British Breeder Magazine May 2020

NEWS - FROM THE DISCIPLINES
Virtual Windsor
2020 Receives
Thousands Of
Entries From
Around The World
Following the cancellation of Royal
Windsor Horse Show due to COVID-19,
the Organisers of the Show have put an
innovative solution in place;
Virtual Windsor 2020, an online
platform that merges virtual competition
with ecommerce and social media.
Virtual Windsor has already generated
an astounding number of entries to its
online Showing classes, which are taking
place at the same time as the usual
competitions at the Show.
Across all classes, there have already
been 3,122 entries from all corners of
the globe, demonstrating the willingness
of the worldwide equestrian family to
pull together and celebrate their passion
virtually (a ‘normal’ Royal Windsor
would receive around 2,300 entries
to its Showing classes). The classes will
be judged by Chief Showing Steward,
Nigel Hollings, with expertise also
provided by John Peacock and Linda
Lawrance.
Alan Titchmarsh, Royal Windsor Horse
Show Member, celebrated gardener
and television presenter has joined in
with the spirit of the event and is set to
judge the fancy dress competition, which
has already had some very creative
entries. He joins a line-up of judges
who have been selected for their expert
knowledge, and who have previous
experience at top Showing events.
There are exceptional stories from some
of the other entries, such as a driving
entry from the US whose competitor
hand-built the wicker cart used for
the photograph. Elsewhere, Frances
Hampson-Jones has entered her trusted
partner, Holliday, in the Ridden Senior
Horse or Pony. Their combined horse
and rider age is 90-years-old – quite a
feat! Other heartwarming stories include
the 27-year-old horse Sweet William,
who has – despite health issues –
competed at Royal Windsor every year
since he was 16 in the Senior Horse
or Pony classes, which he continues to
contest virtually this year.
Emma Tovey, owner of Sweet William,
said: “Royal Windsor is a very special
show to us, and we will miss it
enormously this year, but I’m pleased to
be able to enter the virtual version.
Bring on 2021 and thank you for coming
up with a way to keep our spirits up!”
Elsewhere, the line-up includes
racehorse Saint Are – five-time runner in
the Grand National, including a second
placing in 2015 – who is entered in the
Retraining of Racehorses class, with his
owners hoping to win one of the
prestigious Royal Windsor rosettes.
Simon Brooks-Ward, Show Director,
said: “It’s a great shame that Royal
Windsor Horse Show couldn’t go ahead
as planned; however, Virtual Windsor
2020 has been phenomenally popular,
showing that everyone can come
together during these tough times. The
amount of entries we have received has
been astonishing, with the variety and
level of competition extremely high.
We want to thank everyone who has
supported Virtual Windsor 2020 so far
and look forward to what is set to be an
exciting Championships taking place on
17 May 2020.”
Virtual Windsor 2020 was also created
to support the shops that the show
houses each year, many of whom are
independent traders. The online show
has now welcomed more than 190
brands, with some of them displaying
their wares at “Royal Windsor” for the
first time this year. Many have selflessly
contributed to the NHS however they
can, with Hayfield England producing a
beautiful hat pin in blue and white
feathers to raise money for the NHS;
Thermatex colleagues making scrubs
bags for NHS employees; and the
owner of Bella Singleton – a luxury
clothing designer specialising in silk
products – creating face masks available
to the general public.
The Royal Windsor Horse Show
community has shown an admirable
ability to seamlessly transfer into the
“Virtual World”, with more than 50,000
page views on the Virtual Windsor 2020
platform, coupled with all Royal
Windsor related social media pages
growing exponentially. As well as this,
Virtual Windsor 2020 continues to grow
the content platform. Interviews with a
golden list of equestrian stars, including
Ros Canter, Martin Fuchs and Daniel
Naprous, videos of unforgettable Royal
Windsor Horse Show moments of the
past and top tips on horse care and
nutrition.
Classes will be judged during Show
week, 13th-17 May, with final winners
progressing to the Championships being
judged on Sunday 17 May 2020.
BRITISH BREEDER| 9