Smallholding & Countryside Festival to feature qualifiers for 2023 London International Horse Show

The Royal Welsh Agricultural Society are thrilled to announce that our application to the British Show Horse Association (BSHA) to host Rising Star qualifiers for the 2023 London International Horse Show have been accepted and the following competition qualifiers will be held at this year’s Smallholding & Countryside Festival.

The Festival due to take place over the weekend of the 20^th & 21^st May 2023 is set to be a weekend full of fun for all the family celebrating smallholding and rural life.

This year sees many new classes being added to the equine section at the event and the Society are excited to see many new additions to the equine schedule and to also give the opportunity for exhibitors to qualify for the London International Horse Show at the Showground in Llanelwedd.

We are delighted to announce that the following classes will qualify towards the new series of showing classes which will take place at the 2023 event.

• Rising Star Small & Lightweight Hunter
• Rising Star Middle & Heavyweight Hunter
• Rising Star Lightweight Cob
• Rising Star Heavyweight Cob
• Rising Star Maxi Cob
• Rising Star Small Riding Horse
• Rising Star Large Riding Horse
• Rising Star Hack (please note, this should be run as one class, not split into Small and Large sections)
• Rising Star Racehorse to Show Horse
• Rising Star Ladies Show Horse

The Association of Shows & Agricultural Organisations (ASAO) are extremely supportive of the new series of classes launched by the BSHA and are positive that the introduction of these new qualifiers will increase the number of equine entries across the UK. The new classes will provide an educational opportunity for visitors to the event, showcasing interaction between the judge and competitors and opportunities for commentators to explain what the judge is looking for. It is hoped that these new classes will present Showing in a new light and make it much more accessible and entertaining.

Kathy Atkin-Bowdler, Chief Steward of the Equine section noted;
“It is thrilling that our event has been selected to host the new and prestigious London International Horse Show Qualifiers. One of a few shows in Wales to be awarded these, we will be the first in Wales to run them. These classes, combined with the other new equine sections we have introduced to the show will make this event extra special. This is a really friendly event that has something for everyone and, we look forward to seeing you all there.”

Schedules for this year’s competitions can now be found on the RWAS website; https://rwas.wales/smallholding-and-countryside-festival/competitions-festival/

Entries for the equine section open at midday on Wednesday 1^st March 2023 and will close at 11.59pm on Monday 3^rd April.

For more information about this new section please contact the RWAS livestock team on 01982 5544 04/13/14 or email livestock@rwas.co.uk