the judge might not think so, so it's,
08:04that's one, one hard thing about what we do. But then, then when we're driving, it's, you've got to
08:11have them pretty, so for them to sort of look like each other, good matches and be quite cocky,
08:17their head up and lift their legs and just be nice picture to the eye, you know, just,
08:24and they work as a team, yeah. We're all looking for the same thing, uniformity and
08:31that type of thing and all going together and, you know, properly handled, the driver has to handle
08:39them properly. The show was our favourite part when he was driving and we weren't able to be in the ring
08:44with him or anything. The best part was when he came out the ring was getting to jump on the cart
08:48on the way out the ring. That was our, that was the highlight of the day, was getting to jump on
08:52the cart with him and drive back down to the lorry. Atmosphere at the Royal Highland and some of the
08:58big shows really have an atmosphere and you don't like missing them. Well my definitely, from mine,
09:03is definitely driving my first ever six horse team at the Highland show and my grandpa's there to watch.
09:08That was definitely the highlight. It's really nice to catch up with all our friends.
09:12Yeah, because you want to win in the ring but once you come out the ring,
09:15it doesn't matter who's won or lost, you'll all go round to someone's lorry and have a good party.
