What next for the European young rider champion Olli Fletcher? ‘I have exciting horses and I’m hopeful for a successful 2025’

Young British showjumper Olli Fletcher enjoyed a year to remember in 2024. The pinnacle was winning individual gold at the European young rider championships with his great horse Hello William, which he described as “up there as the best day”.

Olli was also crowned young rider of the year at the 2024 Horse & Hound Awards, in partnership with NAF and Agria.

Now a regular competitor at showjumping’s five-star level, he achieved top tier wins in Doha and on home soil at the London leg of the Longines Global Champions Tour riding Cajus 42. He also took the opening leg of the Prix Land Rover Defender for under-25 riders at CHI Geneva, finishing third in the grand prix there.

2024 will clearly be a hard act to follow, so what does Olli have planned for the year ahead?

“I am very lucky, I have a string of really nice horses at the moment and I am very grateful for my owners and sponsors,” says Olli. “I have a few exciting horses who I think are going to come through the ranks, so I am hopeful for a successful 2025.”

Olli Fletcher: opportunities with the Young Riders Academy

Olli was selected for the Young Riders Academy supported by Rolex and he is inspired by its recent graduates including Harry Charles and Richard Vogel.

“It definitely gives me a bit of hope!” he says. “Even to be able to have half the success that those riders have had would be amazing. I think without the Young Riders Academy supported by Rolex it would not have been as easy for them to get to where they are now.

“It is a fantastic programme, not just for the fact that you have the opportunity to be able to learn from some of the greatest riders and trainers in the world, but you also learn about veterinary care, business and economics, and communication,” he continues.

“This provides us with information that can be crucial in the sport. It has been a great year as part of the Academy and I have learned so much.”

“My parents have been inspirational”

Olli nominates his parents Graham and Tina Fletcher as having a huge influence on his career.

“I couldn’t look past my parents – they are both inspirational,” says Olli, whose older brother Will Fletcher is also competing at the top level of the sport. “I was also lucky enough to train with Rolex Testimonee Steve Guerdat five or six years ago. Not a day goes past when I do not think about the advice that he has given me – he is the complete horseman.”

Competing at shows such as CHI Geneva, the home of the Rolex Grand Slam of Showjumping, and other Majors “means everything”, he says.

“There are big shows and big grands prix every week, but as a rider, you know that when it is a Major it is different,” he explains. “There are riders from across the world who have come over to complete on their best horses in the Rolex grand prix. It is spectacular and means a lot to us.”

When asked if there is any horse in history, past or present, who he would like to ride, he pinpoints the great mare Ursula XII.

“There are so many good horses now that it is hard to say,” says Olli. “However, I would have to choose Scott Brash’s Ursula XII. My mum produced her and was double clear in the Nations Cup in Calgary before Scott took her on.

“What a fabulous horse she was – when she walked into the arena she had a great aura around her – she was gorgeous.”

With thanks to Rolex Grand Slam.

• To stay up to date with all the breaking news from major shows throughout 2025, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

You may also be interested in: