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Pandoras Conquistadors Bvlgari, a “cheeky” 73cm tall stallion, topped the American miniature horse championship class at the 2026 Horse of The Year Show (HOYS)
Pandoras Conquistadors Bvlgari, a “cheeky” 73cm tall stallion, topped the American miniature horse championship class at the 2026 Horse of The Year Show (HOYS).
“Bo” was shown to the title by his owner Emma Armitage.
He is no stranger to success, being multi-garlanded, and this year took championships at the Royal Welsh and the Devon County Show.
A win at HOYS was last on the list for Emma, who has won here previously with a British miniature horse.
She said: “I’m elated. “He has won every title in the UK and this is just the icing on the cake. It’s what we’ve always wanted to do together and we’ve done it.”
Emma picked out Bo after seeing him “float around the arena” as a five-month-old foal.
The Covergilrs Boleros El Conquistadors seven-year-old was bred by Emma Williams, and is a working stallion.
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“He has one on the ground, and three due next year,” said Emma, who has had pint-sized ponies for “as long as she can remember”, and who says she loves the breed for their personality.
“They are little, but they have so much love to give you, and you can have as much fun as with a big horse,” she said.
“He loves to show. He’s cheeky, naughty, but as soon as he goes in the ring he just does his job.
“He absolutely loved it in there. As soon as he’s got a sash on, he’s like, ‘I’m going’.”
Second in the class was Adele Is A Superstar, a mare by McCarthys Storm Warning.
The piebald is owned by Nicola Trigg and shown in the ring by Charlotte Trigg.
She was bought by them as a filly, and is now five.
They say Adele is the “sweetest mare” who “always gives her best no matter what”.
