Declan Feeney’s Camilla and Charlie, working to finish off the hay using a single horse reaper stole the winning place in the inaugural Donkey Breed Virtual Competition. Organised by the Donkey Breed Society Northern Ireland to coincide with the launch of The VIRTUAL GAME FAIR, the competition attracted 32 entrants. The range of photographs showcased various donkey breeds and highlighted the charm, versatility and utility of the not-so-humble donkey.
The difficult task of judging the field of entrants fell to Irish Country Sports & Country Life Editor, Paul Pringle. He said: “There were several pictures of Camilla and Charlie but I was particularly taken with the image of them working in the hay field. It was an atmospheric image evocative of years past and the two donkeys are so in step with each other that only a glimpse of Charlie’s legs indicates that this is a pair at work. Camilla is a very striking donkey, indeed, each and every donkey in this competition turned out to be a scene-stealer.”
The runner-up in the competition was another hard worker on the farm, Barney, owned by the Cochrane family and pictured being driven to the traditional farm cart by Caragh Cochrane.
The competition was sponsored by Smyths Country Sports (Barbour) Red Mills and the Irish Country Sport & Country Life magazine.
Click the video below to see all the competition entrants.