Day Two at the Royal International Horse Show 2018
After a lovely stay at Alexander House with the fabulous Tara Punter PR it was time for day two of the Royal International Horse Show, featuring the Longines BHS King George V Gold Cup.
We decided to treat ourselves and have a leisurely breakfast. Made a change to rushing around like a mad thing! A perk of arriving a little later, minimal queuing to get in. Again, the sun was out, and it was glorious change to last year. There wasn’t as much shopping as last year and I was sad to see the likes of Joules and so on weren’t there. A shame really. I caught a bit of the show jumping in the main arena before doing my normal meander around the show ground.
Royal International Horse Show 2018: Animals First Please
I had a little watch of some hunter classes but too be honest, and I never thought I’d say this, it was too hot. Oh my god I said it out loud. Too hot, sweat dripping down my legs and I could feel the camera baking. The poor horses looked so hot and bothered too. There’s minimal shade in the main arena and in contrast to the Derby meeting the classes were ginormous. They went on for hours. The judges tried to make the most of the shaded areas which was good to see. However, the amount of people who rode their horses back to the lorry without getting of them and taking off their saddles was shocking. I only saw one horse being offered a drink straight after the class. Probably because there were no water taps by the showing rings. Perhaps big bowsers should have been dotted around?
Royal International Horse Show 2018: What about the dogs?
Also, the amount of people that dragged their dogs around on the scorching concrete was disgusting. Tongues out the whole time, panting like mad and struggling to sit still they were that uncomfortable. Yet I kept seeing more and more dogs. I know people think they like to come out and maybe they can’t leave them at home alone, BUT dogs can and do die from heatstroke.
I wonder how those owners would feel if they had to walk around in bare feet, with no chance to cool down and no say in how they spent their day. If you are planning on going to an event I urge to look at the weather. If it’s too hot, try and book some doggy day care and leave them at home. I know it’s easy to be caught out, I’ve been there, but this heat wasn’t a surprise. Put your pets first and think about them. They will follow you to end of the earth so don’t abuse that.
Royal International Horse Show 2018: Workers for Days
Rant over and back to the horses! As always there was a lot going on. The pony working hunter was going on and I do love to watch this. The star of that class has to be the small girl who became un-mounted from her ride during the lap pf honour. She simply stood there holding onto her pony with the biggest grin on her face! Bless her and what a great show of sportsmanship. The workers were scheduled all day and I headed back to the main arena. Somehow, I managed to miss all the Championships! Something I’m quite annoyed about but it’s just one of those things. Still I saw plenty of ponies and loads of the action.
Royal International Horse Show 2018: The Longines BHS King George V Gold Cup.
I was really looking forward to the King George Cup and had a little meander around trying to figure out my spot. I decided not to go into the main ring as I really don’t see the point of all the photographers covering similar fences, plus with the heat I wanted to be able to get some shade. Longines had very kindly given us all hats to wear though which was really nice of them. Mine has been donated to Mr Frog and Field.
I skirted around the outside, admiring the trophy and having a little think about where to go. I rather liked the triple combination and stayed there for a while. Then I headed around the outside and got some of the Hickstead Planks. I quite like the fact I got a range of jumps and boy were the jumps big! The greys always catch my eye, but the quality of the horses was amazing!
Royal International Horse Show 2018: Winner Winner
The King George V Cup carries a prize of €150,000, so no wonder the fences were massive! It was won by rising star Kevin Jochems, who turned 23 on Sunday-Wow! I wasn’t winning 5* Grand Prix’s at 22. Second place went to Italy’s Massimo Grossato and Great Britain’s Amanda Derbyshire took third place. Was a great class to watch and being on a Friday meant the showground wasn’t too busy. Definitely the day to go next year. I finished up with a short spell at the Working Hunter ring, where some water was causing carnage and several eliminations. Then the rain came and I decided it was time to call it a day and head to the next event, the International Day at Royal Berks Polo Club.
Royal International Horse Show 2018 you didn’t dissapoint and huge thank you to ever helpful press office!
