Hickstead's Press Officer Victoria Goff looks back over three brilliant decades of the Longines Royal International Horse Show at Hickstead
This summer marks 30 years since the Royal International Horse Show was first held at Hickstead, though in many ways their histories have been intertwined for much longer. It is apt that this five-star international show, one of the oldest and largest scale equestrian events – has found its home at the All England Jumping Course, one of the most famous showgrounds in the world.
In 2007, when the show celebrated its centenary year, Hickstead founder Douglas Bunn reflected on his decision to host the show: “Fifteen years ago I offered to re-home the Royal International at Hickstead, and I am delighted I did. The show's history, and the scope of its programme, is ideally suited to Hickstead. We have worked hard to maintain and improve its image as a traditional horse show, and it is wonderful to be able to celebrate its centenary.”
The Royal International first took place at Olympia in 1907. It was hosted by the Institute of the Horse and Pony Club, the forerunner to the British Horse Society, and it soon became renowned as an important social event, with the audience wearing full evening dress and horse-drawn carriages lining the streets around the venue.
In 1911, King George V became the patron of the event, and to mark the occasion he commissioned a beautiful gold trophy to be presented to the winner of the class named in his honour. A few years later, the show was put on hold due to the outbreak of war. When it returned in the 1920s, showing was growing in popularity, with hunters, hacks, cobs and show pony classes added to the schedule. In 1927, the Edward, Prince of Wales Cup was held for the first time, with the Brits winning this historic team competition in its inaugural year. World War II saw the show take another absence, and when it was reinstated in 1947 it had been moved to a new venue at the White City Stadium. Two years later, the Princess Elizabeth II Cup was created, which was class open to lady riders only.
Financial difficulties at White City saw the show move to Wembley Stadium for the final few years of the 1960s. But the latter venue was deemed too large and lacking in intimacy, so it went to Wembley’s neighbouring Empire Pool venue for 1970. However, it was felt that the Nations Cup should be held at an outdoor venue, so the following year the classes were split. The Nations Cup was the principal competition in a four-day meeting at Hickstead, followed one day later by a separate Royal International Horse Show at the indoor Empire Pool.
Although it was the first time Hickstead had run a Nations Cup, the number of countries sending riders meant there were issues about how many British riders could compete at their own international show, so the Nations Cup ran in an ‘unofficial’ capacity. The Nations Cup returned to the Empire Pool for another three years before returning to the two-venue formula of 1971, with Hickstead and Wembley Arena playing host. This time, there was no problem with the amount of British riders who could take part, and Hickstead has hosted the Nations Cup ever since, with the sole exception of 1997 when it was temporarily moved to the Royal Windsor Horse Show due to financial reasons.
The Royal International then moved to Birmingham’s NEC from 1984 onwards, but in 1992 it officially moved to Hickstead, where it has remained ever since. In 1998, the Nations Cup was reunited as part of the Royal International Horse Show, meaning the three feature classes of the show were back as part of the same fixture for the first time in decades. Another big change occurred in 2008 when the King George V Gold Cup was opened up to all riders, having been restricted to men only until that point, and the Queen Elizabeth II Cup changed from a ladies-only class to being a national championship open to the highest rated British-based riders.
When the FEI introduced the Samsung Super League in 2003, Hickstead was among the eight showgrounds selected to stage these most prestigious of Nations Cups. When the format changed in 2009 and Meydan took over the title sponsorship, Hickstead continued to play host to these premier league shows. Another format change in 2013, when Furusiyya became the title sponsor, saw the Nations Cup series become more global, with the creation of seven worldwide leagues, a new point-scoring system and the addition of a prestigious final, held each year in Barcelona. Since 2017, Longines has been the title sponsor of the series alongside its title sponsorship of the Royal International Horse Show.
The Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup of Great Britain remains the feature class of this five-star show, but the Royal International is a true celebration of all things equestrian. Showing has become a massive part of this fixture, and the Royal International is the pinnacle of the summer show season. Twenty years before the RIHS moved to Hickstead, Douglas had already begun to appreciate the importance of adding showing classes to the schedule. His second wife, Sue Bunn, was involved as a competitor and by the 1970s, an increasing number of showing classes were taking place at Hickstead’s shows. The country’s first purpose-built working hunter course was created at the All England Jumping Course, with Douglas among the first competitors to jump round it. Hickstead’s vast acreage and eight rings meant the show could expand in ways that previous host venues couldn’t offer.
Now thousands of show horses and ponies flock to Hickstead each year, having campaigned up and down the country to pick up their qualifying tickets. Their riders all dream of winning their division championship and going through to the British Horse Society Supreme Horse and Supreme Products Supreme Pony Championships, when the week’s winners are judged in the main ring and an overall victor crowned.
Back in 1998, Douglas had come up with the idea for the Eventing Grand Prix, which is regarded as the forerunner to all arena eventing competitions. It initially saw showjumpers and eventers go head-to-head, and the originally it included a dressage test as well as a combined showjumping and cross-country course. In 2015 the event became the Ashby Underwriters Eventers’ Challenge, with a course of fixed cross-country obstacles held within the Longines International Arena, and specially selected event riders asked to take part.
The three decades have seen Hickstead go through some challenging times, and there were occasions when the financial implications of hosting such a huge event caused difficulties. Paul Schockemohle had to step in to offer financial help in 1998 to allow the show to go ahead. Douglas Bunn often put in large sums of his own money to help keep Hickstead running, with his accountant telling him he could not continue to be ‘the J. Paul Getty of showjumping’.
But Douglas was devoted to Hickstead – it was the realisation of his dream, and he was very proud that his family were going to continue his legacy. It has been 13 years since Douglas died, at the age of 81, but his beloved showground continues to flourish in his absence. This week Hickstead will celebrate the 30th anniversary of hosting one of the biggest and best horse shows in the world – and long may that continue.
An unusual few years
Until 2020, the only time the Royal International Horse Show had been cancelled was during the two world wars. When the Covid-19 pandemic struck in the spring of , the decision was made to cancel the event for the first time since 1947. By 2021, current restrictions on international travel meant the show was changed to become a 2* international instead of the usual five-star event. The feature classes, the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup of Great Britain and the Longines King George V Gold Cup, did not run, nor did the Eventers’ Challenge. However, the showing classes continued as usual – with Allister Hood and Our Cashel Blue winning the British Horse Society Supreme title just before their emotional retirement ceremony; and 16-year-old Mia Donaldson winning the Supreme Product Supreme Pony Championship with Wilderness Early Bird. The Queen Elizabeth II Cup formed the highlight of the showjumping action, with Mark Edwards and Montreuxs Tale lifting the historic trophy for the first time.
This article first appeared in July 2022
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