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Meet Matt Sampson’s string: find out how he spots an equine star and which top horse spends three months a year out in the field
British showjumper Matt Sampson is on the cusp of another summer season campaigning at the top level of the sport after 33 international wins in 2024. He introduces us to his current competition string, from the top-class campaigners to promising home-breds, in this exclusive article for H&H subscribers
When H&H caught up with British showjumper Matt Sampson he was taking some brief time out from his horses, hiking in Patagonia with his fiancée Kara Chad. He’d spent March on the Sunshine Tour in Vejer de La Frontera, Spain.
In recent years 34-year-old Matt has been plugging away, building an exciting string of top horses and promising rising stars, growing his and Kara’s business Maple Park Farms, and recording consistent results at the top level.
2024 was another solid year for Matt with 33 international wins – 10 of those at five-star level – plus a Nations Cup team appearance at Dublin Horse Show, where the Brits finished third.
“I think we had a great year and the horses were really good,” says Matt.
“I spent quite a bit of time building some young horses up, and we had some nice results. It’s a great feeling when you’ve been slowly producing a horse over a couple of years, and they show the belief you’ve had in them – it’s nearly the same feeling as winning a class.
“I had a great show at Windsor, and I also had some great times with Daniel. He won a five-star grand prix in Spruce Meadows, that was probably the highlight for me last year.”
Meet Matt Sampson’s top horses
Daniel is one of Matt’s three top horses, and it was a happy coincidence that brought them together.
“I’m really good friends with the Davenport family and Angelie Von Essen who own him, and it happened a bit by chance,” says Matt.
“I was going to a show in 2023, but I didn’t have a horse to jump in the bigger classes. They said he was fit and ready to go and asked if I’d like to take him. I did, and we just clicked really well.
The “super easy” Daniel, by Heartbreaker: “We just clicked,” says Matt.
(Image credit: Elli Birch/Bootsandhooves)
“I rode him at a couple more shows that year, then last year I rode him more often and he was fantastic. He was double clear in the Windsor grand prix, then at Spruce Meadows I jumped in three grands prix and he was first, second and fourth. He did the whole summer series without a fence down.
“He’s just an amazing horse; he’s super easy and he’s been produced by those guys to perfection. We were third at the Nations Cup, he won at London International and he’s just been just fantastic.”
Matt’s other top-tier stars are 15-year-old Fabrice Dn (owned by Luis Alejandro Plascencia) and 16-year-old mare Ebolenksy (owned by Rachael Evison and Matt).
“Fabrice is the horse that I won my first five-star grand prix with. He’s very special,” says Matt. “He’s quite sensitive and sharp, he’s got a lot of blood and he’s a horse that spends a lot of time in the field. Every winter I’ll put him out with a friend for two or three months.
“He doesn’t do too many shows throughout the year and I try to pick the right ones for him which he’ll enjoy, which are mostly grass arenas. He’s just getting fit now and the plan is he’ll go back to Spruce Meadows again this summer.”
Matt’s first five-star grand prix winner Fabrice Dn is a specialist on grass.
(Image credit: Elli Birch/Bootsandhooves)
Ebolenksy (Lenny) is Matt’s longest partner. He took on the ride when the mare was eight.
“She’s been amazing all the way through her career,” says Matt. “She’s won so many classes, and given us so many good memories, she just always tries her best.”
“She’s similar to Fabrice in that she’s quite a sensitive, sharp horse, but she’s got a heart like a lion. When she’s in the ring she does everything she can to win or be clear.”
Ebolensky offspring
Matt has some promising up-and-coming horses including Ebolensky’s two five-year-old daughters Extralensky and Specialensky, both by stallion I’m Special De Muze.
“We’d always planned to breed from Lenny when she retires, but she had a period of time off so we decided to do it then by embryo transfer. She’s extremely well bred, so it made sense with her being such a good horse,” says Matt.
Ebolensky is not only a top horse in her own right for Matt Sampson, but she has produced two offspring by embryo transfer that he is tipping for the top.
(Image credit: Peter Nixon)
“They are just starting out in their careers. Specialensky had a foal so she was started a bit later, but Extralensky was double clear in the four-year-old championships last year. They’ve both had the winter off and are coming out again now.
“I’ve got a couple of others that I’m excited about, one is Pretty Pi’Que De’Luxe, who is a nine-year-old and she just did her first 1.50m recently.
“I also have Clayton Z, who is eight. I bought him as a five-year-old from Derek Morton. Every month he’s getting stronger and I have really big hopes that he’ll reach the top level.”
Matt Sampson’s search for a star
When it comes to picking the next star, Matt says he’s looking for a lot of character.
“For me it’s the jump and character. When I’ve bought young horses I’ve always thought if I like the feeling of the jump, then I can work on everything else,” he explains.
“That’s part of producing a good jumper. The training programme is to help them develop all the other skills that enable them to put it all together in the ring.”
Riders often talk about having a system, and while Matt says he has a base program, generally how he produces horses is very individual to each one.
“When they’re young we don’t jump them too much, and up until they’re six or seven they’ll spend more time out of the arena than in it,” he says.
“Maybe one horse won’t be ready to do the seven-year-old classes, so I do what they feel ready for,” he says. “And when I feel that they’re super comfortable with one height, we’ll move up to the next, and if they do that well we’ll maybe drop back down again for a bit.
“I really think about producing the horses on an individual plan to put them in the right place so that when they’re eight/nine they’re ready to go and do their job.
“When it comes to planning the year, I’ll play it a little bit by ear based on how the young horses are feeling.
“But with the older horses we’ll think about the bigger shows that will suit that horse, and we’ll make a good program leading up to those to give them the best chance of performing at the time, in a venue they feel at their best in.”
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Since joining H&H in 2018, Becky has covered a broad range of equestrian news including welfare matters, veterinary studies, FEI Tribunal hearings and road safety campaigns. She has also interviewed top riders including Scott Brash, John Whitaker and Ian Stark, to name just a few. Becky’s reporting has taken her to Canada for Spruce Meadows and France for Pau five-star, as well as the Royal Highland and Blair Castle International Horse Trials closer to home. She was also a key part of the remote reporting team for the Tokyo Olympics and the Europeans.
