Stroud's Donna Murray has returned from the Royal Canberra Show with a stack of blue ribbons on her prized mare, Kaluda Park Hugs and Kisses, including the ultimate award, supreme champion.
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Donna headed down to Exhibition Park with two horses in tow; Hugs and Kisses and her half-brother Faith for the show.
It's not the first time the mare has been the talk of a competition, having been crowned supreme champion buckskin at the Sydney Royal Easter Show in 2018.
"I've been showing her for four years and she has won at least 50 supreme titles," Donna said.
"She's pretty exceptional."
Included in her long list of titles are several from the Gloucester show, having been named supreme champion for the last three years.
At Canberra Hugs and Kisses placed first in the over four years Arabian mare and was later crowned champion led mare.
Hugs and Kisses earlier won the mare or filly over 12.2 hands Australian pony, part bred class before taking the champion led and supreme champion led awards.
In the buckskin led class the pony won her four years and over mare class before taking champion led exhibit, while in the Welsh part-bred class she was first in the over four years mare class not exceeding 13 hands.
For Donna, taking her horses to a show is all about the passion.
"It's like playing football. A hobby; an expensive hobby," she laughed.
"It gets in your blood.
"It's just what you do."
She explained how the show environment is a great community of people; a family, that you see every time you attend an event.
"We call ourselves felt fairies," she laughed, referring to the material the winning ribbons are made out of.
Donna has been living in Stroud for the past 17 years where she breeds Australian part-bred ponies, Welsh, Arabian riding ponies and buckskins.
