Feature
Royal Windsor Horse Show Caroline Stern reports
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ince its creation in 1959, levels of player interest in participating in the Polo Pony show class at the Royal Windsor Horse Show have waxed and waned over the years, but the number of class entrants stood at a healthy 19 when the show was last held in 2019. This year’s Polo Pony Sponsored by Guards Polo Club class was no longer divided into ROR and purpose-bred polo ponies as it was in recent years and just seven of the nine entries listed in the programme made the trip on the day. Following last year’s cancellation of the entire RWHS, the whole showground felt somewhat different in the Covid era, despite a surprising lack of face masks in evidence. The postponement of the RWHS from its May slot to July this year provided a welcome break from classes held in sheeting rain and lorries towed into, as well as out of the horsebox parking area. The grandstands surrounding the main Castle Arena were limited to 900 seated spectators rather than the usual 2,500. Just 3,000 entry tickets were made available to the general public in advance of the show, all of which sold out at unprecedented speed. The number of stallholders in the normally endless shopping arcades looked to have been reduced by roughly two thirds, but those vendors who had gained access this year were pleased by the resultant increased footfall.
Royal Windsor Horse Show 2021 Polo Pony class results
First place: Siri Evjemo-Nysveen’s Riba Roja
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Polo Times, August 2021
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