Clubs combine for Guernsey Together Show
A TOUCH of community spirit will help brighten up this year’s new-look showjumping spectacle that gets under way tomorrow.
With BS Guernsey’s popular Horse of the Year Show as we know it sidelined due to the coronavirus, a special Guernsey Together Show will take its place over three days.
Fittingly, the Guernsey Riding and Hunt Club has lent an extra hand to the regular organisers and offered its pleasant grounds for use.
And so, even with two days cut from the standard ‘GHOYS’ programme and the lack of Jersey and UK opposition, a potent display of local showjumping talent is on the cards.
Riders will contest various jumping classes at BS Guernsey’s prized Chemin Le Roi venue tomorrow, while the Riding Club’s scenic Les Bordages hosts Saturday’s and Sunday’s action – headlined by the prestigious Masters and Grand Prix respectively.
Following BS Guernsey sharing their all-weather arena during the rainy winter and some multi-venue preparation since, Riding Club vice-chairman Laura Miller is delighted to see such collaboration.
‘I think it’s become very clear this year that the clubs are working together more than they ever have done before,’ said Miller.
‘I think it’s really going to benefit the clubs themselves but also the members as well, so they will have the best of both worlds.
‘We are very lucky for a small island that we have, including the Pony Club, three fantastic equestrian facilities and it’s really nice that the majority of the equestrian community have been able to benefit from all of them.
‘We are extremely lucky to be able to run anything, let alone a really prestigious show over three days – I think it’s brilliant.
‘Obviously, a lot of hard work has gone into it.’
Key BS Guernsey figure Sarah Jackson, one of the island’s leading riders, is every bit as delighted.
‘This is giving the riders a chance to compete on the surface their horse prefers – my horse preferring the all-weather at BS,’ she said.
‘BS have undertaken a major refurbishment of their grass arenas to secure the future of our showjumping on the grass arenas. But we are grateful to Riding Club for their offer of their lovely, well-maintained grass arena.’
They have also opened the doors to non-members for the competition.
