While it’s never been an easy track to conquer, this year’s working hunter course at the Royal Windsor Horse Show proved particularly challenging, as only two starters out of 45 catalogued entries managed to leave the ring with a clear round.
In a quality field of seasoned horses and riders, only two combinations in the lightweight class succeeded in taking home a clean score sheet as others fell victim to course designer Lisa Kelly’s tricky track, which included a spooky water tray, an arched plank fence and some seriously wide oxers.
Taking the heavyweight class with a pole and landing the overall championship was Justine Armstrong-Small and her own Carlingsfords King. The eight-year-old by Crosstown Dancer has been a Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) finalist on multiple occasions both on the flat and in worker ranks. A storming gallop in the championship saw them take the crown in front of the grandstand in the Castle Arena.
Winning a competitive lightweight class with a clear and standing eventual reserve was one of the younger riders in the class, 20-year-old William Pittendrigh and his own grey gelding Silver Lough. William will be back on Sunday to try and reclaim the working hunter pony championship he won last year.
“I loved the course,” said William, who was also fifth in the heavyweights on his own Touch Of Midnight. “There was a plank with an arch of draping greenery above it which caught a lot out as they ducked going over it. Those who have hunted seemed to manage the best.”
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The second clear of the day was the second placed lightweight combination of Katy Green and her prolific gelding Vulcanite.
Don’t miss our full report and analysis from this year’s Royal Windsor Horse Show in the 16 May 2019 issue of Horse & Hound magazine
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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.
