British Riders Head to London for the UK Leg of the Global Champions Tour
Wednesday 13 August 2014
London is hosting the eleventh leg of the 2014 Longines Global Champions Tour and it couldn’t be in a more prestigious venue as Horse Guards Parade Ground provides the backdrop to this superb event. Taking place between the 14 – 17th August the event will see some superb competition take place with all competitors hoping to take home their share of the prize fund which exceeds €600,000.
Once home to jousting tournaments in the time of Henry VIII, Horse Guards Parade Ground has become a cultural icon as a result of it being the venue for The Trooping of the Colour in addition to the ceremonial Changing of the Guard. For it now to play host to some of the best Showjumping the world can offer seems appropriately fitting.
With only two more legs of the competition remaining after London, this week will prove pivotal for those riders aiming to position themselves high up on the Championship ranking list.
Great Britain have eleven riders and twenty two horses contesting the CSIO 5* competitions including the current Global Champions Tour title holder, London 2012 Team Gold medallist, European Championship Team Gold & Individual Bronze medallist and World No.1 rider Scott Brash from Peeblesshire in Scotland.
In terms of medal winning riders at Championship level, GB supporters and spectators will not be disappointed. Alongside Scott both Ben Maher and Peter Charles will also be competing, both of whom played a pivotal role in delivering a Gold medal for Great Britain at the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Ben and Scott went on to deliver a Team Gold at the 2013 European Championships in addition to Individual Silver and Bronze respectively when they were joined by William Funnell and Michael Whitaker who will also be making an appearance.
Numerous medal winner and globally renowned John Whitaker will also be competing as will Guy Williams who won Team Bronze at the European Championships in 2011.
The full field of GB riders, in alphabetical order, are as follows:
Riders Horses
Armstrong, Mark Frisbee
Zagahorn
Brash, Scott Hello Annie
Hello Sanctos
Charles, Peter Murka’s Odie de Frevent
Murka’s Nevada
William Funnell Billy Angelo
Billy Mexico
Maher, Ben Cella
Diva II
Mendoza, Jessica Ramiro de Belle Vue
Spirit
Thornton, Alexandra Caballero 84
Heidi du Ruisseau Z
Whitaker, John Argento
Woulon L
Whitaker, Michael Cassionato
Viking
Whitaker, Robert Catwalk IV
USA Today
Williams, Guy Golddigger
Zaire
Broadcast from the Global Champions Tour will be available on BBC2 during both Friday and Saturday afternoon. Live streaming along with a full broadcast schedule can also be found by visiting www.globalchampionstour.com
Competition starts with the CSI2* classes at 9am on the opening day tomorrow with the final competition being the Grand Prix which takes place on Saturday 16th August.
