‘I want a horse to make me feel a million dollars on board’: meet the 2025 Royal International amateur hunter judge
In the next of our exclusive articles for H&H subscribers on what the judges will be looking for in specific classes at the Agria Royal International Horse Show, amateur hunter ride judge Lesley Whitehall shares details about her equestrian background, what tempted her out of retirement last year, and what she will be prioritising at Hickstead
Dowdstown Purple was the 2024 amateur hunter champion at Hickstead. Who will be crowned this time under judges Lesley Whitehall and Michael Maryan?
Credit: Alex Robinson
The Royal International (RIHS) amateur hunter judges have a tough job as seasoned competitors go head to head for coveted titles, and competition is hot! 2025 Royal International amateur hunter judge Lesley Whitehall will be assessing each horse’s ride. She’ll be officiating alongside conformation judge Michael Maryan.
Meet the 2025 Royal International amateur hunter ride judge
“My father was a builder,” says Lesley, “so we didn’t go on holiday as children – we went to shows. As a family, we’d all go off showing in an old Bedford TK wagon. There was no living and we had a gas stove outside. It was such fun!”
Lesley and her brother shared their first pony – a roan that cost £90 – and they “did a bit of everything with it, from gymkhana to Pony Club.”
“I’ve still got my first ever rosette,” she says. “It’s pink with a chip stain!”
In 1976, her parents bought the siblings a “proper pony”. The proper pony was a 12.2hh Welsh section B called Crawel Souflette who campaigned the local and county circuit. The pair qualified for Olympia in 1978 and though they were placed, they were also disgraced when she took off in the lap of honour. This earned the pair a mention in the National Pony Society (NPS) Annual Journal!
Her trainer at the time was the great Donald Owen. Lesley went on to have many super ponies, such as Keston Oliver, who was sixth at both RIHS and Horse of the Year Show (HOYS).
After leaving school, she worked for the Weatherby family with their hunters and point-to-pointers, and then spent a decade producing horses alongside Nigel Oliver, including RIHS winning small hunter Cornish Sovereign.
A spell working for Jo Jenkins – or “Mrs J” – followed. Lesley enthusiastically recalls competing at 131 shows during one season, collecting 80 championships and 20 reserves.
“It was exhausting, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. We had beautiful horses – like Dicki Boggledyke – and it really was such fun.”
Lesley also enjoyed competing at HOYS, riding home-bred Groveside Casanova into second place in the hack ranks.
“I rode Ali Tate’s ladies horse Shambo River King to lots of success,” she adds.
It was one of Ali’s horses that persuaded Lesley to come out of retirement last year. She rode Commodus to win at Royal Cornwall and Great Yorkshire in the ladies ranks.
Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2025 with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now
Bethan joined Horse & Hound as showing editor in January 2025, after spending two years as Editor for Showing World. Having adored ponies since childhood, she started showing as a teenager and has enjoyed wins at major shows up and down the country, including Royal Highland, New Forest, and the Royal Welsh, as well as HOYS, RIHS and London. She is particularly passionate about Welsh breeds and is also a Welsh language commentator.
