How times have changed over the seventy-five year period that the Horse of the Year Show has been running. The brainchild of captain Tony Collins, the inaugural show was staged in 1949 at Harringay in London under the leadership of Col Mike Ansell, chairman of the British Show Jumping Association, and Col VDS Williams, chairman of the British Horse Society. There were only four show classes, almost 400 entries and show jumpers hailing from six overseas countries. Within a decade, the sale of Harringay initiated a move to the Empire Pool Wembley where it remained for the next thirty years; its popularity grew along with an extended programme.

Escalating costs led to financial difficulties so in 1997 the management of the show was handed over to the events company, Grandstand Media Ltd, which raised its popularity to new heights. In order to accommodate its new-found success, in 2002 Grandstand took the bold step of moving the event away from London to the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, where it has remained since. The extended competition space with two large arenas was complemented by an expanded shopping facility. With qualifying classes eagerly contested throughout the season for HOYS 'Golden Tickets', the high standard of entry is maintained.

Sadly the major national and international show jumpers have abandoned HOYS in favour of more lucrative prize money overseas. Nevertheless, some of Britain's top show jumpers support the eleven major show jumping championships. On Wednesday night it was great to witness a major Scottish victory in the Talents Seekers Championship which incorporates the National 7-year-old Championship. In a brilliant final the top two places in both championships went to Scottish riders; Jordan Thompson rode Fiona Yeoman's homebred stallion, Double de Muze T.L. to victory in an exciting jump-off in which David Harland, riding Nicola Wood's Murchacko Quatro, had to settle for second place.

The Grandstand Anniversary Dray driven by Ron Brewster standing in the NEC Piazza (image: Julian Portch)The Grandstand Anniversary Dray driven by Ron Brewster standing in the NEC Piazza (image: Julian Portch)

While televised show jumping may be a thing of the past, in its 75th anniversary year, Grandstand was determined to reflect on times past with a focus on Heavy Horses. Returning to the NEC after a long absence was the Heavy Horse Musical Drive, pairs of horses pulling harrows in a choreographed display akin to that first appearance at Harringay in 1952. According to a Grandstand spokes-person, 'Heavy Horses have always been a beloved tradition at HOYS. The feedback has been wonderful, and appreciative of the beauty and workmanship that goes into this display.'

The Caithness family of Grandstand boss, Sandy Anderson, has a long tradition with Clydesdales so it is little wonder that the HOYS schedule has found space for them and the other draught breeds. Established in 2016, the British Ridden Heavy Horse of the Year Championship witnessed the domination of the Shire breed, which took four of the five top places. Scottish entry, Stobilee Zac, a 12 year old Clydesdale ridden for Brian Bissett by Isla Miller, came a creditable second to the Shire mare, Moorfields Nancy, who looked a winner from start to finish. With a performance that belied her youth, according to the South African ride judge, JJ Kemp, she gave him an outstanding ride.

It was the second running of the Driven Heavy Horse of the Year Championship which was dominated by Clydesdales both in entry and placings however, yet again, it was the Shire breed that claimed the top awards. Nevertheless, the title came north of the border to Hugh Ramsay's eleven-year-old bay Shire gelding Landcliffe Glassia driven by Elaine Ramsay. Gleaming in the spotlight of the International Arena, their impressive celebratory lap of victory set the afternoon audience alight, just as the organisers had hoped. It is such a pity that the logistics of the timetable couldn't bring this spectacle in front of the evening crowd.

With foals currently born at critically low numbers, all the Draught breeds owe Grandstand a debt of gratitude for bringing them to the attention of the general public at one of the world's most famous shows. Adding to their promotion, Grandstand commissioned the Bandirran Show Team to produce a century-old dray in its distinctive purple and gold livery advertising the 75th anniversary of HOYS. It appeared round the major shows this season as well as HOYS itself when a team of six driven by Ron Brewster appeared much to the delight of the weekend crowds.

During its history, the showing classes have expended from the four held at Harringay in 1949 to a whopping 72 in 2024. With an entry exceeding one thousand in a wide variety of sections, it was little wonder that Grandstand decided to celebrate its anniversary with an innovative approach to the judging system. It witnessed some new names to the list of judges including five from Australia and one form South Africa, none of whom had previously judged in Britain. The judges for each section were not unveiled until the evening previous to each final and they took on a number of appointments throughout the week. Having been announced prior to the start of the season, this innovation created a great deal of discussion as well as speculation throughout season, during the show itself and in post-show analysis.

A Grandstand Media spokesperson commented: ‘Overall, we are pleased with how the new approach for selecting and announcing judges went at the 2024 Horse of the Year Show, as with any new initiative there were elements that we felt were more successful than others. The anniversary year gave us an opportunity to try something that hadn’t been done by a UK show, and it was great to see that the judging reflected the quality that we would expect at the highlight of the showing season. The feedback that we have received specifically appreciated the standard of the foreign ride judges throughout. Working with the foreign judges and keeping the judges confidential, was a key factor of the positive comments that we have received.'

The overseas judges, without exception, brought a huge amount of experience to bear to the NEC arenas, each of them having operated at the top of their game in their native countries for many years. As results naturally pleased some and disappointed others, there have been comments surrounding how they appeared to cope with both an unfamiliar classification and an unfamiliar system of judging with marks. According to the judges, they were fully aware of their responsibilities and relished their HOYS experience despite the intense nature of the competition and the timetable demands set by the organisers. Certainly no-one can accuse them of bias due to over-familiarity with exhibitors and knowledge of the season's form. The consensus view of the overseas judges expressed a keen appreciation of the wonder that is HOYS as well as the standard and production of the horses and ponies that came before them. For them all, it was an experience of a lifetime.

Due to considerable expense that overseas judges entail, the jury is out whether or not we will see their return in the near future. There will be opportunity for future debate on the merits and demerits of the system adopted this year at HOYS however, one thing is certain, this unique approach has created a real talking point worthy of this special 75th Anniversary Show.