The British squad from the European Championships and chef d’equipe Di Lampard picked up the main award of the night at the annual British Showjumping awards on Tuesday (6 October).

The squad — made up of Joe Clee, Michael Whitaker, Jessica Mendoza, Ben Maher and reserve Guy Williams — competed at Aachen in the summer, securing Britain’s Olympic qualification for Rio 2016.

There was a lot of pressure going into the event, as Britain’s final chance to secure a space at next year’s Games. However, not only did they make it, they were narrowly off a medal.

Di admitted that being so close to a medal was disappointing, but they had done what they set out to achieve.

Pathfinder and H&H cover star Joe Clee also won another award — the Nations Cup team member of the year.

The British rider, who is based in Belgium, has enjoyed a stellar year proving a key player for Team GBR.

Joe’s teammate Jessica Mendoza was another with a double trip to the podium on the night, taking the leading under 21 rider (horses).

Pony rider of the year went to Jodie Hall Mcateer from Borehamwood, Hertfordshire.

The top level team grooms award was won by Scott Brash’s groom Hanna Colman. Hannah has been responsible for looking after Rolex Grand Slam winner and history-maker Hello Sanctos this year.

Hello Sanctos was recognised later in the night when the gelding and Scott Brash were named FEI international combination of the year.

Scott Brash was unable to be present, as he had been competing at the LA Masters, but was thankful for his award in a prerecorded video.

Coach of the year went to Sarah Tubbs from Barnard Castle, County Durham and breeder of the year was Keeley Durham, who bred John Whitaker’s Argento.

Nigel Coupe from Preston won the International Stairway League.

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The British squad for the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup final in Barcelona at the end of this month (24-27 September) has been revealed.

The squad is made up of the four combinations who competed at the FEI European Showjumping Championships last month (18-23 August).

Joe Clee and 11-year-old stallion Utamaro D’Ecaussines, Ben Maher and 10-year-old mare Diva II, Jessica Mendoza and 14-year-old mare Spirit T and Michael Whitaker and 10-year-old stallion Cassionato all head to Spain.

The fifth rider is Laura Renwick with nine-year-old gelding Bintang II.

Fresh from his Rolex Grand Slam win at Spruce Meadows (Sunday, 13 September) World number one Scott Brash and his partner Hello Sanctos will not feature on the team.

However, the horse’s owner Lord Harris was quick to dispel any rumours telling H&H that the horse had been put up for selection.

“We made Hello Sanctos available, but he was not chosen,” he said.

Ahead of the FEI European Championships last month the rider came in for criticism from fellow showjumpers after he made Hello Sanctos unavailable for the competition, to save the horse for Spruce Meadows, which fell just a month later.

At the time he told H&H he hoped winning the grand slam and the publicity it would generate would be of benefit for showjumping, but riders frowned upon choosing the Canadian grand prix over jumping for his country.

However, Dan Hughes of the British Equestrian Federation told H&H that the team heading to Barcelona had been initially selected before Hello Sanctos was made available.

“Based on the assumption that given the very long flight and demanding competition programme in Calgary, it would not be in the horse’s best interests to travel and compete again so soon,” he added.

“Now that we have successfully qualified a showjumping team for Rio, performance manager Di Lampard also wished to use the final in Barcelona to test a range of horse and rider combinations at the highest level to ensure we have the broadest choice of horses and athletes available for selection in 2016”.

The final of the Nations Cup series takes place at the Real Club de Polo de Barcelona.

A total of 18 teams plus the home team if not already qualified will all be eligible to compete. Teams from within Europe, North America, South America, the Middle East, Asia/Australasia and Africa will all be competing.

The final consists of three competitions. The top eight teams from Thursday’s opening class will go forward to the third and final competition on Saturday while the remainder will compete in the Challenge Cup which will be held on the Friday.

Live footage will be shown on www.feitv.org

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Jeroen Dubbeldam added European individual gold with SFN Zenith NOP to the world title they won last year this afternoon (23 August) at the FEI European Showjumping Championships in Aachen, Germany.

“Last year my horse was quite green, but we came home with two gold medals and you think how can I improve on that? You can’t, you just have to try to do the same thing,” said the Dutchman.

“Sometimes the year after such a great result is harder, but this horse is incredible, amazing, there are no other words for it.”

