Two exceptional equestrian events took place at the beginning of July. The Royal Show, Britains biggest Agricultural Show took place at The National Agricultural Centre in Stoneleigh, Warwickshire from the 6th to the 9th of July and The Royal International Horse Show took place at Hickstead from 8th to 12th. It seems a huge shame that these two giants of the British equestrian year have to clash, but they have done so for the past three years and so far neither committee seems willing to take another date, meaning that both have to vie for competitors.

This year it was the Royal which appeared to come off worse as many of its classes did not offer qualifers for the competitors' "Holy Grail", The Horse Of The Year Show. Some classes, as the two shows overlapped, offered only two or three contestants - a sorry state of affairs for all concerned, but for a few of those who could manage it, victory at both shows, put the icing on their cake.

The Royal International Horse Show is believed to be the oldest in Europe. It opened at Olympia, London in 1907 and despite being suspended for six years during the Second World War, has been going strong ever since. It has had several different venues, perhaps the most famous of which was White City in the golden years of Pat Smythe and Harry Llewellyn: The most controversial was definately the hallowed turf of the Wembley Stadium, much to the absolute horror of football fans!

The show moved to Douglas Bunn's All England Jumping course at Hickstead, Sussex in 1992 after a short stay at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, a venture which was proving financially crippling.

Hickstead is an absolutely perfect venue for one of Britain's premier Equestrian event's; home of the famous Jumping Derby, it is easily accessible by road, air and sea and has enough area to expand indefinately. The two International dressage arena's were added in 1994 and will be hosting the Junior and Young Rider European Championships in August.

This year the six showing arenas were kept busy over five days representing many aspects of horsemanship and the unexpected highlight of the show was the head to head between the world's best Eventers and the world's greatest Show Jumpers in the Horse and Hound Eventing Grand Prix. The event had received added media coverage due to a side bet of £2,000 between former International showjumper and present day Mr Fix-It, Paul Shockemohle and Michael Whitaker that he (Michael) could beat the eventers. There was also an extra £20,000 on offer to any rider who could win Badminton and the Grand Prix or the Grand Prix and the British Jumping Derby in the same year. Although the eventers were more heavily represented than the show jumpers by a ratio of 4:1 the class proved a resounding success. On the day before the show officially opened the riders all performed the same dressage test - one used for the first time at Badminton this year which includes half pass, shoulder-in and flying changes.

Sadly Michael Whitaker was unable to ride Everett, the horse on whom he had been training with one of Britains leading dressage trainers, Richard Davidson, due to lameness. Offered Gracelands Cavalier, an event horse, at the last minute he was placed lower down the order after dressage than he would have wished. Wout-Jan Van De Schans fared best of the jumpers, lying in 8th place after the dressage. Eventer Christ Bartle and Word Perfect II were in with a good chance of pulling off the Badminton /Hickstead double leading the dressage ahead of Ireland's Lucy Thompson and Pippa Funnel was lying third on The Tourmaline Rose. The Current European Gold Medalist, Germany's Bettina Overesch, was lying 5th with Watermill Stream and Olympic Gold Medalist Blyth Tait was 7th with Reddy Teddy.

Unprecedented midweek crowds of 18,000 people flocked to see the "Show Jumping - Cross Country" phase which featured 28 obstacles. The first eight fences were a show jumping track set by International course designer Jon Doney, and the next twenty were cross country fences designed by former event rider Robert Lemieux. All the cross country fences were "knock- downable which perhaps put the eventers at a slight disadvantage as their horses are used to being able to slide over solid looking fences. Dressage scores were converted into seconds to be added to the jumping round so that Chris Bartle, as dressage leader had no seconds to be added at the end of his jumping round and those in the bottom orders had to have 25 seconds added to their jumping time.

