The organisers of the 1999 Royal Windsor horse show are to be congratulated for keeping the show going despite desperate weather conditions which left spectators and competitors alikewading through pathways black with oozing mud, and having to regularly seek cover from the heavy and persistent downpours. Never had the arenas looked better than at the start of the show when they offered perfect going and an excellent thick covering of grass. It was difficult to remember this even after just one day's activities and by the second day many vehicles had to be helped on and off the showground.

The pageantry that is always part of 'Royal Windsor'

The crowds refused to be deterred however and attendance was excellent throughout the four days. In fact the show seems to grow in popularity every year with many visitors from overseas. This was the second year since the arenas were re-sited near the river and some alterations had been made to the slightly controversial arrangements of 1998. This year all the rings were well sited and in better relation to one another and access between the rings was greatly improved -, as was crowd safety thanks to the horse walk.

It always seems a shame that a whole year' s planning should be at the mercy of the English climate! Royal Windsor is still the largest outdoor horse show held in the British Isles and over 3250 horses and ponies competed in 160 classes with total prize money of just under £120,000. It was therefore imperative that the organisers try to keep the show going and they succeeded in doing so with only the loss of the Friday evening performance.

On Thursday, as always, the hunters took centre stage. It was good to see well-filled classes again and even better the quality in depth - especially in the Middleweights. The Lightweight class was won John Dunlop's Statesman III a 7 year old by gelding by the stallion Idea. John Dunlop is better known to the public by virtue of his prowess as a racehorse trainer but he is deeply involved with his show hunters (not to mention his prize shorthorn cattle...) and always visits Windsor on hunter day in preference to the final day of York' s important Dante Meeting. The association with racing doesn't end there since Statesman was ridden as usual by Guy Landau who for a while was a successful National Hunt jockey. last year he and John Dunlop were the winning combination with Tradesman but this year they relied on Statesman. Last year I waxed lyrical about this horse when it won the Lady's Hunter class and a year later he looks, if anything, even better. He is oozes quality and is a wonderful mover.

In the Middleweight division Guy Landau had to settle for second place on Mrs Elwes Gaurdsman V behind So Am I ridden by David Tatlow. So good was this class that many of the other horses down the line on this occasion will surely go on to win at other shows this year.

Proud owner John Dunlop and his Champion Hunter 'Statesman III'

The Heavyweight class was also won by David Tatlow on Imperial Imp but some ringside 'judges' were slightly perplexed to see the one horse who moved well on the ground (which was by that time quite deep and very wet) be placed at the very bottom of the original line. Admittedly the horse, called Pacific Tine, was eventually moved up a few places to 6th but he was the One horse you felt would have coped with the conditions out hunting -but then, what has that got to do with showing...!

In the Championship Davit Tatlow elected to ride So Am I as opposed to Imperial Imp who was ridden into the ring by Bill Smith (another ex-jockey). However it was to no avail since Stateman III was the victor. Once again he followed in Tradesman's footsteps who had won the Championship in 1998 - thus giving John Dunlop a memorable double. One which will undoubtedly give him as much satisfaction as many of his victories on the racecourse.

The Private Driving classes made a fine sight when they gathered in the Castle arena after their seven mile road drive through Windsor Great Park. The three classes were judged separately and then cane together for the championship which was judged by Peter Munt - a well known driver in his own right.

The overall victor being J. Taylor with his own Learn of Chestnut Gelderlanders, Archie and Harry -the reserve going to 'The Duke' from the 13.2 hh and over class, a chestnut stallion driven to a Norfolk cart by Mrs J. Ower. Variety has always been the keyword at Windsor and it is interesting to see the growth and development of certain areas of the showing sector.

Most notable and popular are the Spanish Pure-bred and Portuguese Lusitano Horses (see the Iberian Horse section or a report on their classes), Coloured (or Paint) horses, Appaloosas and flow the Hafflinger ponies, all of which seemed to attract their own devoted bands of supporters.

Whitbourne Scharon a winner in-hand in the Haflinger class

The Hafflingers appeared on Thursday both in hand and under saddle. A charming breed, these ponies of Austrian origin undoubtedly catch the eye because of their palomino/chestnut colouring and luxuriant manes and tails combined with an apparently easy going nature, so it is not hard to under-stand their appeal.

The youngstock in hand winner was Oxnead Helena a 3 year old filly by Alpine who was to finish third in the section for 4 year olds and over. The winner of this class was Whitbourne Scharon, a 12 year old mare. The ponies went well under saddle and were well tested for temperament since they had a long wait in the ring for the judge to appear.

The winner under saddle was the oldest pony entered the 18-year-old stallion Bernhard ridden by Mrs Davies.Another crowd pleaser was the class for the Spotted Ponies in hand. I doubt whether there has ever been a show class for a more diverse range of shapes and sizes of equines........ some of these ponies were just about knee high! The winner was Wiremead Aurora, a leopard spotted filly owned and bred by Mrs. A. Chipperfield.

A line up of ponies in the Mountain & Moorland Ridden Championship

Entries for the Mountain and Moorland ponies were excellent, especially under saddle with two judges required for each of the different sections. Fortunately this year all the ponies had the chance to perform a show whereas in previous years many had been denied the opportunity since one judge alone could hardly cope with the large number of entries... It was wonderful to see such quality in depth with lovely ponies right along the line.