Jeroen lay second going into today’s Rolex final, but the overnight leader, Spain’s Sergio Alvarez Moya on Carlo 273, had a fence down in each round. He hit the difficult plank going into the combination at fence 7a in the first barrage and in the second, the back bar on the blue and white oxer at fence six came down. He finished sixth.

Belgium’s Gregory Wathelet jumped two clears today to move up from eighth to take the silver on Conrad De Hus.

“I knew I needed a double clear today and I said that if I did that I could get a medal, but you need to be a bit lucky too,” said Gregory.

Simon Delestre of France added just one time-fault to his tally today to rise from 14th to claim the bronze with Ryan Des Hayettes.

“The first round of an individual final is always the most difficult course of a championship and it was very big today, plus the horses are a little bit tired from the week,” he said.

Disappointment for Brits

Britain’s championship ended on a slightly frustrating note.

Joe Clee and Ludwig Criel’s Utaramo D’Ecaussines, who were seventh going into today, made a mistake at the combination in each round. They finished 15th.

They hit the plank into the treble at fence 7 in the first round. Then in the second round, where the second two elements were over water trays, the horse tried to chip in a third stride when off the final element and was honest to even try to take it on.

“If you could built the most difficult combination in the world for him, that was it,” said Joe. “He jumps a bit to the left anyway and as we jumped in he was looking at the lake on the [right hand] side. He spooked and drifted left so the distances got longer. He really tried to get out, but he couldn’t make it.”

Ben Maher had fence 7b down in the first round, plus an “uncharacteristic fault” at the following oxer and elected not to jump Tatiana Korsakova’s Diva II in the second onslaught.

“I felt she’s done an amazing job this week and we were out of medal contention,” he said. “She’s only 10 and an exciting horse for the future, once she’s had a short rest. She has won big grands prix before, but she’ll come to the forefront even more now.”

One other rider, Spain’s Eduardo Alvarez Aznar on Rokfeller De Pleville Bois Margot, withdrew before the second round, while Germany’s Daniel Deusser (Cornet D’Amour) was eliminated after his first performance for blood on the spur.

Full report on the European Showjumping Championships in H&H next week, out Thursday, 27 August.

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Britain has secured its qualification for a showjumping team to compete at the Rio 2016 Olympics.

The team finished fourth today (21 August) in the Mercedez-Benz-sponsored class at the FEI European Showjumping Championships in Aachen, Germany, just 0.76 of a penalty behind the bronze medal-winners.

“I didn’t know we’d qualified until I came out of the ring — obviously now we’re disappointed not to get a medal, but the qualification was plan A,” said Joe Clee.

Joe had a fence down today, his first of the championship, when Ludwig Criel’s Utamaro D’Ecaussines took off the back bar of the oxer out of the treble at fence five. He still holds eighth individually ahead of Sunday’s final, although he is painfully aware that had he gone clear, he would be in the lead.

Ben Maher was Britain’s best performer today, conjuring a vital clear from Tatiana Korsakova’s Diva II.

“She’s in the form of her life and going to the normal jumps today I was comfortable, but I wanted to get the combinations out the way after our blip yesterday,” said Ben, who crashed through the final oxer yesterday when the mare took off a stride early.

“Today’s combination wasn’t the nicest to come to without being able to train and regroup, but she jumped fantastically.”

Ben is now in 10th place individually.

Jessica Mendoza, 19, found her form when it counted today. Having been the team’s drop score for the previous two days, she cleared all the fences today, with her mother Sarah’s Spirit T just dropping a foot in the water for four faults.

“I was so concentrating on going clear, I could have focused more on the water, but I’m really happy,” she said.

Michael Whitaker’s young horse, Beverly Widdowson’s Cassionata, was tired today after two fantastic performances. He lowered both the second part of the double of verticals over water trays (12b) and the final fence (13), as well as adding a time-fault.

“He’s jumped unbelievably, but he’s not used to doing three days in a row,” said Michael.

Irish appeal after O’Connor’s round interrupted

Britain may be celebrating, but Ireland’s Olympic qualification hangs in the balance [READ AN UPDATE]. Cian O’Connor jumped clear up to fence 10 on Good Luck, but as he rounded the mound to the next obstacle, a man was in his way. He had fence 11, the red DHL oxer down.

“I had to shout at him to get out of the way and it put me off my line, the horse sidestepped him a bit — it was as clear as day the guy was in my way,” said Cian. “My chef d’equipe [Robert Splaine] has filed an objection.”