It was quite expected that nobody would achieve a clear round and Paul Schockemohle felt that the winner would be anyone who could manage just one fence down, and until Pippa Funnel entered the arena, Erica Watson's steady round with two fences down on Flo's Beau had set the standard. Eventer, Pippa set the crowd alight when she went clear in a good fast time, leaving the two ahead of her much to do. Lucy lowered three poles and although Chris managed the fastest time of the day he had a dissapointing eight fences down. Practising vet, Polly Phillips riding Coral Cove rose from 9th place after dressage to eventual second having had three fences down and the third best time. Blyth Tait and Reddy Teddy were third and event riders took the first 14 places; Piet Raymakers finished 15th on Jewel's Ruby and Michael Whitaker was 16th.

Pippa could not be drawn into discussing whether she might enter Anne Burnett's lovely grey The Tourmaline Rose in the Jumping Derby but did at least admit "She is a careful and talented jumper who may be better suited to the show jumping arena. I thought the show jumpers would do better than they did, as it was more a course to suit them." I have a feeling that Pippa may be building a practise Derby bank and a Devil's Dyke in her back field at this very minute!

Pippa's husband William, a show jumper, who rode event horse Supreme Rock in the competition said "The show jumpers know what to expect now, and it's important to have a horse that won't have fences down. It will be a different story next year!"

Britain's show jumpers were trying to defend the Samsung Nations Cup which they have won on home ground for the past three years. Unfortunately our team of Di Lampard (Abbervail Dream), Geoff Billington (Virtual Village It's Otto) and brothers John Whitaker (Virtual Village Heyman) and Michael Whitaker (Virtual Village Ashley) performed disappointingly to say the least and managed to finish 5th of the 6 teams.

It was left to an inexperienced team from France to begin a weekend of sporting triumph for the French nation as their football team went on to win the World Cup two days later. Last to go for his team, Thierry Pomel managed one of only four double clear rounds (of 24 riders) riding Thor Des Chaines, giving France a narrow lead over the Germans. France's most experienced rider Roger-Yves Bost riding Airborne Montecillo had a fence down in the second round and Xavier Caumont on Baladine Du Mesnil had just one quarter of a time fault in the first round. Fabrice Dumartin and Allegreto had the teams discard score of one fence down in each round.

To raise the British spirits despite the worst of the weeks weather, the two most prestigious individual titles of the show, the King George V Gold Cup and the Queen Elizabeth II Cup both stayed at home. Robert Smith, son of the infamous Harvey, took the King George with a skilful first round clear and a fast second round four faults finishing ahead of Nick Skelton on a new ride Virtual Village Hopes Are High, a horse owned by David Broome. Robert was riding the gargantuan Mighty Blue, an Irish bred horse who stands 18 hands high. "He is a multi talanted horse" said Robert, "who can win Puissance, Grands Prix and even Speed Classes. The rain and the mud don't worry him as he was well hunted before he began his show jumping career."

Last year's Queen Elizabeth II Cup produced a fairy tale finish when Grafton Magna won, ridden by Lynne Bevan who had only just decided to specialise in show jumping having, for many years been a successful event rider. Lynne's long time ride Horton Point was ridden to victory at Badminton by Mark Todd the year Lynne broke her collar bone, although she had completed there on him three times previously.

This year the cup went to the bookie's favourite, Di Lampard and Abbervail Dream, giving some consolation after her disappointment in the Nations Cup. She fended off a hot challenge from Sprehe Stella ridden by American Meredith Michaels who has recently married fellow showjumper Markus Beerbaum and is soon to take German Nationality. Louise Whitaker, daughter of John, took third place on the 21 year old Gammon despite having been advised not to ride by dad following an accident at the Royal Show four days earlier in which she bruised her kidneys.

Pony jumping is always a favourite at Hickstead. Watching ponies hurtle over fences that you can't see their ears over causes great excitement and gasps of breath as they effortlessly leap over what appears to be the impossible. 10 year old Lance Whitehouse won the RTB 128 cms Winter Championship and 12 year old Louise Pavitt managed a one-two in the 138 cms Championship, finishing first on Highrise and second on Thistledown Falcon.

