The Royal Windsor Horse Show is one of the highlights of the equine calendar attracting 1,000s of spectators over five days to watch some of the best horsemen and women compete in top class equestrian competition from showing and show-jumping to carriage driving and endurance.
It is an event that NSR has been proudly involved with for many years and this year was particularly important as the show celebrated HM The Queen’s 90th birthday (HMQ90); the celebrations for which were televised on ITV, as well as being promoted to a 4* equine event this year, which attracted some of the world’s top riders making for fierce competition across all disciplines.
The NSR team were contracted to supply communications for three arenas; Frogmore, Copper Horse and Adelaide, as well as the main stable area and the call up system for the stable area that housed the participants and their horses for the HMQ90 celebrations. In addition, NSR were responsible for the communications for the Endurance competition that hosted 52 competitors from a record 13 nations around the world.
The Royal Windsor Horse Show has a romantic setting nestled as it is between Windsor Castle and the banks of the Thames. However, there is nothing romantic about setting up this show, it is more like a military operation, with the NSR team moving in a week before the show opens, to ensure it runs like clockwork throughout the five days the doors are open to the public.
NSR’s equipment list for the Royal Windsor includes over 5000 metres of cabling, Electro Voice (EV) speakers, QSC amplifiers, an EG800 equestrian timing, trailer units and Sennheiser radio mics. Each of the three arenas required full PA systems which used EV speakers powered by QSC amplifiers with the EG800 equestrian timing system set-up in the Frogmore arena. Sennheiser radio mics were also supplied at each of the arenas for use by commentators and stewards.
NSR’s range of trailer units are exceptionally popular with their clients as they provide the perfect accommodation for event personnel. The organisers of Royal Windsor made full use of NSR’s trailer units, bringing in three single tier units with glass frontage for commentary teams at each of the three arenas and NSR’s all-round glass unit that was sited adjacent to the collecting ring providing the stewards with a 360o view of the collecting ring and competition arenas.
The final stage of set-up was the communications system for the start/finish line and hospitality for the Endurance competition that took riders out into Windsor Great Park to cover a total distance of 120km. NSR’s remit included two full PA systems; a 100-volt line system with 6 speaker towers with 2 speakers on each and a radio mic for the commentator on the start/finish line in addition to a second full speaker PA system that relayed sound from the start/finish line into the hospitality marquee.
Set-up for the Royal Windsor Horse Show took one week and after the last spectator departed on the final day it took the NSR team just two days to breakdown. A successful show was enjoyed by all who took part and NSR was proud to contribute to its success this year and look forward to years to come.
