Armstrong wows at Windsor

Mark Armstrong is on a winning streak at the Royal Windsor Horse Show, winning the £4,000 Jaguar Grade A Stakes aboard Thesaura, and finishing second in the Horse & Hound Foxhunter B with Melodie. Surrey based Armstrong, 44, won team silver at the European Championships in 1993 and finished runner-up in the Windsor Grand Prix last year with Thesaura.

Jonathan Bowman has been enjoying an equally successful morning, winning both sections of this morning’s Horse & Hound Foxhunter with his own Marcel des Rosiers and Ackosie de Wonderland. Bowman and Armstrong will go on to contest the second round of the Horse & Hound Foxhunter along with the remaining top six horses from the first rounds.

Tim Stockdale and William Funnell got off to a good start in today’s jumping classes. Stockdale and Animation, winners of last year’s Jaguar Stakes had to settle for runners up position this year and an £800 prize. Funnell and Unforgettable Picobellow were third in the Horse & Hound Fox Hunter A and will thus be competing again tomorrow.

This morning’s classes were interspersed by the Polo Pony Championship sponsored by the Guards Polo Club. Winners and second prize winners from the lightweight and heavyweight polo pony classes were eligible for the championship but on competing had to forfeit their prize money. For Roddy Standing from Taunton Polo Club it was worth the risk. Standing went on to win the Championship with his own Bonita.

Miss S Bone’s Brookfield pulled by her chestnut stallion was the Champion of the Trade Turnout, but the class did not run without event – an incident involving a loose harness and runaway pony halted the judging for several minutes. Thankfully neither horse nor drivers were injured but the cart was badly damaged.

Jo Bates and Daldrom Java Star were Riding Horse Champions with Natalie Lintott and Gosh as Reserve Champions.