Another event to cause cheers and gasps was the double harness scurry, as pairs of ponies race around an obstacle course in which time and accuracy is of the essence. The 12 hh section was won by the Matthews' Lolly and Pop, and the 14.2 section was won by Pro Mill's Pinky and Perky, who were not only the winners at The Royal Show but also took the Championship at The Royal International.

In the showing classes several competitors managed the race from Stoneleigh to Hickstead, not least of these were the Shervington's whose hunter Broodmare took 1st and reserve at Stoneleigh and first place at Hickstead. Hairdressers Graeme O'Callaghan and Michael Maryan whose three year old hunter filly Seabourne Scotch On The Rocks took all before her at the Royal culminating in the Breeders Supreme Horse award then went on to finish second at Hickstead, whilst their hack broodmare Angels Passing took the Championship at Stoneleigh. Julia Topham-Barnes, once employed by Graeme and Michael in their Surrey shop won the hack foal class at both shows with Derwent Mr Worldy Wise and the broodmare class at Hickstead with Royal Mile, a mare who is lucky to be alive as she was once kicked in the forehead and needed dramatic surgery to save her. In the pony breeding, the Ross's Rosslyn Sweet Repose took the Championship at The Royal and was overall Champion at Hickstead.

In the ridden classes the large hack Poetic Justice won at both shows for the Jerran's, ridden by Katie Moore and Tim Fairburn's lightweight working hunter Scotch The Rumours finished Reseve Champion at the Royal before going on to win at Hickstead. Heavyweight working hunter Rocky IV was the champion at Hickstead and having won the class for the last three years, owner Louise Bell was allowed to keep the trophy, presented to her by Arnold Garvey, editor of Horse and Hound.

Dutch riders dominated the dressage at Hickstead. They won all three Grand Prix and also the team Competition. None of the four riders Ellen Bontje (Olympic Gestion Silvano), Barbara Koot (Berkenhorst Galliano) and Sven Rothenburger (Without A Doubt) and his wife Gonnelien (Olympic Dondolo) had competed at Hickstead, but they enjoyed the event if not the torrential rain and high winds which at one tine blew a tent across the International arena.

There was some hope for the future of British Dressage. Although Ellen and Gestion rode the only test scoring above 70% the next two places in the team event were taken by Brits. Richard Davidson (Hiscox Askari) scored over 67% and Emile Faurie (Legrini) scored over 66%. Despite these two excellent marks the team finished second, ahead of Denmark and France. The Prix St Georges was won by Carl Hester and the ever improving Donnersong, and Lizzie Loriston Clarke won the Intermediare Kur ahead of Ellen Bontje and Facet although Ellen turned the tables on Lizzie in the Intermediare I. Sally Crisp swept the board with Top Gun in the pony classes and the pony team finished on top ahead of Belgium.

Helen Revington was born in Tennessee, U.S.A a long time ago. Her passion for horses is life-long and she started riding aged three. Nowadays she lives in Gloucestershire, England and has to juggle her life between being a full time Registered Nurse, working for various equstrian publications and trying to train her young horse.

Her work has been published in Horse and Hound, Dressage magazine and Eventing Magazine, indeed it is in the field of eventing that she tends to specialise. Her photographs have not only been published in magazines but also in books such as The Olympic Eventing Masterclass and Cross-Country Masterclass.

Helen has competed in many equestrian disciplines and has had successes in ridden and in-hand showing, Carriage Driving, Show Jumping and Eventing. Her young horse "All Systems Go", known to friends as "Buttons" will hopefully begin pre-novice eventing later this year.

Stephen Sparkes was also born a long time ago, only a couple of miles away from where he now lives in Stroud, Gloucestershire. Stephen began taking photographs for publication over ten years ago and is generally considered one of the best "eventing" photographers in Britain.

Stephen also has riding experience and has competed in eventing for "...a good few years." His mare "Just for Fun" is now in semi-retirement but her offspring, a three year old gelding by Golden Heights is just starting his working career and his proud step-parents can visualise him bounding around Badminton in 2002.

Both Helen and Stephen can be contacted by writing to: