A RENOWNED South Lakeland farmer and race horse owner has passed away, at the age of 81.

William Wilson Garnett, best known as Wilson, was born on July 14, 1935, in Gloucestershire, where his parents William and Doris managed a farm.

When he was two, the family moved to Ackenthwaite Farm, on the Dallam Tower Estate, which had been taken over by his grandfather in 1915.

Mr Garnett worked all his life on the farm, including after he and his wife Joan, nee Burrows, moved to a neighbouring house.

The Garnetts were always to the fore in using pioneering farming methods and introduced Milnthorpe to its first tractor 100 years ago in 1917.

The innovative Mr Garnett also replaced traditional shippons for tiny herds with progressively improved accommodation for hundreds of cows served by computerised milking systems.

He also expanded the farm to some 500 acres across 96 fields.

Despite retaining much arable cultivation and being a prize-winning ploughman and judge, Mr Garnett was, principally, a stock farmer.

Witnessing the transition from Shorthorns to Friesians, he is credited with acquiring the district’s first Holstein. He also built up a champion flock of Suffolks and mixed breed sheep.

Mr Garnett consistently won prizes in dairy and sheep breeding and was eight times supreme champion at the Westmorland County Show.

His huge interest in The Westmorland County Show was recognised by his being president in 2015, when he hosted the visit of HRH the Prince of Wales.

He was also in constant demand as a stock judge at shows all over the country.

Once a Cumberland and Westmorland wrestler, Mr Garnett later concentrated on Young Farmers' clubs, particularly the Kent Estuary YFC, and he was a past south area president.

Moreover, Mr Garnett acted as a ploughing instructor at Newton Rigg College, near Penrith, and as a promoter of Holstein Expo.

One of his favourite recreation activities was to attend the Dallam Estates Farmers' Shoot of which he was a founding member 47 years ago.

More recently Mr Garnett won wide recognition as a race horse owner and his most successful mount was Presenting Junior, the winner of nine races.

In his immediate family, Mr Garnett is survived by his widow Joan, his son John, who with his wife Caroline run Ackenthwaite Farm, his daughter Anne and son-in-law Kevin, of Holme. He also has two grandsons and two granddaughters, all of whom are ‘born farmers.’

His remaining sister, Mary Wills, continues to live in Milnthorpe.