Geoff Billington: Thumbs up for Liverpool *H&H VIP*

Full marks have to go to Nina Barbour, Alan Beaumont and the team for putting on such fantastic family entertainment.

There was something to please everyone, and even non-horsey people could be dragged along and leave with a smile on their face.

Horse power of a different nature went down well. I wasn’t sure how motorbikes and horses would go together at a show, but it worked.

Collabro and the ABBA tribute band Revival also ramped up the entertainment, and the boys from Collabro entered into the spirit of things presenting awards.

The jumping was top drawer, and if ever there was a pony grand slam then Tixylix would have won it. This pony is in a league of her own and she was at her brilliant best to win the 148cm class. But it takes two to tango, and she was superbly ridden by Jodie Hall-McAteer.

It was also nice to see new German blood competing in England with Felix Hassmann and Tobias Meyer impressive throughout.

The puissance was one of the highlights, but I was glad to be standing in the middle with a microphone rather than dangling over the wall.

All credit to the Andrews Bowen team, who worked through the night repairing the ground from the motorbikes and carriage driving.

It’s thumbs up all round from me.

Ref Horse & Hound; 5 January 2017