Arena acts wow West Show crowds

Trampoline tricks, bike stunts and performance horses were among the acts leaving the crowd on the edge of their seats.

M.A.D. Team is the UK’s top mountain bike aerial display team and showed off their skills at a height, using ramps to gain some air. One of the team members is the UK’s only BMX Olympic judge. A windy Thursday afternoon at L’Eree only made their tricks more dangerous.

While Spanish stallions galloping across a field with their riders hanging off by a limb may also seem very dangerous, the OG Performance Horses were no rookies in the arena. Not only does the team do high school dressage and trick shows, but many of its horses and riders have appeared in films and TV productions, such as War Horse, Napoleon, The Winter King, House of Dragon, Game of Thrones and Snow White.

‘Our show is mainly a trick-riding act but we do a bit of high school dressage,’ said rider Greg Caruso, who is originally from Belgium and runs the company with Oliver Phillips, who breeds the horses together with his mum.

‘We love Guernsey, we went on the beach with the horses which was a really great experience for them.

‘The West Show is very good, the people have welcomed up and taken care of us, and we would love to come back.’

During the show, the team showed the crowd the different skills the horses have learned for filming war scenes, including how to put their front hooves on a shield and how to fall to the floor.

It will be a quick turnaround for the group as they head back to the UK and onto their next show.

‘We’re coming to the end of the show season, but we do a lot of filming as well so that will be for the rest of the year,’ said Mr Caruso. ‘We’re always busy.

'We’ll also be working in the yard and training the new horses, we have two new youngsters to train.’