Big win for Aachen-bound Stevens
Thursday 23 July 2026
Gemma Stevens took one of her most distinguished Hickstead triumphs to date when she partnered Nadia Al Mutawa’s hugely promising nine-year-old stallion Warrior Special to the win in the UNIBED High-Performance Equine Bedding BS Winter Grades B&C Championship at the Agria Royal International Horse Show.
Gemma clinched the win by a tight 0.23 seconds over Thomas Pritchard and Princess SW in a fierce six-horse jump-off, where every combination jumped clear.
“Warrior Special is a big horse, he’s really careful and he’s got the most enormous stride, so I probably took 10 less strides than everyone else! For his size, he’s got a real turn of foot,” said Gemma, who has lodged some high-profile results in recent weeks, including wins at the Great Yorkshire Show and in the Area Trial at Herts County.
“He really has been so consistent and we’re excited for his future,” she said.
Gemma took over the ride last year, after the stallion’s breeder Shirley Light recommended her to Nadia.
“Nadia, who lives in Kuwait, bought him as a six-year-old and flew him over there. He was ridden there as a six and seven-year-old,” Gemma said. “It’s so hot in Kuwait, they don’t have competitions in the summer, so she wanted him to come back to Britain and Shirley advised her very nicely to send him to me!
“When he came into my yard, I thought ‘Oh gosh, he’s not really my type’. I wasn’t sure whether we’d hit it off but honest to God, from the first time I jumped him at home, we were just a partnership.”
The win comes in the same week that Gemma has been named as a member of Britain’s eventing team for the up-coming World Championship with Flash Cooley — a former winner of Agria Royal International’s Ashby Underwriting Eventers’ Challenge. It’s left her juggling conflicting showjumping and eventing priorities.
“Flash Cooley is running at Aston-Le-Walls in the advanced on Saturday morning. I have a 7.30am dressage and I think we’re done by about 9.45am and then I am hot-footing it back here to jump Envoy Merelsnest in the Queen’s Cup, two-and-a-half hours away. I actually need a helicopter!” she said. Tickets for the Agria Royal International Horse Show (22-26 July) are on sale now, and all the action from the show will be livestreamed via the host streaming partner ClipMyHorse.TV.
Image: Boots & Hooves Photography
