The showjumpers carrying British hopes at the Europeans, an Olympic horse’s comeback and other things the horse world is talking about
British team named for European Showjumping Championships
Today (27 June) British Equestrian and British Showjumping selectors confirmed the five combinations that will make up the definite entries for the FEI European Showjumping Championships, at A Coruña, Spain, from 16 to 20 July. The squad comprises Scott Brash and Hello Folie, Ben Maher and Point Break, Jessica Mendoza and In The Air, Matt Sampson and Medoc de Toxandria and Donald Whitaker and Millfield Colette. Ben also has Dallas Vegas Batilly as his first reserve horse, and Enjeu de Grisien as his second. Robert Whitaker and Vermento are first reserves, and the second reserve is Joe Stockdale with Ebanking.
An Olympic horse back to his best
Pacino Amiro, the Tokyo Olympic ride of Bertram Allen, has returned to the top level with a win, a year after he was sidelined owing to injury. Bertram and “Buddy” were named travelling reserves for the Paris Olympics last summer but had to withdraw when Buddy was injured. Last weekend the pair won a 1.50m class at Rotterdam CSIO5* Longines League of Nations, Buddy’s first five-star competition since CHIO Aachen last summer. “He just has a fantastic mind. This is the first time we tried to win something in a year and he responds and fights with you, so it makes it fun,” Bertram said. “I had this feeling that it’s the right time.”
How Harry Meade manages his horses
In the latest exclusive piece for H&H subscribers, we find out how world number eventer Harry Meade manages his string of top horses for longevity. Harry has an impressive five horses competing at five-star, and this spring he finished third (Et Hop Du Matz) and fourth (Grafennacht) at the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event and fourth (Cavalier Crystal) and sixth (Superstition) at Mars Badminton Horse Trials. Anyone who has ever competed knows how critical soundness is to longevity, and it’s no surprise that Harry leads no stone unturned to give his horses the best possible chance of staying fit to compete.
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