1998 was rather a momentous one for the Royal Windsor Horse Show since for the first time in over 50 years the main ring was moved to the other side of the showground and placed alongside the River Thames with only a bare glimpse of the Castle in the background. For a show with such a long in-built tradition this represented a major change and one which was received with rather mixed feelings.

The new layout was designed to facilitate movement between the rings (there are 4 in full use throughout the Show plus the arenas for both Driven and Ridden Dressage) and certainly this was achieved. Royal Windsor may still be the country's largest outdoor horse show despite the decision to condense its programme from 5 days to 4. Its new 'look' also included a change of major show sponsors - the dark green of Harrods having been replaced by the purple of Aspreys, jewellers of great repute and holders of the Royal Warrant since 1862.

Regular visitors to the show who could of course have gone around virtually blindfolded before, now had to re-navigate and some located their favourite trade stands only with difficulty. No longer would the show's main events be staged in the showground nestling at the edge of the Castle's confines, and no more would the evening performance have the most spectacular backdrop imaginable - that of the beautiful floodlit castle.

When the King's Troop used to gallop into the arena and perform their breathtaking display with their gun carriages rattling and the horses missing one another by a mere hair's breadth, they seemed to be an integal part of the whole setting. It was only natural that the dramatic climax of their performance would result in clouds of smoke billowing up, seemingly to the Castle ramparts... this was something timeless and highly theatrical and afterwards the Troop would wend its way back to the barracks along the road by the showground - an eerie column of men and horses in the dark, bits and harness jangling and mixing with the sound of the horses' shoes. It was always the perfect end to the evening performance - so why change it?

There were logistical problems with the siting of the rings and last year the show (a victim of its own success) seemed to run out of car parking space. The new arrangement probably functioned better, which was the intention, but somehow in the transition, it lost something indefinable, and became 'just' a horse show, a very good one it's true, but definitely one without quite the glamour of former days.

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Having commenced with a thunderstorm and torrential rain, by midday on the first day it became warmer and drier and the next few days were very hot - a most unusual experience in the so called summer of '98! However, this unaccustomed 'problem' of non stop sunshine proved one point, namely that the 2 main arenas were facing due south and anyone sitting watching the judging spent the entire day squinting into the sunshine! Still, it was a pleasure to see so many wonderful classes and such a great diversity of horses over those few days. It really is a feast and quite a test of endurance to pick one's way through the 146 classes, of all types and breeds of horses, in hand, under saddle and in harness.

The main ring, even without its lovely backdrop, was still a wonderful sight when filled with the Heavy Horse Turnouts, the team returning from the coaching marathon or crammed with native ponies.

It was rather a shame that the classes for Andalusian and Lusitano horses, which had hitherto built up quite a following at Windsor were reduced in number and were among the opening classes of the show, early in the morning and during the deluge. The closing class of the show was for ridden Arabs, a ring full of horses which took 2 hours in the judging. The eventual winner was Khazdah, a grey stallion ridden by Miss S Haine.

In between there were some stunning horses and ponies on view, a personal favourite being the Champion Ladies Hunter, Statesman II ridden by Sue Rawding (on behalf of racehorse trainer John Dunlop, who also owned the Show's Champion Hunter, Tradesman). This is a superb looking horse, which simply oozes quality.

Over a hundred native ponies competed for the Mountain and Moorland Championship and the overall winner was the spectacular looking Dales Pony Dartdale Peter Boy, a wonderfully marked dapple grey. There were huge classes full of M&M ridden ponies and the M&M Working Hunter Championship was equally well contested. It is lovely to see our marvellous native breeds displaying their talents and for these breeds to flourish it is to be hoped that more and more children will choose to ride them. Certainly show classes such as these must prove to be an incentive for anyone to keep a native breed.

As usual Windsor provided high quality in the show pony classes and it was refreshing to see the Show Pony Championship go to the winner of the smallest height class, Chinook Maria ridden by Holly Rayner. In the midst of so many show classes it is important not to overlook a visit to the Dressage arena especially as this is now just a short stroll away as a result of the new layout.

There is a lovely setting for the arena with all the look and atmosphere of a garden party so it is most enjoyable to spend a few hours there watching some of our top dressage riders.

As in 1997, the Hermes Grand Prix was won by Carl Hester on Legal Democrat with Joanna Jackson on Mester House in second place. Pammy Hutton took the Intermediare II on Rony and Carl proved to be in a class of his own in the Hermes Prix St Georges, winning on Maxwell by a wide margin. The Grand Prix dressage riders gave a display of their skills in the main arena later, and they succeeded in making it look great fun, although it wasn't entirely clear why Anni McDonald Hall made her entry on a bicycle!

