26/10/2026
SHCWA Horse of the Year, The RugRack Debutante of the Year and Grand Slam Challenge 2026
🌟🐴 THAT'S A WRAP – 2026 SHCWA HORSE OF THE YEAR! 🐴🌟
And just like that, the curtain has come down on another spectacular SHCWA Horse of the Year! 🎭✨
What a weekend! Two days of wonderful competition, beautifully presented horses and ponies, outstanding performances and most importantly the friendship, encouragement and genuine sense of community that make our West Australian show horse scene so special.
From our youngest competitors to our seasoned campaigners, the dedication, preparation and passion on display were a credit to everyone involved.
💙 TO OUR WONDERFUL SPONSORS
Quite simply we couldn't do it without you! The generosity of our sponsors many of whom return year after year, allows us to deliver an event of this calibre, with beautiful awards, prizes and memories for our competitors to treasure.
We are incredibly fortunate to have such loyal businesses, families and individuals supporting our sport and we sincerely thank every one of you.
We encourage all competitors and members to show their appreciation by supporting these businesses and personally thanking our sponsors. Many are not on Facebook so please take a moment to reach out. A simple thank you really does go a long way!
A special acknowledgement to the Show Horse Council of Australasia (SHCA) for their generous sponsorship of the Highest Placed Owner Rider awards within the Grand Slam Challenge. We greatly appreciate SHCA's continued support and commitment to recognising our Owner Riders who play such an important role in our sport. Congratulations to our deserving recipients! 💙
🏆 TO OUR WONDERFUL JUDGES
A heartfelt thank you to our visiting East Coast judges who officiated across the weekend's Grand National qualifying classes. We sincerely appreciate the time, expertise and professionalism you brought to the event along with the challenging task of judging some outstanding competition.
A special thank you also to our local WA judges who stepped into the spotlight for Saturday evening's Grand Slam Challenge Broadway & Musicals theme! 🎭✨, each taking on the responsibility of judging their own section. We greatly appreciate your willingness to be involved and contribute to what was a fun and entertaining evening.
🎭 ALL THE WORLD'S A STAGE!
Our Broadway & Musicals theme brought plenty of colour, creativity and entertainment to this year's Grand Slam Challenge and Fancy Dress.
It was wonderful to see everyone embracing the spirit of the occasion bringing a little theatrical magic to the arena and reminding us that amongst the serious competition there's always room for a bit of fun!
👏 THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE SCENES
Every successful event has a hardworking team behind it and Horse of the Year is certainly no exception.
To our ring stewards, marshals, announcer, measuring team, office helpers and everyone who stepped in to lend a hand — THANK YOU! Whether you were keeping the rings running smoothly, helping competitors, presenting awards, managing the gate or tackling the many less glamorous jobs that go unnoticed your contribution was invaluable.
These events simply cannot happen without volunteers and we are enormously grateful for every hour generously given.
📸 CAPTURING THE MEMORIES
A special thank you to our photographers and media team for capturing the beautiful moments, winning smiles and memories from across the weekend. We know how much these images mean to our competitors and their families.
🐴 TO OUR COMPETITORS
Congratulations to every competitor who entered the arena this weekend. Whether you took home a championship, achieved a personal best or simply enjoyed being part of the occasion, you all contributed to making this event something special.
One of the most heartwarming highlights of the weekend was the wonderful attitude displayed by our youngest competitors. We received so many positive comments about the genuine encouragement, kindness and support they showed one another, both inside and outside the ring. Seeing young riders cheering each other on, celebrating their friends' successes and demonstrating such wonderful sportsmanship was an absolute pleasure.
These young competitors are the future of our sport and if this weekend was anything to go by, that future is looking very bright!
💙 Behind every horse and rider is a tremendous amount of time, effort, early mornings and dedication often with a whole team of supporters. We recognise and applaud that commitment.
And to everyone who demonstrated kindness, encouragement and good sportsmanship throughout the weekend — thank you. Championships may be won in the ring, but true character shines through in how we treat one another.
💙 TO OUR INCREDIBLE SHCWA COMMITTEE
A very special thank you to our committee members, whose dedication, hard work and commitment throughout the year make an event like Horse of the Year possible.
What many don't see is the enormous amount of work that goes on behind the scenes, not just in the weeks leading up to the event but throughout the entire year. From securing sponsors, engaging judges, coordinating officials and volunteers, preparing schedules and catalogues, organising awards and prizes, managing entries and countless other details there is an extraordinary amount of time and effort invested long before the first horse enters the arena.
And then comes show weekend itself — the early starts, late finishes, constant juggling, last-minute challenges and seemingly endless jobs that somehow all come together!
Much of this work goes unnoticed quietly undertaken by a small group of volunteers who generously give their personal time while balancing their own families, work, horses and other commitments.
It takes far more than two days to create a Horse of the Year and we couldn't be prouder of what our small but dedicated team continues to achieve.
To our committee members, thank you for the teamwork, the laughs, the patience, the problem-solving and above all your unwavering commitment to our sport. It's a tremendous effort and one that deserves to be recognised and appreciated. 💙
✨ UNTIL NEXT TIME...
As the final ribbons are presented the horses head home and the arena falls quiet we can reflect on another memorable celebration of the very best of WA showing.
Thank you to everyone who played a part — our sponsors, judges, officials, volunteers, competitors, owners, families and supporters.
The curtain may have closed on the 2026 SHCWA Horse of the Year but the memories and friendships will continue long after the final applause. 🎭💙
Until we meet again in 2027! 🌟🐴
SHCWA Committee
