Heavy horses return to HOYS
Visitors to this year’s Horse of the Year Show at the NEC in Birmingham (4-8 October) will be entertained between show jumping classes by the specially choreographed Osborne Refrigerators’ Musical Drive of the Heavy Horses.
The heavy horse musical drive was a regular feature of the show from 1952 until it’s last performance in 1999 at Wembley. This year will be the first time this spectacle has been seen at the show since it moved to Birmingham in 2002.
The horses will be traditionally turned out with their manes and tails braided, while their drivers will be dressed in specially tailored red smocks, elegantly matched with red and white cravats and brown top hats.
Set to stirring traditional music reminiscent of the Last Night of the Proms, the Osborne Refrigerators’ Musical Drive of the Heavy Horses includes complex movements to music including impressive figures of eight, Catherine wheels and scissor movements, which will ensure the perfect surface for the next jumping class.
Mike Gill, a director of Grandstand Media Ltd, organisers of HOYS said: “We are delighted to go back to Horse of the Year Show’s roots so that our audience once again have the unique opportunity to witness one of the most famous displays in the horse world.”
For tickets and more information about the show contact the box office (tel: 08700 101052) or visit: www.hoys.co.uk
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Carol is an experienced journalist and editor, who is also a passionate amateur rider and dedicated horse owner, having ridden since childhood. She has a particular interest in the emotional well-being and ethical training of horses, alongside veterinary matters, having garnered extensive first-hand experience of numerous equine health conditions through more than 30 years of horse ownership.