Olympic champion unlikely to defend title and other things the horse world is talking about

German entries announced

The German longlist for the Paris Olympics has been revealed, and reigning champion Julia Krajewski is on it – but likely to miss final selection. The German nominated entries, headed by four-time Olympic medallist Michael Jung, is grouped into three blocks in order of likely preference and Julia, who won gold in Tokyo with Amanda De B’Neville who has since retired, is in block three with Nickel.

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Top mare changes riders

William Fox-Pitt said he is looking forward to seeing Grafennacht with her new rider Harry Meade. Harry has been asked to ride Amanda Gould’s 12-year-old, who came second with William at Maryland 5 Star in 2023, since William announced his retirement from top-level eventing. “I’m looking forward to getting to know ‘Lillie’, gleaning as much as I can about her from William and his team and taking time to develop a partnership,” said Harry. William told H&H he loves the way Harry rides, and he thinks “Lillie” has a big win in her.

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Puissance record set

Guy Williams and Mr Blue Sky UK and Elliott Smith and Flamboyant III shared the spoils in the Bolesworth puissance, clearing 2.21m to set a Bolesworth record. The pair were the only two to jump clear in the fifth round from 12 starters including Guy’s daughter Maisy with Dalton D’Hoyo. “I’m very proud of Maisy,” Guy said. “I was hoping Elliott would knock it down so we could have had a family win!”

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