The Devonport Flagstaff Page 24
January 29, 2016
Dan Dufty and his famous Clydesdales are missed on Devonport streets Dan Dufty and his Town and Country Clydesdale horses have been noticeably absent from Devonport this summer, due to Dufty’s failing health. Dufty lives in Paerata and brings his horses into Devonport on a trailer. He parks his cart outside the Claystore Community Workshop at 27 Lake Road. Roger Giles, who has been helping rig the horses after Dufty hurt his shoulder more than a year ago, has been visiting the horseman at Middlemore Hospital. Giles spoke to him about his work and his Devonport connections: “Dan started Town and Country Clydesdales 30 years ago, when he lost the family farm that his grandfather bought in the late 1890s. He has bred the herd, selecting the stallion and mares so their markings are those described in the Clydesdale Stud Book. “Dan has always stuck to the traditional way. The four-wheeled wagon is well over 100 years old, as is the harness. With two teams of three working horses and the brood mares, fillies and colts, he has a big feed bill. He has never stinted their feed, and is proud of the condition and presentation of his charges. “He has been coming to Devonport for 20 years, and has made lots of friends in the community when he drives down Victoria Road to the wharf. After a spell of bad weather has kept him away, people call out and wave to welcome him back, which makes him feel good. Americans who know horses tell him his horses are equal to anything they have in the famous Budweiser Brewery Stud. “Dan’s present state of health has prevented him from trucking the horses up to Devonport from Paerata this summer, but he wishes to thank the guys at the Claystore Community Workshop for their help and allowing him to leave the wagon on their forecourt. “And he says a big thank you to the people of Devonport whose support has helped him to keep going, along with roughly 250,000 visitors and tourists that he estimates he has given rides to over the time he has been coming to Devonport. “Devonport won’t be the same without him and his beautiful horses,” says Part of the Devonport streetscape for two decades… Dan Dufty and his Clydesdales Giles.
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