Prizes awarded for the most harmonious combinations

The suitably mounted awards were just the start, it is hoped, of positive change in the industry

- ELEANOR JONES

THE awarding of special prizes to the most harmonious horse and rider combinations at Equifest is just the start, it is hoped, in a positive change for the equestrian industry.

Four awards were given out on Saturday, 5 August, to the most suitable combinations. These were presented to those who were not only an ideal match in terms of horse or pony and rider size, but also those about whom “everything just looked right”.

Amanda Stoddart-West is livestock and entries coordinator for the Great Yorkshire (GYS), which has for years enforced a strict rider weight limit everywhere on the showground. She was approached about the idea by Equifest show director Betsy Branyan, who she had helped with a similar rule at Royal Three Counties this summer.