Riders to watch 2023: Leicestershire showjumper Joss Williams

Riders to watch for 2023 - Joss Williams — (Image credit: JO PRESTWICH)

One showjumper for whom 2023 could be very exciting is 30-year-old Joss Williams. The Leicestershire rider has been selected for the British Showjumping gold development programme and is already benefiting from its rich programme of training, which he hopes will help to take him to the next level in the sport.

Joss is based in Willoughby-on-the-Wolds near Loughborough, with 12 horses in his stable, and it is thanks to one of his owners Joy Rushton that he was offered this life-changing opportunity.

“We were split into groups and we each had an interview with the coaches who will stick with us now – Nicola McLeish and Matt Lanni, who are our ‘Gods’ and on call if we need them,” reveals Joss. “We then worked with the team physio, team farrier, heard about anti-doping, strength and conditioning, gym work and so on. We trained each horse on the flat and did gymnastics over fences. The physios saw the horses and the farriers watched them and studied them, and we all received feedback on what we were doing right, what needed to change.

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Jennifer is passionate at showjumping and her role as H&H’s showjumping editor has taken her around the world reporting from shows and interviewing riders, connections and those involved behind the scenes. Since joining H&H from BBC Sport in 2005, she has written on every subject across the equestrian sphere — from turnout rugs to stable management — and has interviewed gold medallists, world champions and winners galore. She also has first-hand experience of working in the equestrian industry as a riding instructor and yard manager.

‘It’s a money can’t buy opportunity’: showjumper embarks on amazing journey – riders to watch for 2023

Joss Williams: motivation and direction

Joss Williams will return for more training camps in January and February, then again when everyone returns from the foreign jumping tours in the spring. A group of riders on the programme will then be picked to compete at some international shows.

“It’s a money-can’t-buy opportunity,” he says.

Talking about the horses he’s most excited about over the coming months he names Fantas Gold, who he’s had for two years and who has just started jumping some grands prix and Joy’s six-year-old Tankardstown No Diggity.

“I think a lot of her – her seven-year-old year is going to be the hardest and most competitive, so for her to be in this situation [with the gold development programme] is going to help us no end.

“I’ve another horse who I’ve not had long called Lordy, who evented to a very decent level with Fiona Davidson.”

So where does Joss see himself in the future?

“I was always hoping to keep stepping up in the sport but the gold development programme could be that kick up the backside I need – not to work harder, because I do work really hard, but to give me that added incentive,” he says.

“Just knowing I have someone on the end of the phone if I need them is amazing, because it is hard and I can’t afford to go for training week in week out. This is just giving me a bit more motivation and direction.”

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