Amateur Welsh cob breeder Chris Newman could not believe it when she was called forward to take the overall foal supreme title at the recent Bucks Counties Spectacular Show (6 September) while leading her homebred colt Kaydence Venom.
Aged two months and nine days old on the day of the show, Venom acted as if he had been doing the job for years.
“He’s so cheeky but he got to the show and seemed to just know what he was doing,” said Chris.
Venom is a third-generation homebred out of Chris’s mare Kaydence Voodoo — also a winner at this show handled by Dean Metcalfe — and by Danaway Whats-Up, whom she previously owned, now 19.
But life has not always been rosy for Venom; a few hours after he was born the colt started to show signs of being unwell.
“Soon after he was born he kept throwing himself on the floor in the field and I knew something was wrong,” said Chris. “I couldn’t be sure what was up but I got some friends over for a second opinion. We decided to get the vet out.
“He was rushed to Bell Equine vets where they initially thought he might have a twist. There was a chance he needed to have an operation which would have been life-threatening, not to mention extremely expensive. I just said if ‘it will save his life, do it’.”
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Scans revealed that Venom had a rare blockage of meconium, an infant’s first stools. He was flushed three times and quickly resumed to full health. “He bounced back like there was nothing wrong with him,” said Chris.
Bucks Counties Spectacular Show is also close to Chris’ heart for personal reasons. The fixture is run in aid of Cancer Research UK with all proceeds going to the charity. Two years ago, Chris lost her long term partner to pancreatic cancer, and her father has suffered from bowel cancer.
“It was an awful time,” she said. “Supporting the show was also very emotional for this reason. It was a fairytale day.”
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