THE nation’s top heavy horse teams will go head-to-head in competition at the Great Dorset Steam Fair tomorrow.

The Heavy Horse Showing Classes will take place throughout the day with heavy horses being shown in-hand, in harness and with their show vehicles.

A grand parade, with presentation of the cups and trophies will take place from 3.30pm.

One of the teams taking part is the Co-Operative Funeral Care Southern Team, owned by John Goodwin.

They were the turnout champions of 2016 with their pair of shires at The Shire Horse Society National Show and they have been invited to the Horse Of The Year Show at the NEC in October.

Also competing is the Co-Operative Funeral Care Northern team, owned by Gavin Holmes. They were reserve champions at Royal Highland Show earlier this year.

David Mouland from Fordingbridge is entering a team of Canadian Belgian horses and breeder Randy Hiscock from Shaftesbury has brought his team of four Suffolk Punches, which are a rare breed.

Erica Macey-Bracken, heavy horses section leader at GDSF says: “Heavy horses have been a part of the Great Dorset Steam Fair since the very beginning.

“Today the heavy horse section attracts many of the country’s top heavy horse teams, who come from as far afield as Scotland and Cornwall to take part.

“The quality and variety of horses in these classes is fantastic, and is the envy of many a county show.

A friendly ploughing match took place at the fair on Thursday. It saw ploughmen and women compete to plough the best plot of land - just as they would have done at the turn of the 20th century.

The winner, Martin Kerswell, is representing England at the World Ploughing Championships next month.

The heavy horses section aims to demonstrate how heavy horses are worked and show how versatile they are.

Horses can be seen at work on each day of the show, demonstrating a wide variety of original horse-drawn implements. Visitors can walk around the stables, get up close to the horses and ask questions.

This year’s displays include the return of the Heavy Horse Musical Drive, with pairs of horses preforming thrilling precision moves set to music. It includes the team display, which sees three and four horse teams being put through their paces. As well as two horse-drawn fire engines, a display of decorated harness and the Ladies Carts, where the glamorous ladies of the heavy horse world show off their skills with these new vehicles.

The Great Dorset Steam Fair runs until Bank Holiday Monday. Tickets are available on the gate. Go to gdsf.co.uk.