An elite showjumper’s sheer talent to clear the highest fences is sublime – which horse deserves to receive the top honours in 2024?
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.
Showjumping Horse of the Year shortlist
Romeo 88
15yo Belgian-bred gelding, Contact Van De Heffinck x Orlando
Rider: Harry Charles
Owner: Ann Thompson
Breeder: Picobello Horses
Groom: Georgia Ellwood
What a journey Harry has been on with this megastar, culminating in that superb day in Paris when the pair were integral to Britain’s Olympic gold. Harry described his final clear round there as “probably the best he’s ever jumped” and says Romeo’s top trait is his “huge engine”. “We know each other inside out,” says Harry, of the gelding who also jumped double clear in the Longines League of Nations in Rotterdam this year to help the team to a podium finish. “He’s a great fighter, with a great heart and a great mind – three of the things I’d look for in a horse and he has all three.”
Hello Jefferson
15yo Belgian warmblood gelding, Cooper Van De Heffinck x Irco Mena
Rider: Scott Brash
Owners: Lady Pauline Harris and Lady Pauline Kirkham
Breeder: Bernard Mols
Groom: David Honnet
In a superb partnership spanning seven years, there’s little that Scott and “Jezz” haven’t achieved. But the heroic clear that this “talented but complex” gelding produced to seal Great Britain’s gold in Paris was truly exceptional. Another highlight from 2024 was his double clear over a monster track in the Nations Cup of Aachen. This charismatic gelding is far from an easy ride, but Scott produces him beautifully. “He’s sharp and spots everything – he’s clever and has such a busy brain,” says Scott. “But we understand each other – he’s powerful, careful and quick. I don’t think many horses have his great attributes; there’s no grand prix he’s not capable of winning. He’s very special.”
Mr Blue Sky UK
Westfalian gelding, Chacco-Blue x Cento
Riders: Guy Williams and Maisy Williams
Owner: Elaine Annis
Breeder: Gestüt Lewitz/Paul Schockemöhle
Groom: Natalie Tinworth
One of the greatest and most popular puissance horses of all time sadly died this year, aged 15. In an epic era for the sport, the towering grey won over the big red wall 11 times, including a record four times at London International. Blue’s final victory came at Bolesworth this year, when he and Guy Williams set a new show record, of 7ft 3in, and they jumped round the Hickstead Derby for the third time in June. A true family horse, Blue also jumped grands prix with Guy’s daughter Maisy. “He was a big, gentle giant,” says Guy. “Some horses stand out and he’ll be one that does.”
Dublon
13yo Spanish-bred gelding, Centauer Z x Up To Date Miltoo
Rider: William Funnell
Owner: Barbara Hester
Breeder: Álvaro Alfonso Gómez
Groom: Zoe Herbert
Headlines surrounding this year’s Hickstead Derby naturally put the spotlight on winning rider William Funnell’s record fifth success in the historic class. However, the hero of it all was Dublon, a gentle giant who has “grown in stature to become a very special Derby horse”, says his rider. The towering chestnut paved the way to that historic win with a victorious clear round in the Derby Trial, before delivering a standout performance in Derby history. Away from the rustic fences, the multi-talented gelding even racked up a podium finish in a six-bar. He is adored by all: “He’s a real sweetheart, everyone on the yard loves him,” says his groom Zoe Herbert.
Previous Showjumping Horse of the Year Award winners
The previous winner of the Showjumping Horse of the Year Award was:
- 2023: Flying Tinker II, Mark Edwards’ home-bred and one of the most consistent horses on the national circuit
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
