Holly Smith and Nike van het Singraven continued their sensational run of form at Al Shira’aa Bolesworth International
Monday 06 July 2026
.JPG "Holly Smith and Nike van het Singraven continued their sensational run of form at Al Shira’aa Bolesworth International")
Holly and Nike van het Singraven continued their sensational run of form on the opening day, producing the only double clear to win the CG Professional 4* 1.50. Defeating an all-star field that included current world number nine Laura Kraut, multi-Olympian John Whitaker, Irish star Billy Twomey, 2025 Al Shira'aa Bolesworth 4* Grand Prix champion Laura Renwick and a host of Olympic riders, European medallists and Nations Cup winners, Holly produced two flawless rounds to secure back-to-back world ranking victories at Bolesworth following her first win in week 1.
Course-designer Raf Suarez set a challenging 16-effort track for the 48-strong field, but the test caught out many, and only four qualified for the jump-off, Holly the first to crack the course on the hugely talented Nike van het Singraven. She was joined by three others to make a truly international field as two Brits were pitted against The USA and Ireland.
Holly knew she had to lay down a target in the opening round and did exactly that, producing another immaculate clear. Billy Twomey chased hard on Ace of Hearts Z but a single rail left him to settle for second, while Laura Kraut's fast four-fault effort secured third. Sally Goding picked up eight faults on Red Head, leaving Holly at the top.
The victory capped a remarkable fortnight for Holly and the Andiamo Semilly gelding, who became the only rider to win both of the Al Shira'aa Bolesworth International's world ranking classes, underlining the emergence of one of Britain's most exciting young horses.
Speaking after her win, Holly said: "I couldn't be more pleased with the horse – he obviously likes it here. Not only is it special to win another ranking class after last week, but one of his joint owners, Liz Astall, was here to watch him for the first time, so it was really lovely to do that in front of her."
Holly admitted she wasn't confident of a win: "The class was tough today with only four clears, and I was drawn first to go, so I didn't really fancy myself with the people I had coming behind me. I just did my usual round and hoped it would be good enough."
Explaining where she felt she made the difference, she added: "I actually went a stride extra than I wanted from fence three to four, then I thought I really needed to take a chance to the double, which I did. It's naturally quite a quick course and I thought that just put enough pressure on that it forced people into mistakes."
Holly has produced Nike van het Singraven since he was a five-year-old and believes the partnership they have developed is now paying dividends at the highest level: "I've spent all of my time with that horse – nursing him, producing him – so I think that's why he's coming to this level as quickly as he has. He also has an exceptional temperament. He's super friendly and definitely thinks he's quite entitled!"
The national anthem rang out for Holly twice more this week, both times courtesy of Fruselli and marking her fifth victory over the two weeks. The pair kicked off week two with victory in a hotly contended 4* 1.40m two-phase, beating 73 rivals by 0.12 seconds, then landed the concluding Grosvenor Insurance 4* 1.45m.
Only six from a field of 61 returned for the jump-off, the final vertical surprisingly catching out some big names. Holly proved the handsome stallion is back with a bang, wiping almost four seconds off the leading time set by Ireland’s Trevor Breen on Drewmain Musachino to command the win.
“I changed my plan in round one from two to three; it walked seven strides but everyone seemed to get a funny angle to the red verticial, so I added a stride. I nearly added another stride down a later distance but stuck to the plan, getting a good jump over the stile which set me up perfectly for the water tray oxer, and it helps having such an experienced horse,” said Holly.
The 16-year-old Fruselli (Zambesi TN x Karandasj) has been with Holly since a seven-year-old.
“In that time, he’s won countless Grands Prix, speed classes and a European Children on Horses gold medal for my daughter Rosie. He’s just returned from two years off with injury, and he comes back and does this. The whole team deserve credit for this, including his biggest fans, owners Gordon and Su Hall, we couldn’t love him anymore,” said Holly.
Summing up her remarkable fortnight, Holly added: "The horses and the whole team have been in incredible form. This has really been a coming-of-age show for many of my younger horses, so to produce these results has been fantastic. Shows of this calibre are very rare in the UK and I'm so grateful to Al Shira'aa and Bolesworth for creating opportunities like this. I hope we've provided excellent sport for them and everyone who attended the show.”
Image: Suzanne Jones
.JPG "Jack Whitaker showcases a masterclass win in the Al Shira’aa four-star Grand Prix at Al Shira’aa Bolesworth International")