The winner of the Championship was Slaypits Black Magic - a stunning black Dales pony ridden this season by Lizzie Briant who was obviously thrilled to have her place in the Olympia Championship secured. The reserve was the Dartmoor Pantmanrs Jog-On, a 6 year old hay stallion. It was good to see the M&N in hand Championship go to an Exmoor for a change! Not being the mast flamboyant of the native breeds they do seem to be overshadowed sometimes but on this occasion the overall winner was Mrs Webb's stallion Siskin. Now 10 years old, he has been a consistent winner in the ring and he deserved a championship such as this. Reserve stood the Shetland stallion Bincombe Peat.

Champion Cob 'Hob Knob'

Katie more took the Hack Championship with her Large Hack winner Poetic Justice and the Cob Championship was interesting since the reserve in the Lightweight class, Sue Rawding's Toggi was pulled in over the winner of that class, Bailey's Apollo to stand Reserve to the heavyweight John Pilkington's Bob Knob who put up a splendid display which included a great gallop!

A lot of spectators waited at the end of the day to watch the best trained riding-horse, cob or hack class which are required to incorporate set movements in a free style programme accompanied by the music of their own choice. Extra marks are given for stylish performances and this is always an intriguing class to watch. It would be good to see some at other chows with perhaps a championship to aim for at the end of the season. Although the cobs are always very popular in this class, this year s winner was a riding horse, Blue Chip ridden by Clare Blakey who gave a very polished display.

Warfield Groups winning entry in the fancy dress

Lastly some mention must be given of the fancy dress class for the Riding for the Disabled. Hours of thought and preparation must have gone into the design and making of the costumes for ponies and riders alike by the dedicated helpers from the various local associations. This year the theme was TV programmes and the winners were the Warfield group with their interpretation of the Gardeners World theme, The ponies were simply wonderful one even tolerating gardening gloves on it's ears! These ponies are worth their weight in gold and bring a lot of joy to the children for whom appearing in the ring represented a very important occasion.

SHOW JUMPING

Royal Windsor may have lost the Nations Cup hack to Hickstead but nevertheless it is succeeding in attracting mare foreign riders now - thus rewarding the management' s efforts and expenditure to create a better jumping surface in the main ring. That it survived the very heavy showers proves that it was a worthwhile exercise. So often in the past one strong shower has turned the main arena into a slippery morass. It may have been sticky this year but it was jumpable, and the crowds were treated to some exciting competitions. John Whitaker was in good form as were the other British team members, which augured well for the summer season.

John Whitaker and 'Amber du Montois'

John was seen to good effect on his interesting new mount Amber du Montois. It is most unusual to see John ride with a 'fancy' bit but apparently this mare is extremely sensitive and highly strung so she could hardly be in better hands. She proved victorious in the Hildon Gentlemen' s Championship despite the heavy shower just before the jump off. Second place went to one of Angot brothers from France, Florian with Drakkar des Hutins.. It was his first trip to compete in Britain and his stallion looks an exciting prospect.

John Whitaker was in the money again in the Hildon Power and Speed competition with Randi which most unusually, given the sophisticated timing equipment available nowadays, resulted in a deadheat with Nick Skelton's Virtual Village Showtime who later won the valuable Traxdata Classic into the bargain.

Michael Whitaker wasn' t going to let brother John have everything his own way and he proved the winner of the Team Trial on Virtual Village Hilton who had the only double clear round and never looked like faulting. The only British team member to field their best horse in the competition was Di Lampard with Abigail's Dream, but then she does not have such strength in depth in her 'string' of the Whitakers and Nick Skelton... Nick's Giselle went well here but finished runner up after having two fences down in the jump off.

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The Traxdata Great Park Special proved another success for Michael Whitaker - this time with Boherdeal Clover. When he is on top of his form like this he is a formidable opponent against the clock and had an incredible 2 seconds in hand over the top member of the Traxdata team Peter Charles on Dolly. Peter's great moment came in the one that really mattered though, the Asprey and Garrard Grand Prix. Riding his best horse, the liver Chestnut Nustria. He was the only rider to produce 2 clear rounds. This horse is just coming back to himself after a long lay off last year and showed what might be in store at Olympia. He is a very exciting prospect and one to look out for at the big venues later in the year especially Hickstead. He jumped superbly out of a perfect even rhythm, which coupled with smooth turns made the whole exercise look very easy - but then winners usually do! Michael Whitaker was flying on Virtual Village Ashley and were up on the clock but lowered one element of the double to finish second.

Di Lampard was in good form again and must have been thrilled with the way Abigail's Dream jumped producing two fine clear rounds. although they only finished 6th owing to time penalties she presumably did not want to ask any severe questions of the horse so early in the season. The saddest aspect of this competition though was that of seeing Geoff Billington eliminated for missing a fence in the jump off on Virtual Village's It's Otto. To make Geoff feel even worse the horse was jumping with great panache and was definitely 'on song' ... This is such a popular combination that the crowd was utterly dismayed to see his 'fall from grace'. Overall the jumping classes at Windsor were highly entertaining and well supported by top riders from home and abroad. It is hard to remember that only quite recently show jumping at Royal Windsor threatened to slip into the 'second division' and it is most encouraging to see this revival at a great show.

Report and Photographs by Sue Wingate