THERE is no greater honour in the horse world than to be asked to judge at the Royal Welsh Show – but, for a Forest breeder, the reality was even better than the dream.
Jeremy Davis was asked to judge the record entry in the Welsh ponies of cob type section at the show but having his family – and particularly dad Jack there – made it even more special.
Mr Davis and his father ran the Parvadean Stud in Littledean but Mr Davis senior – who is known as Jack Parvadean – is now frail and the family thought it unlikely he would be able make the 60-mile trip to Builth Wells in mid Wales from the Townsend House care home in Mitcheldean where he lives.
His son said: "There is no greater honour than being asked to judge at the Royal Welsh and the pinnacle was having my whole family there, particularly my father.
"He hasn't been outside for 18 months but Townsend House pulled out all the stops to get him there and we'll never be able to thank them enough.
"He was taken into the main ring and he presented the main trophy, the Chetwin Trophy."
Mr Davis, who runs a recruitment business in Mitcheldean, has been to every Royal Welsh for the last 35 years and it was there he first came across the renowned Welsh cob.
"When I was 15 I was at the top of the ring watching the Welsh mountain ponies and I went down to watch the bigger ones (the cob type).
"I said to dad although we were involved with the Welsh mountain ponies I wanted one of the bigger ones.
"Never did I think I'd be stood there adjudicating 35 years later.
"Honour is not the word for it – you're in there with the top breeders, it all on your shoulders, the hopes of hundreds of people.
"There were 358 horses – a record entry – and the quality was there, if you can't find it there you can't find it anywhere."
The opportunity to judge at Builth is a once-in-a-lifetime offer and Mr Davis is now considering whether to continue as a judge.
He said: "I've been all over the world judging but nothing compares with the Royal Welsh."