It was a great shame that the in hand classes for heavy horses have been removed from the programme of the Royal Windsor Horse Show. In the past these classes had been quite well supported and this is an increasing trend at horse shows nowadays (as opposed to agricultural shows) one which it would be good to see reversed. The public do not have the same opportunity to appreciate the horses in their own right when they are part of a turnout, but since this particular show has inexplicably reduced its programme by a day there doesn't seem to be any great likelihood of this anomaly being addressed in the near future.

However it was encouraging to see the Fullers' Brewery Heavy Horse Turnout Class well supported. This was a class for pairs or tandem only and there was no class at all for teams of four in hand or in unicorns. They do provide a magnificent spectacle and have hitherto been much enjoyed at this show... once again it is a question of living in hope that the class will be reinstated. Of one thing there is no doubt though, and that is that heavy horses belong in the main ring... it is almost pointless to have them at a show and relegate them to an outside ring as was the original intention with regard to the Fullers Brewery Class, which was scheduled to take place in the Thames Arena. The arenas were generally criticised as being too small for many of the ridden classes, let alone ten pairs of heavy horses and their drays which would have been hard put to line up let alone give any display! Hopefully both the size and siting of the arenas will be improved for next year's show.

Anyway, once relocated to their rightful place in the main arena, the competitors provided a wonderful sight in the glorious sunshine, the winner being Longwood Shire Promotions' pair Majestic and Earl, a pair of dark bay geldings who just had the edge over Young and Co's black geldings. The latter were driven by K Flynn in tandem. Also in tandem were the Brockfield Shires Major and Chieftain with their most unusual recycling turnout.

All in all it was a lovely class to watch and much appreciated by the spectators.