10 reasons we’re getting HOYS withdrawal symptoms

Madeleine Silver's avatar
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Published In Features
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Gilles Fortier; Vulcanism - Dreams of Fire display during HOYS in the NEC in Warwickshire in the UK on 7th October 2016
(Image credit: Peter Nixon)

This year’s Horse of the Year Show may have only finished on Sunday, but we’re already wondering when it’s OK to start getting excited about the 2017 equestrian extravaganza. It’s not hard to work out why we’re still on a HOYS high — and that’s before we’ve even started on the emotional roller coaster of the showjumping and showing classes…

Mounted games envy
(Image credit: Peter Nixon)

Mounted games envy

Could there be a better feeling for the East Kent Hunt branch of the Pony Club than to be in the spotlight following their win in the Prince Philip Cup final? If only we were all that agile...

Team work
(Image credit: Peter Nixon)

Team work

Tips from the top
(Image credit: Peter Nixon)

Tips from the top

A private lesson with Carl Hester might be a lofty dream on our bucket list, but a masterclass with the Olympian and Charlotte Dujardin offers a pretty good substitute

Familiar faces
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Familiar faces

Showjumping stalwart Geoff Billington checks out the action with Britain's showjumping chef d'equipe Di Lampard

The adrenaline buzz East Kent Hunt Pony Club, winners of the Prince Philip Cup Final in the Pony Club Mounted Games during HOYS in the NEC in Warwickshire in the UK on 9th October 2016
(Image credit: Peter Nixon)

The adrenaline buzz East Kent Hunt Pony Club, winners of the Prince Philip Cup Final in the Pony Club Mounted Games during HOYS in the NEC in Warwickshire in the UK on 9th October 2016

Ribbons aplenty
(Image credit: creditUnknown)

Ribbons aplenty

Flashy footwear
(Image credit: creditUnknown)

Flashy footwear

Step aside wellies, wave goodbye to muddy gateways and say hello to the kind of footwear that only an indoor prize-giving could allow

A bout of nostalgia
(Image credit: Peter Nixon)

A bout of nostalgia

The jingling of the harrow chains in the Musical Drive of the Heavy Horses takes spectators back to a bygone era

West End or NEC?
(Image credit: Peter Nixon)

West End or NEC?

Forget theatre tickets. Spectators get their show-stopping fix with Gilles Fortier's 'Vulcanium Dreams of Fire' display, combining dance, theatre and circus performances with fire and pyrotechnics

Wow-factor horsemanship
(Image credit: Peter Nixon)

Wow-factor horsemanship

Madeleine Silver
Madeleine Silver
Former features editor

A graduate from Durham University, Madeleine joined H&H in 2011 and became Features Editor — producing content across the magazine and website, including the popular inside back cover article ‘The horse that made me’ and the weekly ‘The best of my fun…’ interview. She has written on topics as diverse as hay making and headcams, to hot totty in the horse world and circus horses. Madeleine now works as a freelance feature writer for Country Life, The Telegraph, Horse & Hound, cntraveller.com, The Spectator and The Field, as well as writing obituaries for The Times.