One Big Thing: Nominate Your Heroes for the 2026 Horse & Hound Awards
Ros Canter, winner of the Professional Rider of the Year at last year’s Horse & Hound Awards. Photo by Phil Barker/Horse & Hound.
Horse & Hound has officially opened nominations for the 11th Annual Horse & Hound Awards, in partnership with NAF and Agria. The prestigious awards celebrate both world-class champions and the unsung heroes who form the backbone of the equestrian community.
Following the 2025 campaign in which some 114,500 public votes were cast, the 2026 event will culminate in a glittering ceremony at the Dallas Burston Polo Club in Warwickshire on 25 November. Around 300 guests — including World Championship athletes, industry leaders and grassroots champions — will gather for the BAFTA-style awards evening.
Previous winners include Ros Canter (Professional Rider of the Year), Jagerbomb (Dressage Horse of the Year), Rachel Proudley (Young Rider of the Year), Stoneleigh Showtime (Show Horse of the Year), and Jane Holderness-Roddam, who received the Lifetime Achievement Award.
“We’re so delighted to bring the awards back in 2026 and, as always, we thank our partners NAF and Agria, as well as all the individual category award sponsors,” said Horse & Hound Editor-in-Chief Sarah Jenkins.
“We’re always excited to receive your nominations — it’s great fun reading all your stories. The awards are so special because they celebrate the obvious stars of the year — winners and medallists — but also hidden heroes, from horses who make their owners’ lives better to people who make it possible for others to succeed or enjoy their horses.”
Eloise Chugg, UK sponsorship and events manager for NAF, shared: “We’re delighted to support the Horse & Hound Awards alongside Agria and to put our
name to the new Unsung Partnership category, celebrating the extraordinary bonds between horses and people at the heart of our community. Through everyday care, every challenge and every step forward, these partnerships remind us that sometimes, horses really are all you need.”
Vicki Wentworth, CEO of Agria UK, added: “Few events bring together and celebrate the equestrian community quite like the Horse & Hound Awards, which is why we’re so pleased to be returning as joint headline sponsor and presenting the Agria Horse of a Lifetime Award once again.
“Since the award was launched, we’ve been privileged to celebrate some truly remarkable horses, from Emma, the late Queen Elizabeth II’s beloved Fell pony, to last year’s winner, Hovis, whose story captured the hearts of horse lovers across the country. Yet for many owners, the most important horse in the world is simply the one that changed their life. That’s what this award is all about, recognising those once-in-a-lifetime horses whose impact is never forgotten.”
Key Award Dates and How to Nominate
Nominations for the 2026 awards close at 5pm on 10 September and can be made at horseandhound.co.uk/awards. The shortlists for voting will be unveiled in Horse & Hound’s 8 October issue, with voting closing on 16 October. The official awards report will run in the 3 December issue.
Awards Categories:
- D&H Elite Sport Dressage Horse of the Year
- Event Horse of the Year
- Showjumping Horse of the Year
- Show Horse of the Year
- Agria Horse of a Lifetime
- NAF Unsung Partnership of the Year
- Professional Rider of the Year
- Amateur Rider of the Year
- Young Rider of the Year
- Absorbine Groom of the Year
- Baileys Horse Feeds Vet of the Year
- Spillers Horse Feeds Riding School of the Year
- Horse & Hound Lifetime Achievement Award
Major International Events This Weekend
Bouckaert Equestrian HT International CCI4*-S (GA): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times] [Scoring] [Volunteer] [CrossCountry App XC Map]
Saulieu Terre de Complet CCI4*-S (FRA): [Website] [Schedule] [Entries/Ride Times/Scoring]
US Events This Weekend
Five Points HT (NC): [Website] [Schedule] [Entries/Ride Times] [Scoring] [Volunteer]
Shepherd Ranch Pony Club HT II (CA): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times] [Scoring] [Volunteer] [CrossCountry App XC Map]
Huntington Farm HT & Area I Championships (VA): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times] [Volunteer]
Silverwood Farm HT (WI): [Website] [Entries/Ride Times] [Scoring]
Other Links and Reading
Sponsor Corner: Stable View
You’ve seen us repping the USAWE Recognized Working Equitation Show at Stable View all summer, so take a look at the fun that went down! Keep an eye out @stableviewaiken for more fun events like these year-round.
Training Tip of the Day
Our friends at Noelle Floyd have brought us a 5-part series on the start-to-finish OTTB purchasing process — Episode 1 is all about building your team:
Go Eventing
Watch the intro to USEF’s new Horses Are Everything campaign:
