ORGANISERS of the London International Horse Show say they are “delighted” with how the show ran at its new home, which was also praised by competitors and spectators.
The show was held at the ExCeL centre, London, for the first time, having had to move from Olympia owing to the redevelopment of the West London venue.
“Having run the London International Horse Show at Olympia for the past 49 years, it was with some trepidation that we made the move to ExCeL,” show director Simon Brooks-Ward told H&H. “The team has worked extremely hard to make the show work in these halls and while we knew that the experience for the competitors would be much improved because of the space and facilities available, we were really interested in what our audience would think and say.
“Any concerns we might have had vanished by the end of the first day. We have been inundated by positive feedback from our visitors, who tell us that we have moved the Olympia experience to ExCeL, giving them the show they love but with unexpected extras. “The larger arena, with bigger seats, the better layout of the shopping village, the ease of movement around the show, the access to the collecting ring and the new hospitality experiences have all added together to make this a show that offers more than we could offer at Olympia, and has been brilliantly received. There are things to improve on but, for a first event, we are delighted and looking forward to the future with confidence.”
Scott Brash, who won the CSI5* class on Sunday evening, said the new venue was good for horses, staff and “people in general”.
“The organisers have done a great job putting it together,” he added. “It’s hard because Olympia has such a special feel about it, so it will always be hard to replicate that iconic building and the special feeling that comes with that. But they’ve put on a great show.”
Charlotte Dujardin agreed, adding after her grand prix win on Gio that the show had been set up to feel as much like Olympia as possible.
“They’ve done a fantastic job of setting it up and when you ride down the chute, you almost think you’re there [at Olympia],” she said. “They’ve done it very similar and tried to keep it all the same, so it’s actually lovely.”
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Charlotte Dujardin and Gio at the London International Horse Show 2021.
Credit: Peter Nixon
Scott Brash riding Hello Mr President winners of The Martin Collins Enterprise Christmas Tree Stakes at The London International Horse Show at the ExCel London in the UK, on the 19th December 2021
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