Royal regular stops to reflect

Normally the enigmatic heavy horsemen would be in the throes of preparing for and competing at the Royal Adelaide Show.

With the COVID-19 pandemic causing the show's cancellation, Mr Keogh's Clydesdales are down at Mount Gambier on agistment with breeder Lynette Fritsch, Lowanvale Clydesdale Stud.

Mr Keogh and his wife Liz Murphy have teamed up with Ms Fritsch in recent years to exhibit and compete at various shows.

This year is only the third time Mr Keogh has missed a Royal Adelaide Show - the equine influenza outbreak in 2007 and judging overseas were the only other occasions - since the Clydesdale competition was re-introduced after an absence of close to 20 years.

Growing up at Carey Gully, Mr Keogh's love of heavy horses was instilled in him by the trusty workhorses used on his father's farm.

"When I entered my first show class I had one Clydesdale and a single delivery trolley," he said.

"Each year I'd chip away, keep upgrading and my efforts got better and better.

"I had access to a lot of knowledge from heavy horse breeders and people who worked horses for a living. They took an interest in me and gave me a lot of useful advice on team driving, setting up heavy horse teams."

Mr Keogh said educating horses to compete could take years and the show preparation was often a six to eight-month process involving early morning driving and work sessions to get horses "show-fit".

"They have to work as a team, stand like a delivery horse and wait, be able to walk in harness and show a good active trot," he said.

"You've also got to be able to back the vehicle and be tested through all the tasks a normal workhorse would have done in that era."

Mr Keogh has competed in many different classes through the years, including the tradesman's turnout, pair of heavy horses, the team horse event and breed classes.

The tradesman's turnout, where competitors are judged on the education and working ability of the horse or horse teams, and the quality of the horses, harnesses and vehicles, harks back to an era where heavy horses were used to pull delivery wagons and plough paddocks.

Mr Keogh was one of the few people to use heavy horses in his everyday work, doing promotional work, deliveries and product launches in his role as the Coopers Brewery horse manager.

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"It was a really great, colourful career and being contracted to Coopers was a big boost to be able to go to other shows in Australia," he said.

"I've met people from all over the world through that role and been invited to judge shows overseas and it all stemmed from the Royal Adelaide Show."

While Mr Keogh was saddened for those exhibitors starting out, he could understand the need to cancel this year's show.

He said the 2020 cancellation, combined with the demolition of the old horse stables he spent so much time in, heralded a new era, but he would still hold many memories dear from those days gone by.

"I enjoyed the camaraderie among the older horsemen generation, most of which have passed away," Mr Keogh said.

"We would meet a lot of people who would only meet once a year at the royal show.

"A lot of the old fellas would come and visit our locker every year and we'd have a cup of tea going at the stables in the morning or after competing."