Friday Video from SmartPak: The Red Queen and the German King

Welcome to Twixtmas – or the Chrimbo Limbo, if you’re that way inclined – the aimless, in-the-middle bit in which none of us know what day it is, what we’re doing, or who we are. It’s a delicious sort of torture, frankly.

But for those who need something decisive to sink their teeth into, our friends at EquiRatings are currently providing just the sort of challenge we all need to pass these last few days of 2019. They’ve reached the final round of their 2019 Horse of the Year competition, and what a finale it is – Ingrid Klimke‘s SAP Hale Bob OLD goes up against Cathal Daniels‘ Rioghan Rua in a closely-fought battle for the collective heart of the global eventing community. Will ‘Bobby’, the double European champion and winner of Aachen CCI4*-S, take the title? Or will the small but fierce chestnut mare, who won the Bramham under-25 CCI4*-L and earned Ireland its first senior European medal – an individual bronze – since 1995.

It’s a tough one, we’ll grant you that. You’ve got two days to make your mind up – so in the meantime, rewatch these videos of the two contenders and try to pick your favourite.

Good luck and godspeed, friends.