At Blackhall and Powis we’re not known to shy away from a challenge, or a bit of fun. It’s also important to us that we give back to our sector when we can so the RSABI charity, who provide valuable practical, financial and emotional support to the agricultural industry across Scotland, is close to our hearts.
We were delighted to take part in this year’s Great Scone Palace challenge held in the grounds of Scone Palace, Perth. Starting with a lovely welcome party held at Perth Racecourse the night before which included a celebrity racetrack run, auction and raffle, before the main event kicked off the next day.
We were among 17 teams entered into the event which consisted of four challenges:
- The Great Bale Obstacle Course – rolling a straw bale 100metres across a field then moving onto a variety of stacked bale heights to jump/clamber over and crawling on all fours beneath a net.
- The Palace Pathfinders Quest – solving riddles, decoding puzzles and following a trail of hidden clues all within the gardens and maze of the palace
- Tractor Pull – basically a tug of war against a tractor, but thankfully the tractor doesn’t pull back.
- Laser Clay Challenge – using laser shotguns to hit the clay as quickly and accurately as possible to build up points.
The challenges encouraged teamwork, determination, thought and agility. The weather changed in the afternoon with some heavy downpours but to all the team’s credit everyone soldiered on, and it gradually eased. Despite being a man short, our team overcame the odds to pull off a victory against some tough competition. It should be noted that we were able to rely on a friendly competitor to fill in for the clay challenge and a willing member of RSABI to help with the tractor pull. Collaboration at its finest!
The day was rounded off by an evening black tie ball within Scone Palace where we enjoyed a meal in the Long Gallery, the longest room in any private Scottish home. The celebrations continued with the team venturing out into Perth city centre until the small hours. Thankfully dancing was not part of the event challenges as we would have definitely finished in last place!
The trophy now sits proudly in our head office in Glasgow, and we’re already looking forward to defending our title next year.
