Georgia Tame wins a four-star 1.50m and Joe Whitaker takes a winning hat-trick
Tuesday 16 June 2026
Georgia Tame claimed the winning spot in a 4* 1.50m at Sentower Park in Belgium, with BE Thiassi.
“She’s a naturally fast horse so even without pushing her, she’s really quick,” said Georgia, who owns this mare with Susanne Press.
Seventy-six competitors contended the speed class, but Georgia was quicker than them all, powering to victory on the Cuick Star Kervec x Andiamo eight-year-old bred in Britain by Breen Equestrian by 1.52 seconds. Lily Attwood was also in contention to slot the 12-year-old Johnnie Walker into third.
“I took out a stride from one to two and again from the combination at five to an oxer, then kept it tight and luckily, I always had the first distance coming out of the turn, so I didn’t have to take a pull; she makes my job easy,” said Georgia, who found the new improvements made at Sentower benefits everyone.
“The ground is good and they have built all new permanent stables with automatic drinkers. This makes a big difference for the horses and the grooms; everything is cleaner, tidier and easy to work from. The horses find it so much more relaxing; my horses sleep in all day – it’s nice to be at a show and they can relax like that.
“Thiassi’s not very calm, we call her the demon because she’s quite crazy but she’s brilliant, I’ve always loved her although I find it quite hard to keep her relaxed. I do a lot of lungeing and riding out on the grass arena and try not to go too much in the school with her because she finds it a bit boring and as she’s quite hot-headed, I try to find different things for her to do. She loves jumping, I’ve never met a horse who loves jumping as much as she does. When she’s at a show she’s so excited, she just can’t wait to get going and when she sees the jump it’s hard to keep her contained.”
Thiassi took Georgia’s eye and she bought her from the Breen Equestrian Auction two years ago.
“I didn’t try her because I took a few months off from riding at the time, but I’d seen her around and really liked her, so I rang [former boss] Shane and asked if Thiassi would suit me. He replied, ‘If she’s going to suit anyone, it’ll be you hand in a glove because she’s a bit hot and a bit quirky. I like them when they’re a bit awkward, I seem to be able to get on with them quite well and luckily, it all worked out.”
Now based in Germany for the summer, Georgia will be moving to Susanne Press’s Bally Rogan Stud in Ireland later this year.
“I’m very lucky to have a very good owner in Susanne. I’ve got three eight-year-olds who have jumped at 1.50m but I’m taking my time with them because I think they’re all very special and next year should be very exciting. I also have Hello Vittoria [former ride of Scott Brash] – she’s unbelievable – and riding a few horses for the Aloga Team. I’m so lucky to have a really great bunch of horses. It’s hard to take that step after working for someone for a long time, the opportunities I had at Shane’s was unbelievable, but this opportunity came along with Susan and I’m really excited for what’s to come.”
Joe Whitaker was on form to post a hat-trick of wins. He headed the final competitive 4* 1.40m two-phase with Steven Whitaker’s home-bred 10-year-old La Rue 62 (Locarno 62 x Balou Du Rouet, beating 44 challengers by only 0.06 seconds.
Joe doubled up in the Seven and Eight-year-olds with the seven-year-old Oorone (Highway TN x Indoctro), galloping ahead of 59 rivals in the 1.30/1.35m speed by 0.96 seconds. Their second win came in the final day’s 1.35/1.40m where 27 of a field 0f 72 qualified for the jump-off, Joe winning by 1.09 seconds.
Fraser Reed claims a hat-trick of wins in Peelbergen
Fraser Reed scored a winning hat-trick in a successful trip to Peelbergen in The Netherlands.
Matthew Pike’s SES Jumeirah topped a 2* 1.45m for Fraser as 20 contended the two-phase class, the Diamant De Semilly x Douglas nine-year-old edging ahead by 0.14 seconds.
Fraser also doubled up in the Six-year-old series riding Emmie, an Emerald Van Ruytershof daughter also owned by Matthew Pike heading a 1.25m speed by an impressive four seconds and the final day’s 1.30m two-phase with 0.97 seconds to spare.
Sienna Charles steered Dure De Semily into third in the 2* 1.45m Medium Tour Final. The field of 47 was reduced to 11 for the jump-off, Sienna and the Diamant De Semilly x Oklund nine-year-old finishing 1.65 seconds behind the winning time. Scarlett Charles was also double clear for fifth on ABC Caruso.
Hannah Tiley topped a 59-entry 1* 1.30m speed aboard the 15-year-old mare Capistelle JX with a 3.61 second advantage.
Podium places for British riders in Europe
Elsewhere in Europe: Jess Mendoza jumped into third in an early 30-strong 5* 1.45m two-phase with the Cape Coral RBF Z nine-year-old Malou HX 2.16 seconds off the pace in La Baule, France.
William Whitaker claimed third in the 4* 1.50m Grand Prix qualifier with Millfield Quickstep at the Longines EEF Series in Sopot, Poland. Eighteen of the original 63 starters accessed the jump-off, William supplying a classic double clear on the British-bred Quiwi Dream x San Patrignano Cassini 11-year-old to slot into third 2.66 seconds behind the winner.
Talullah McKenzie Smith finished third in the 2* Grand Prix on the Longlines Global Champions Tour in St Tropez, France, with the 10-year-old Domsturmer (Dinken x Cantus), four faults in the six-horse decider dropping them down the line.
David Harland achieved an ambition winning a coveted LGCT navy blue rug in an early 2* 1.40m with Nicola Wood’s nine-year-old Quatro, winner of the recent Devon County International Stairway, outpacing their 38 rivals by 1.39 seconds.
Image: Georgia Tame Instagram/Sentower Park
.jpg "Great Britain’s Team Audevard finish fifth in a hard-fought, closely contended Longines EEF Series CSIO3* of Drammen")
