H&H’s eventing editor rounds up how things stand on British selection for the World Championships before the final major fixtures at Bramham and Luhmuhlen
With Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event and Mars Badminton Horse Trials already in the rear view mirror, as well as a bunch of four-star fixtures, many riders have already played their hand, while a few are still to put their cards on the table. So, where we in the selection race?
I think European champions Laura Collett and London 52, who have good four-star short form this spring, and Badminton winnersRos Canter and Lordships Graffalo are surely assured of their places. These two pairs’ outstanding back catalogue of results, recent form and previous team records put them head and shoulders above the rest.
That leaves two team spots and one individual place for everyone else to scrap over.
Tom McEwen and JL Dublin – Paris Olympic team gold medallists with Laura and Ros, as well as last year’s individual European bronze medallists – have had a relatively quiet spring, with only an open intermediate win since their victory at Kronenberg CCI4*-S in March. They head the field in the CCI4*-S at Bramham and I think will confirm their place next week in Yorkshire.
Brookfield Quality, fifth at Kentucky for Tom, could be among the nominated entries (nations can put forward 15 at that stage), but I don’t really think he’s a championship horse. Similarly, Ros has both Izilot DHI and MHS Seventeen at Luhmühlen and both were long-listed last year, but for me Izilot is too inconsistent to take to a championship and MHS Seventeen would need seriously to step up on previous results to be in consideration.
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British selection for the eventing World Championships: who else is in contention?
Harry Meade (Annaghore Valoner) and David Doel (Galileo Nieuwmoed), third at Badminton and Kentucky respectively, can’t be overlooked, but my hunch says they aren’t front runners. Both are leaderboard climbers, rather than out-and-out dressage divas, and it’s a profile that’s more conducive to five-star results than championships; I feel like we’ve been here before with Galileo particularly. Some of Harry’s other five-star horses might get a look-in at the long-list stage but I don’t expect to see them feature in the final five.
Meanwhile Gemma Stevens’ recent win at Royal Jump with Flash Cooley was their sixth podium finish at four-star since last May, only a fall at Hartpury marring their record in that time. They don’t have five-star form, but they do have Aachen form – two runs, including third last year – so it depends what weight the selectors put on each of those things.
Bubby’s faithful five-star horse Cola was a direct reserve to Its Cooley Time at last year’s Europeans and put in another good Badminton result, but I suspect a big part of naming him there was about making sure Bubby got that first team experience, a box she’s now ticked, albeit not in the way she wanted. As a 16-year-old horse, he’s not really a prospect for the next Olympics and I think his potential team moment has passed.
The 2024 Pau winners Caroline Harris and D. Day also had a fall on their championship debut at Blenheim last year and they now go to Luhmühlen. They’ve had solid four-star form this spring, including second at Belsay, but are not outstanding in the first phase and that does matter at championships.
Tom Jackson’s United 36 was super impressive in fourth at Badminton – he’s definitely a championship horse for the future, but I’d be inclined to say that at 10 he needs a year’s more experience – and there’s time to wait for next year’s Europeans and still give him that outing before an Olympic season.
Another 10-year-old, Corimiro, could also be on the long-list after his outstanding cross-country performance at Badminton this year with Sarah Bullimore, following fifth at Pau last year – showjumping let him down at Badminton and again he probably needs another 12 months.
It looks like time has run out, too, for defending world champions Yasmin Ingham and Banzai Du Loir – she needs a qualification at CCI4*-L or CCI5* before 6 July and, having withdrawn the horse from the final horse inspection at Royal Jump, she’d need a late entry at Bramham or Luhmühlen to achieve that.
Yasmin’s Gypsie Du Loir, last year’s Bramham CCI4*-S winner, goes to Bramham again this time for the CCI4*-L and could be a wild card. Yasmin’s Europeans call-up last year on Rehy DJ shows the selectors don’t consider her a one-horse wonder where teams are concerned.
If Emily King goes well at Luhmühlen, there may be a clamour for her inclusion, but she and Valmy Biats were below par at Badminton this year and their record swings wildly between non-completion and success; for me, they are too inconsistent to bear the Union flag.
So… where does that leave us? Right now, my guess is that we’re definitely taking London 52, Lordships Graffalo and JL Dublin, the other two places between Flash Cooley, Its Cooley Time, Annaghmore Valoner and United 36 – an eye to the future favours the young United 36 (inexperienced, but no blots on his record) and Its Cooley Time (mixed form but outstanding on his day), an eye to experience and consistency favours Annaghmore Valoner (lots of five-star form) and Flash Cooley (better dressage).
Let’s see what happens over the next two weeks.
Who do you think should make the British selection for the eventing World Championships? Write to hhletters@futurenet.com for your views to be considered for publication in a future issue of the magazine or online. Please include your postal address (only town and county will be printed). Letters may be edited for clarity and length.
Pippa is a true eventing geek and has been H&H’s eventing editor since 2005. She has first-hand experience of competing up to British Eventing intermediate and international CCI2*-L level, and has worked in the industry on a top event yard. Pippa enjoys nothing more than immersing herself in the sport at the highest level, reporting from the five-stars and international championships, including the Olympics.
