This film is part of Free

Clare on Silver rounding up Sheep with Patsy

Clare Trant, aged approximately 12 and quite at home on the back of her pony Silver, expertly rounds up a herd of sheep with Patsy the sheepdog.

School programme and Educational film 1960 5 mins Silent

From the collection of:

Logo for National Screen and Sound Archive of Wales

Overview

It's not just grass and water and hay that cattle require – they need trees on which to scratch away the odd itch, as can be seen in this footage shot by Ion Trant who farmed at Welshpool (Maesmawr Hall and Cefn Du farms) and at Llandrindod (Esgairdraenllwyn farm, Llaithddu). His sheep are expertly rounded up for their injections by his eldest daughter, Clare, mounted on her pony Silver and assisted by Patsy the sheepdog. Later, when the snow comes, the sheep are fed nuts.

Ion Trant, brought up on Dovea Farm in Tipperary, Ireland, felt a gulf was emerging between town and country and welcomed school visits to the farms he ran with his wife, Janet Owen (Maesmawr Hall, Cefn Du, Esgairdraenllwyn). He also devised, filmed, edited and scripted the "Country Close-Up" series for children (BBC - 1956-62), often featuring his own three. As a result of this series, he was offered work as a freelance cameraman on the BBC's weekly farming programme and he also ventured further afield, travelling as cameraman with sports commentator Max Robertson to the West Indies and with George Cansdale, field naturalist and ex-Superintendent of London Zoo, to Palestine and Israel.