With film-star looks, superb ringcraft and manners to burn, the show horse who both gives an impeccable ride and wows the spectators.
For the second year in a row, we will crown the best horses in their individual sports based on your votes as part of the annual Horse & Hound Awards.
Show Horse of the Year shortlist
Westfield Calendar Girl
9yo Shire mare, Bickerscourt William x Arclid Frank Bull
Rider: Emma Green
Driver: Richard Green
Owner: Lindy Winship
Breeder: the Clayton family
The mare has broken multiple records during her career. In 2022, she became the only Shire to qualify for both the Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) ridden heavy horse championship, which she duly won, and the in-hand Shire final in the same season. This season, she has become the first horse to have qualified for all three heavy horse finals – ridden, driven and in-hand. “She might not be the biggest, but as they say, ‘Though she be but little, she is fierce,’” says Emma Green after her HOYS win in 2022. “From the beginning, her work ethic has been second to none. She’s a pleasure and even when I’m not asking anything from her, she gives me her all.”
Mulberry Lane
9yo Irish Sport Horse gelding, OBOS Quality x Hermes De Reve
Rider: Craig Kiddier
Owner: Susan Tennant
Breeder: Brian Clinghan
When Craig Kiddier scooped the working hunter tricolour at the Great Yorkshire in 2021 on novice winner “Obi”, he thought he had a potential working hunter star on his hands, but nobody could have predicted what the gelding would achieve. In 2023, he was crowned worker supreme at the Royal International (RIHS) and reserve in the supreme. This year, he reclaimed his section title and added the overall supreme, then claimed the hunter title before being crowned supreme horse at HOYS. Obi was found at Dublin Horse Show by Susan Tennant, and Craig has partnered him throughout his career. Rare for such a talented worker, Obi also has achieved an exceptional tally in middleweight hunter classes, finishing second in the class at Hickstead in July. After his RIHS run, Craig said: “He’s a true working hunter, a show horse that jumps. Wherever I point him out hunting, even if it’s a stupid idea, he’ll go for me. I’ll never, ever have another horse like him.”
Pattern Master
10yo maxi cob gelding, Colony Vern out of a cob mare
Rider: Jordan Cook
Owner: Dena King
Breeder: S Duckworth
Dena King’s beloved maxi cob is the gift who keeps on giving, having excelled in maxi cob and coloured classes, and now shining as a working show horse. The masterful partnership of amateur Dena and showman Jordan Cook has ensured the easy-going “Bruce” has been at the top of the line at major shows, and he’s arguably most famed for lifting the British Show Horse Association supreme accolade twice. In 2024, he won the title after standing working show horse champion on his debut over fences. “Bruce has an unbelievable bond with Jordan,” says Dena. “All this is hard work, especially as Jordan and I both work full-time, but Bruce makes it all worthwhile.”n Jordan has previously said: “Bruce loves his job and he gives me his all at a show. He’s a very straight mover and keeps a soft, balanced rhythm in all of his paces.”
Bart
14yo gelding, breeding unknown
Riders: Vicky Smith and Ciara Mullen
Owners: Angela and Vicky Smith
After winning all there was to win on the English show circuit, the skewbald dream-maker has recently headed over to Ireland where he continues to dominate. With Vicky at the helm, he became a triple HOYS and RIHS victor and a double Windsor winner, also standing champion at many other majors. After amassing this enviable tally, Vicky handed his reins to her former groom Ciara Mullen. They were crowned 2024 Dublin champions in coloured and side-saddle ranks, and they are bound for HOYS in the ladies’ final. “I got a call last November to see if I would like to have him, as there wasn’t anything else he could do in the UK,” said Ciara, after her Dublin triumph. “I thought I’d won the lottery.” When Bart, who also jumps, was featured as a H&H horse hero, Vicky said: “He rises to the occasion when he needs to; he loves a big atmosphere. For a big horse, he’s so balanced and he’s a very quick thinker.”
Previous Show Horse of the Year Award winners
The previous winner of the Show Horse of the Year Award was:
- 2023: Forgeland Hyde Park, one of the most consistent hacks of the past decade
Prior to 2023, the Horse of the Year Award ran across all equestrian disciplines, and the winners include:
- 2022: Vanir Kamira, the much-loved veteran mare, who added Burghley to her previous Badminton win
- 2021: the world’s best showjumper and Olympic champion Explosion W, ride of Ben Maher
- 2020: the legendary Valegro was crowned the horse of the decade (2011-2020) by H&H readers
- 2019: Piggy French’s ride Vanir Kamira may be “a pain in the arse 352 days a year”, but this true five-star horse “comes into her own at Badminton and Burghley”
- 2018: Arctic Soul, the former racehorse turned elite eventer, ridden by Gemma Tattersall
- 2017: Nip Tuck, Carl Hester’s outstanding equine partner
- 2016: Valegro, the elite dressage star and world record breaker, ridden by Charlotte Dujardin
About the Horse & Hound Awards 2024
The Horse & Hound Awards are back for a ninth year in a row, in partnership with NAF and Agria.
As ever, the H&H Awards winners will be nominated and voted for by you, with the exception of the Horse & Hound Lifetime Achievement award, which will be decided by a Horse & Hound panel. We will recognise both the big names who have made 2024 special and the unsung heroes who make it possible for all of us to enjoy equestrian sport and our horses, at whatever level.
This year we will be returning to Dallas Burston Polo Club in Warwickshire, where some 300 people, including Olympic and Paralympic superstars, can look forward to a glamorous evening of champagne, winner reveals, Oscar-style speeches and dancing on Wednesday 27 November. If you’d like to join us, you can book an individual ticket or a platinum table for 10 people at www.hhawardsuk.com