There was some excellent show jumping on offer with Asprey Grand Prix providing a super climax to the show. The £13,000 first prize was won by John Whitaker on his up and coming star, Virtual Village Diamond Cliff. It is John's first season with the horse of whom he anticipates great things and in his usual fashion he is bringing the horse along carefully and targeting specific events. This could be a horse to go the very top.

(Editor's note: there will a very exciting competition in our September issue to win a free AI service to Golden Cliff, sire of Diamond Cliff).

There were 35 starters for the Grand Prix of whom 11 went clear in the first round. Sadly last year's winner Virtual Village It's Otto wasn't one of them as he faulted at the combination. Five riders emerged faultless at the next barrage and we then had a thrilling final round against the clock, with a very international flavour. Michael Robert of France had the disadvantage of having to jump first and he didn't push his promising horse Auleto too hard, but was rewarded by third place. The next to go was Holland's Peter Geerink on Granata who were quite a big quicker, but he must have been dreading John Whitaker's round 3 horses later. John duly produced a masterful round with one of his vintage turns into the second fence, he then covered the rest of the course at good pace with no sacrifice to accuracy. However, a brilliant round by Peter Charles (Ireland) on Traxdata Carnavelly had the crowd on the edges of their seats. Sadly he lost the Championship at the final fence which came down but his time had been a staggering 2.5 seconds faster than John Whitaker's. Surely this too is a horse with a great future.

It was a wonderful Grand Prix, contested by top class riders and horses and provided a really thrilling contest. Windsor Horse Show Committee are to be congratulated on maintaining such a high standard after the blow of the loss of the Nations Cup to Hickstead. It is to be hoped that Windsor will maintain its revival on the show jumping front in the years to come.

As if all this were not sufficient to entertain the showgoer, the Asprey International Driving Grand Prix was also taking place over 3 days of the show. It is educational to stand by some of the obstacles on the marathon course as it makes one realise what tremendous skills are required to handle a team of horses (or ponies) at speed, with so little room to manoeuvre. In fact the pony teams had to be especially brave, so deep was the water at the main water hazard.

This is a truly international event and well supported by overseas competitors and visitors alike. The horse teams champion was Holland's Harry de Ruyter with his team of grey warmbloods and this was his first ever win in the International class here, having finished second twice before to Britain's George Bowman, but on this occasion positions were reversed.

George did win the Franklin Mint award for the best dressage score in the class as he drove a brilliant test with his magnificent black Cumberland cobs but they were not so fluent across country and George thought that the scorching heat may have taken its toll. They certainly wouldn't have been acclimatised to it this year! However Pippa Thomas and her team of Lippizaners had a terrific round, so much so that by the end of it she had pulled herself up an incredible 8 places, to fourth position.

The International pony team class was won by Georgina Frith with her grey part Welsh ponies. Among her fellow competitors in the class was the Duke of Edinburgh driving his team of Fell ponies. They performed well in the dressage, to finish second, but unfortunately were eliminated during the marathon for taking the wrong course at one of the obstructions. The horse pairs went to the Dutch, Rob Weggelaar who had a great tussle with George Bowman Jnr. taking 'revenge' for George's victory in the marathon at Riesenbeck. At the finish of the competition they were split by Wilf Bowman-Ripley - it did become rather confusing with so many Bowmans competing!

The single horse section was won by Anne Henderson for Britain and she will be representing Britain at the world single horse championships. German drivers had look in too, with Heinz Elrich beating American Sydney Smith in the pony pairs and Uwe Nitz took the single pony class. A truly outstanding international event in its own right, it is amazing that this should be just part of the huge programme for the Royal Windsor Horse Show. The only downside being that it is impossible to see everything. I haven't even mentioned the Cobs, Hacks, riding horses, the Coloured Horses and so on... then there are the regular displays in the main arenas such as the game of Horseball, Pony Club mounted games (both of which are fast and furious), the Shetland Pony Grand National and the Medieval Pageant, the King's Troop as usual and the whole affair ending in a big bang on Sunday evening with a firework display to music...

Royal Windsor 1998 was undoubtedly a great success - but the only trouble with such a feast of entertainment being that despite a larger than ever selection of trade stands (where you could purchase everything from a Ferrari to a hoof pick) it was so hard to find time to go shopping!

If you have never been to Royal Windsor Horse Show why not make a note in your diary to visit next year's show which takes place between 13th- 16th May 1999. If you are planning a vacation in England around that time, why not include a trip to Windsor, which is well worth a visit in it's own right. The Castle is certainly worth queuing to see and the area which was destroyed in the fire a few years' ago, has been refurbished and is now on show. The results are truly amazing, displaying craftsmanship of the highest standard.

For further details of next year's show and application for show membership contact: