Horse of the Year Show beckons for Harry Potter stuntwoman

Stuntwoman Nina Armstrong spends her days dodging spells and driving fast cars in Harry Potter and James Bond films, but now she has discovered real excitement — she has qualified for the Horse of the Year Show (HOYS).

Nina, who is from Windsor, had only owned her 10-year-old heavyweight cob Bilbo (Will) for six months when she qualified for HOYS at the New Forest and Hampshire County Show in July.

“I nearly didn’t go to the New Forest as I had been filming the final Harry Potter film all night and was tired, but we got there just in time, went straight into the ring and he qualified,” she told H&H. “I’m over the moon.”

“As a little kid I used to trot down the centre of the arena pretending I had just won the Horse of the Year Show, so it’s really exciting to have qualified,” added the 29-year-old, who performs stunts on behalf of actresses including Catherine Zeta Jones, Halle Berry and Helena Bonham Carter.

See Nina compete in the Horse of the Year Show heavyweight cob final at 8.20am on Saturday, 10 October. For our full HOYS preview, see the current issue of Horse & Hound.

This article was first published in Horse & Hound (1 October, ’09)

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