A SHIRE horse bought three years ago by the manager of a St Helens dog grooming centre has made it to the Horse of the Year Show.

Jo Swift, 48, from Eccleston, said Garrison - a dark brown stallion with white patches - qualified for the show at an event held in Norfolk earlier this month.

The mum-of-two said she first saw the horse, nicknamed 'Mr G', at a farm in North Wales, when he was just two years old and "very skinny".

The former Carmel pupil, who runs The Dog Barn in Catchdale Moss Lane, said: "The way it happened was this simple - we watched the movie 'Brave' with the kids at Christmas; the character Merida has a faithful companion Shire horse called Angus.

"My mind started ticking from there - we've always had horses but never a Shire. I wanted to try something different and decided to try to buy a Shire and see how much fun we could have with it."

Jo, who has a daughter Jodie, 22, and nine-year-old son George, said her father-in-law recommended a farm in Wales.

She said: "There were a few Shires in the farm but we chose this one. He's not skinny like he was when we first got him now - and he's got a personality to match! He can be a handful in some ways but a big softie in others.

"He doesn't mix with other horses, he thinks he's a human! He comes to you when he's called and whinnies all the time, he's gorgeous."

She explained: "When we got him, there was no competition with a ridden heavy horse category, but just before Christmas we saw the category had been added for the first time and we decided to enter him."

Garrison, now five, along with his 19-year-old rider Sarah Warburton, will compete in the show at the NEC in Birmingham in October.

Jo, who is married to Gareth, said she has ridden horses, as has her daughter Jodie, from a young age.

She has been running The Dog Barn - which provides kennels and services, including training and grooming, catering for dogs - for around six years.

Before this, Jo worked as a groom for the Henderson family, who are involved in show jumping.