A RARE horse-drawn hearse was the highlight of the LiveLighter Heavy Horse Festival in Northam recently.
The hearse was teamed with Colonial Clydesdales and made a breathtaking sight.
It won the Authentic Vehicle Turnout class and the Driven Vehicle class at the festival.
To add to the success of the day, the team also won the trophy for the Champion Turnout Award.
The hearse, which is the only one of it’s kind in WA, was shown at the festival in a joint collaboration between Perth Horse and Carriage, the owners of the hearse, Colonial Clydesdales, which supplied the Clydesdales, and Purslowe Tinetti Funerals (Northam).
The Perth Horse and Carriage hearse has been serving WA since 2000, attending funerals throughout Perth and regional areas and was also a feature of Karakatta Cemetery’s 150th anniversary.
The hearse is a working carriage and is available to book via most funeral companies in Perth and regional WA.
It was handcrafted by skilled craftsmen who used centuries-old recycled black butt timber sourced from Sydney’s Wooloomooloo Pier.
It has been finished to a very high standard, making it a stunning carriage and a fitting tribute to say a final goodbye to loved friends and family.
Lara Blom from Perth Horse and Carriage, was pleased with the outcome of the weekend.
“Showing in harness is something that we’ve never really considered, but being offered the opportunity to showcase our magnificent horse drawn hearse alongside Colonial Clydesdales, who are veterans at this sort of thing, we thought well why not?‘’ Ms Blom said.
“It was a bonus that the LiveLighter Heavy Horse Festival was held in Northam because we had previously worked alongside the town’s local funeral director, Purslowe Tinetti Funerals.
“It was a great opportunity to support the festival and showcase the services that our three companies can offer.”
Tina Tinetti Smith, Purslowe Tinetti Funerals, assisted the turnout of the hearse at the festival, dressing in top hats and tails to complete the immaculate presentation.
Purslowe Tinetti Funerals founder James W Purslowe was a wheelwright and carpenter who conducted funerals with a horse drawn hearse, Ms Tinetti Smith said.
“It’s wonderful to be involved in a tradition that dates back to when our business was established in 1907,’’ she said.
“This is a beautiful way to create a memorable send off for loved ones, particularly for people who’ve lived long enough to remember driving horses every day for work or transportation.
“Funerals should be a meaningful reflection one’s life.”
Celebrating the success of the weekend, Emma Iddison, Colonial Clydesdales, said the team wanted to maintain the traditions of the Clydesdale in WA.
“We have a passion for maintaining the traditions of the Clydesdale and for keeping alive the harness skills associated with driving these magnificent horses,’’ Ms Iddison said.
“We love bringing the Clydesdales to rural locations, such as Northam, to showcase the horses and allow people to experience the rare sight of working Clydesdales.
“The opportunity to work alongside our friends at Perth Horse and Carriage and Purslowe Tinetti Funerals was a great opportunity.
“To win the major awards was the icing on the cake.
“We were used to being judged by the general public, but the ultimate compliment was to be judged favourably by our peers, for us to then get a positive result under a highly credentialed heavy horse judge such as Tim Peel, was a great honour indeed.”
The LiveLighter Heavy Horse Festival is an annual event for showing different breeds of heavy and draft horses in breed, ridden, novelty and harness classes.
The festival combines the rare and unusual sight of working heavy horses to Northam where people can enjoy watching and interacting with the draft horses that were an important part of the early development of the area.
