DOUG Joiner, the Herefordshire-based champion of the heavy horse, has organised the first ever European Horse Logging Championship to be held in the UK.

Mr Joiner, who is based near Bosbury, was determined to have the event on British soil in recognition of the 2012 Olympics and because it will highlight the work of the heavy horse around the world.

Competitors come from all over Europe and as far away as Japan to compete in the three-day competition.

There will be 25 single horses and 10 pairs at the biannual event to be held at Ragley Hall, Alcester, Warwickshire, as part of the APF 12, the UK’s largest and most exciting woodland, forestry, trees and timber show.

Mr Joiner runs Childer Wood Heavy Horses where he offers training courses, horse logging and woodland products and two of his protégées – Richard Eames and Mike Paddock – will be competing at the event.

“I am milking the benefits of this Olympic year as it raises the profile of these wonderful heavy horses and the extremely important work that they do around the world in conservation,”

said Mr Joiner.

“I believe very strongly in the future of the working horse in its flexible power. A well-trained horse and a professional contractor team led by the horse logger can only assist in the growing management and harvesting of quality timber. I thought it only right that this year the championships should be held in the UK.”

Mr Joiner, who is chair of the British Horse Loggers, works for various statutory national and local bodies and woodland and wildlife trusts.

He manages Childer Wood using horses for timber extraction, scarification, bracken and bramble control, as well as for removing tools and equipment.

All the horses competing in the show are used regularly to extract timber from difficult, sensitive woodlands where the use of wheeled vehicles might cause unacceptable damage.

These gentle giants weigh up to a tonne each and are highly trained for their roles.

The competition from Thursday, September 13, to Saturday, September 15, involves horses and handlers dragging a log around a woodland circuit negotiating obstacles and carrying out a range of skills and tasks commonly encountered whilst working.

The emphasis is on accuracy and steadiness but time is taken into account in the event of a tie.

The winner will be announced at 4pm on the Saturday.

The logging championship is just one of a series of events taking place.

Others include the Husqvarna world 25-metre poleclimbing championship, the European chainsaw carving championship, an extensive woodland craft area and more than £30 million of working forestry machinery.