The clip-clop of hooves on cobbles rang out daily across 19th-century Blackburn as heavy horses delivered Thwaites ale across town. Today four beautiful Shires remain members of our team, charming colleagues and customers alike. We absolutely love them (and don’t they know it?!)
Thwaites’s Shires were put out to grass in the 1920s as steam wagons and then lorries replaced the horse-drawn drays. But in the late 1950s, when working heavy horse breeds had declined to the point of near extinction, a young manager (and future Thwaites managing director) called David Kay persuaded the board to bring Shires back into the business. Our four-legged team members became invaluable once more, not only delivering barrels of beer to local pubs but winning hearts – and prizes – all over the country. After meeting the Queen in 1978 when she presented them with trophy at the Shire Horse Society’s Centenary Show, they received the Freedom of Blackburn in 1985 for their service to the town – an honour bestowed on Daniel Thwaites’s granddaughter Elma Yerburgh 50 years earlier.
Today our handsome ambassadors epitomise the heritage and craftmanship at the heart of Thwaites. They’re out several times a week meeting our guests or going to community events, flying the flag for their endangered breed. Cared for and trained by head horseman Richard Green and his colleagues Jon Jones and Bev Holland, they’re always beautifully turned out and beautifully behaved. “It’s wonderful to see people’s faces when they hear the horses’ hooves on the road and turn round to see them pulling the dray in their traditional harnesses,” says Richard, who’s looked after our horses for quarter of a century and won many prizes beside them in the show ring. “There’s no better feeling than being in a grandstand full of people when your horses are going well.”
Drummer
The oldest of our gentle giants, 10-year-old Drummer sets a fine example for his younger stablemates. He’s been with us since he was two years old, moving with us from the Star Brewery in Blackburn to our new home in Mellor in 2018. He loves meeting customers on visits to our pubs, inns and hotels – especially if they slip him a cheeky apple. Pulling Santa’s sleigh at Christmas markets and fairs is one of his favourite jobs.
Regal
Beautiful Regal is a bit of a prima donna. The most spirited of our horses, he loves strutting his stuff in the show ring. He’ll compete in a pair with Thunder but he really shines as a solo act, winning awards in the single trade turnout for the elegance and discipline with which he pulls our restored brewery dray. Like all our Shires, nine-year-old Regal is black with white legs and a white blaze. Thwaites red is his perfect colour.
Thunder
Thunder, aged seven, is the most laid-back horse in the stable. A team player who’ll turn his hooves to anything, he does us proud performing at agricultural shows or taking part in community events, such as the annual May Day Parade in Knutsford, home of our Cottons hotel. We all love popping out to the paddock to scratch Thunder’s shoulder and have a natter at lunchtime: he’s a great listener with a high tolerance for office politics.
Duke
Four-year-old Duke is still in training, having joined us in 2025. Every morning at 6am when we open the stable doors, he’ll be standing to attention, greeting us with a friendly whinny and gently kicking the wall to tell us to hurry with his breakfast. He’s got a taste for spent barley from the mash tun – a key part of his diet – and like his stablemates he’s partial to a pint of Thwaites Original in the afternoon.
Meet Richard, Jon and Bev, the brilliant trio who look after our Shire horses every day, making sure they are living their best lives in our purpose-built stables right next to our brewery in the Ribble Valley. From early morning exercise to get those big legs moving, to feeds that resemble a never-ending buffet, they keep our gentle giants happy, healthy, and just the right amount of spoiled. There is plenty of brushing, careful hoof care and the all-important ear scratches, all delivered with expert timing and a good sense of humour. They know every stomp, snort, and shameless attempt at a second breakfast, and they would tell you the horses run the place, they just work there. Thanks to them, our Shires are always calm, content and ready to steal the show.
Head Horseman
After 26 years looking after our Shires, Richard says his job is still so enjoyable that it doesn’t feel like work. “First thing in the morning, when I walk into the stable to find four horses waiting for me, I feel so fortunate,” he says. He first encountered Shires while working at a city farm in Salford. Now, he loves showing off their power and poise at promotional events and in the show ring. He’s in his element at the reins of the dray, driving our solo and team competitors to victory. “There’s no better feeling than being in a grandstand full of people when your horses are going well.”
Horsewoman
Bev’s been horse-mad for as long as she can remember, starting riding lessons at the age of four and working in stables at weekends as soon she was old enough. She spent 25 years grooming and training police horses for Lancashire Constabulary before joining our horse team in 2024. “Every day is a learning day,” she says. “I get to spend a lot more time with each individual horse than I did in the police. They’re beautiful to work with. They all have their quirks and frisky moments, but most of the time they’re very laid back.”
Horseman
Growing up around horses, Jon reckons he learned to ride before he could walk. He crossed paths with Richard as a college student, on work experience at Salford’s city farm, and has spent the past 20 years working alongside him at Thwaites. He loves exercising the horses on the lanes around our head office and preparing them for events and shows. “It’s a long process, making sure every detail is perfect, from grooming the horses to polishing their show harnesses. But when I watch them in the ring and I see how much people appreciate them, it makes me feel proud.”
