Exceptionally strong ridden part-bred and anglo Arab classes held on the final day of the 2024 Royal Windsor Horse Show were led by last year’s champion, Annabel Pope’s mare seven-year-old Stage Diva.
Piloted by her producer Hannah Horton, the Tiger Attack daughter, who was bred by Virginia Russell-Wood out of prolific mare and Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) supreme in-hand star Stage Music, impressed judge Emma Livesey throughout the class and the championship.
“She has substance and limb, and she covered the ground,” Emma said. “She was elegant and full of quality, too. She had beautiful self-carriage and she coped very well with the going. The show was polished and foot-perfect; it was poetry in motion.”
Last season was the mare’s first in the show ring, though as well as her Windsor triumph she was novice champion at Hertfordshire County and she was also a winner at the BSPS winter championships. She has been on a flyer this year ahead of Windsor, standing champion at South of England and winning at BSPS Area 6 on her only two outings.
Emma chose the second placed horse, Stanley Grange Smokey Bay, a Litton Reflection seven-year-old bred by Jerome Harforth and ridden by his owner Samantha Burns, for the reserve spot behind Stage Diva.
“This was also a lovely horse with good quality limb and flat bone who performed beautifully,” Emma said. “The larges outshone the smalls in the championship.”
The small class winner was Lauren White aboard Tana White’s Kingvean Rockstar 14-year-old Rendene Noble Charm, while in second was Jenny Harker’s Rotherwood Fantasia, a 12-year-old mare by Landemann Nighthawk, ridden by Emma Harker.
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Chiddock Countdown is reserve Arab and part-bred Arab in-hand champion at the 2024 Royal Windsor Horse Show.
(Image credit: creditUnknown)
Another part-bred who shone bright was Sammy Sykes’ young stallion Chiddock Countdown, a four-year-old by Chiddock Time Limit out of Wilderness Fancy Spice, a big-winning mare when she was shown under-saddle. Handled by Daniel Tarpey, the 2023 HOYS finalist stood reserve Arab champion behind pure-bred stallion Roe Raheeb, owned by Sue Oldham and handled by Rod Jones.
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Former H&H showing editor and deputy features editor
Born and raised in the Lake District, Alex has grown up on the showing scene. She has qualified and competed ponies at the Royal International, Horse of the Year Show and Olympia and has first-hand knowledge of the current issues in the showing world as well as the horses, ponies and riders who compete in the sport. Alex joined H&H in January 2018 as showing editor, cementing its place as the leading equestrian publication for both showing reports and current showing news in the UK. She moved on in October 2024 to pursue other opportunities, but continues to write for us on a freelance basis.
