There are few horses that know the Royal Horse Show as well as Knightwood Stables’ ‘Round Midnight.
The 16-year-old gelding has been coming to show in downtown Toronto for eight years, and for the second consecutive occasion, he received the J. Elliot Cottrelle Memorial Trophy as the Royal Grand Amateur Working Hunter Champion with his partner, Muffie Guthrie.
The pair claimed a pair of wins over fences in the Amateur Owner Working Hunters and finished second in the division’s Stake class to earn the Amateur Owner-Working Hunter Canadian Championship for His Grace, the Duke of Westminster’s Challenge Cup. At day’s end, they added the ‘Grand’ title to their tally, accumulating the most points in the Amateur Owner Working Hunter, Adult Amateur Working Hunter, and Junior/Amateur Working Hunter divisions.
“[‘Round Midnight] loves this ring,” Guthrie said. “I loved that he just enjoyed it. His ears were forward, and he loved being out there.”
From Guelph, Ontario, Guthrie boasts a relationship with the Royal that spans decades. That same longevity could be used to describe her partnership with her horse; Guthrie and ‘Round Midnight have been competing together for more than nine years.
“We’ve been together a long time, and we haven’t really missed any time apart,” Guthrie said. “The Royal is the most special place, and I say that with all of my heart. It means a lot [to win this].”
Other division honorees Monday included Shelly Kirton of Caledon, Ontario, who received the ‘Horse Sport’ Adult Amateur Working Hunter Canadian Championship; and Lexi Dodson, who won the Junior/Amateur Working Hunter Canadian Championship, Presented by Mrs. Mollie Cornblum Barrett and Mr. Stephen Barrett.
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