HICKSTEAD SQUAD ANNOUNCED
Thursday 12 July 2012
The squad representing Great Britain for the UK and 7th leg of the FEI Top Level Nations Cup competition which takes place at Hickstead on Friday 20th July will be:
John Whitaker from Huddersfield with his wife Clare’s 11 year-old chestnut stallion Maximillian IV. John has only been competing Maximillian since the beginning of the year and made their debut in Top Level Nations Cup competition at St Gallen where they produced a clear in the second round.
Tim Stockdale from Northamptonshire will be making his third team appearance in the series since returning to riding following a fall in which he sustained a fractured neck last Autumn. Fresh Direct Kalico Bay whom he will be partnering is an 11 year-old bay gelding owned by Colin Garratt. Their first outing in St Gallen saw them produce superb results with a double clear in the Nations Cup following by another in the Grand Prix securing themselves 2nd place.
Hampshire based Peter Charles will partner Olga White and Team Murka’s 11 year-old chestnut stallion Murka’s Nevada VI. Murka’s. Peter was announced earlier this month as a member of the British Team representing Great Britain at the London Olympics next month with his other top ride Murka’s Vindicat W, a horse which is jointly owned by Olga White, Tara Charles and Team Murka.
William Funnell, from Dorking will be competing Julie Slade’s 9 year-old British bred chestnut gelding Billy Angelo. The combination were a member of the team that competed in Rome at the end of May where Billy Angelo made his first step into this level of competition.
Tina Fletcher from Faringdon, Oxon will be joining the squad with Lady Pauline Harris’ 13 year-old chestnut gelding Hello Sailor owned by Lady Pauline Harris. Tina and Hello sailor were announced earlier this month as the travelling reserve for the British Team competing at Greenwich in the London Olympic Games next month.
The FEI Top Level League is a series of eight 5* Nations Cups in which official teams representing qualified nations compete against each other in their teams of four horse and rider combinations. The eight events take place across two rounds at eight of the most prestigious venues competing for a minimum of €200,000 at each. Last year Great Britain finished in 3rd position in the final league standings.
The venues and dates for the series in 2012 are as follows:
La Baule 10-13th May (11th May Nations Cup)
Rome 24-27th May (25th May Nations Cup)
St Gallen 31st May – 3rd June (1st June Nations Cup)
Rotterdam 20-24th June (22nd June Nations Cup)
Aachen 3-8th July (5th July Nations Cup)
Falsterbo 12-15th July (13th July Nations Cup)
Hickstead 19-22d July (20th July Nations Cup)
Dublin 15-19th August (17th August Nations Cup)
For 2012 the eight nations contesting the series are Belgium, France, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, The Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland.
For further information on the CSIO5* show at Hickstead please visit www.hickstead.co.uk
The Nations Cup takes place on Friday 20th July and the Grand Prix on Sunday 22nd July .
FEI TV will be showing live footage from the event. To access this please visit www.feitv.org The programme will also be shown at a later date on both Eurosport and Horse & Country TV. Please visit www.britishshowjumping.co.uk and click on ‘whats on tv’ for broadcast times.
The British Showjumping Teams are supported by Exchequer and National Lottery funding via UK Sport.
