It’s been 13 years since the Brits won the Longines FEI Jumping Nations Cup™ of Great Britain at Hickstead – and on Friday 28 July they will be going all out to land victory on home turf in this prestigious team competition.
The British squad of Ben Maher (Exit Remo), Harry Charles (Casquo Blue), Tim Gredley (Medoc De Toxandria), John Whitaker (Equine America Unick de Francport) and Donald Whitaker (Di Caprio) have a strong chance of lifting the Edward, Prince of Wales Trophy for the first time since 2010.
But they’ll face some strong opposition, including last year’s winners France who are returning with the aim of securing back-to-back wins, plus Germany, Ireland, Italy, Brazil, Sweden and the USA. All eight squads have been named for the Nations Cup™ leg, with the final teams of four announced on Thursday 27 July.
Lots of the world’s leading riders are among those selected to represent their nation at the Longines Royal International Horse Show (25-30 July), including Germany’s Marcus Ehning, France’s Olivier Robert, Ireland’s Shane Breen and Daniel Coyle, Brazil’s Francisco José Mesquita Musa and Pedro Veniss, and the USA’s Laura Kraut.
As the host nation, Britain is allowed to field additional competitors for the show. Other star names to look out for include Matt Sampson, William Funnell, Jodie Hall-McAteer, Amy Inglis, Joe Stockdale and Guy Williams. As well as Nations Cup squad members John and Donald Whitaker, other members of their family who’ll be in action at the show include Joe, Jack, Robert and William Whitaker.
Tickets for the Longines Royal International Horse Show are available from the Box Office as well as at the gate. The action will be livestreamed on ClipMyHorse.TV and Hickstead.TV, with live coverage on Sky Sports and FEI.TV on Friday and Sunday.