BBC Farmwatch: The 91-year-old with a passion for Suffolk Punches

BBC News

3 days ago

Tom Walne – or Farmer Tom, as he is more affectionately known – has only ever known one way of life.Born in Westerfield, near Ipswich, just before Christmas 1933, the 91-year-old grew up in a farming family and has spent close to a century immersed in agricultural wonders.As a child, he remembers spending time in his pram while out in the open fields throughout the seasons, come rain or shine, summer or winter.When he was a toddler, labourers on his parents' farm would often wrap him up in the straw they were using for hedging so he could drift off to slept.As he tells BBC Suffolk for BBC Farmwatch: "It was a different life all together back then."
Since then, Farmer Tom has become a respected and experienced farmer in his own right, known best perhaps for his dedication to the rare Suffolk Punch horse breed.Over the years, he and his wife Sandy have bred just shy of 20 foals – one of which they proudly donated to Queen Elizabeth II in 2003.The couple's commitment to preserving the breed has not gone unnoticed – not least given it is now classified as critically endangered by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust (RBST).While they can no longer afford to own them, all their horses have been prize-winners – something Sandy puts down to their upbringing."I know people say they are gentle giants but it's the way you bring them up that makes them gentle," she told the BBC."You have to put the love and the care in to get the end product. They all have different personalities but they really have a want to please you."You must be firm with them but also gentle because they are very sensitive. I am extremely proud of them."
Tom first developed a passion for Suffolk Punches after being reminded of the love he had for the carting horses on his family's farm as a child.He started to attend competitions with his friend's wife who was part of a team that showed the breed at events across the country."One thing led to another," he said, and before he knew it he was taking home a Suffolk Punch which faced being put to sleep."So that's how I got back into doing stuff with Suffolk horses. I got myself a working horse, a really steady old plodder," he added.
'I wouldn't want to be anywhere else'
Tom and Sandy spoke to the BBC about their lives on the farm as part of the BBC's Farmwatch day – a 24-hour celebration of all things agricultural.Despite the struggles sometimes associated with farming, Sandy said she would not change a thing."I have had a very charmed and lucky life," she added."My life is happy."It's a sentiment echoed by Tom."I wouldn't want to be anywhere else," he said."I am an old man, but I am a lucky old man. And I am still above ground."
Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.