With Cian’s four faults, Ireland finished seventh, behind Spain in sixth. Had Cian secured a clear round, Ireland would have finished ahead of Spain and picked up an Olympic qualification.

Show director Frank Kemperman confirmed in tonight’s press conference that the results are still provisional pending the outcome of the appeal. [READ THE DECISION FROM THE APPEAL COMMITEE]

Read more about how the medals were won

Full report on the European Showjumping Championships in H&H next week, out Thursday, 27 August.

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Britain’s riders performed brilliantly again today (20 August) to remain in the hunt for medals — and crucially, for a Rio 2016 Olympic qualification — at the FEI European Showjumping Championships in Aachen, Germany.

Having been third after yesterday’s speed leg, the team now hold fourth place. They are just 2.59 penalties behind the Germans in bronze position and within one fence of the Dutch, who are lying second before tomorrow’s final team contest.

Joe Clee was one of Britain’s star performers again today in the Mercedes-Benz-sponsored class and his clear with Ludwig Criel’s Utamaro D’Ecaussines means he retains third individually.

“I was more relaxed than yesterday,” said Joe. “My horse jumped great — he was a bit too good in the beginning [jumping too big] but he settled down after fence four.”

The pressure was on Britain’s final two riders, Joe and Michael Whitaker, after mixed fortunes for the first two.

Pathfinder Ben Maher was having a superb round until the last combination, which was meant to be taken on two strides. But Ben’s ride, Tatiana Korsakova’s Diva II, took off after one stride, landing in the middle of the final oxer in a scatter of breaking poles. Ben did a fantastic job just to stay on the 10-year-old chestnut mare.

“She felt perfect the whole way and I purposefully took a longer line to the last double, to create a lot of pressure for her [to jump this double of big oxers],” said Ben.

“I put pressure on her at the first — and she took off a stride early. It became a survival moment — four faults wasn’t a bad round today, but if I’d been on the floor it would have all been over.

“She’s still inexperienced and young. I don’t think I could have got it any better if I did it again. But she jumped as good as any horse and that’s the way it goes. It’s still a solid round for the team and hopefully it gives the others confidence.”

Individually, the error pushed Ben from seventh last night to 22nd, but Michael Whitaker said he deserved a medal just for staying on the mare.

Jessica Mendoza was next in and was unable to improve on her two fences down yesterday, with Sarah Mendoza’s Spirit T knocking down the last two parts of the treble at fence five, plus the silver Mercedes upright at 12.

With 12 faults on the board, it was clear that to remain competitive the British would need to drop Jessica’s score. Joe rose to the occasion — and then anchorman Michael Whitaker did the same, putting in a clear with Beverly Widdowson’s grey stallion Cassionato.

Afterwards, Michael was clearly emotional.

“I said when I came out of the ring I’ve never felt pressure like that — if I’d gone in and cocked it all up that would have been it, we wouldn’t have been going to the Olympics,” said Michael.

And he was right — had the team had to count Jessica’s 12 faults, they would have missed the cut for tomorrow’s final team competition, as only the top 10 teams go through, and it would all have been over for Britain’s Rio hopes.

Michael is now 22nd individually. The top 25 contest Sunday’s individual final.

Ireland also made it through to tomorrow, with a clear from Cian O’Connor (Good Luck) helping the team to ninth.

The Irish are also looking for Rio 2016 qualification, which goes to the top three nations here excluding those already qualified. The teams still in the mix for those crucial Olympic places are Great Britain (currently fourth), Switzerland (sixth), Spain (seventh), Denmark (eighth) and Ireland (ninth).

France take control

Germany dropped from first overnight to team bronze today, having to count one four fault round alongside two clears. Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum’s grey Fibonacci 17 had a toe in the water, while Christian Ahlmann and Taloubet Z took the back bar off the Turkish Airlines oxer at fence six.

But clears from Ludger Beerbaum (Chiara 222) — who retains second individually — and Daniel Deusser (Cornet D’Amour) kept the team in the medals.

“I wasn’t fully aware of all the other results, but I knew we needed a clear to stay in the game,” said Daniel.

France recorded three faultless rounds today, with Penelope Leprovost keeping her individual lead with Flora De Mariposa. She was backed up by Simon Delestre (Ryan Des Hayettes) and Kevin Staut (Reveur Du Hurtebsie HDC). They moved up to take the gold position overnight.

The Netherlands also added nothing to their score from yesterday and so bounced up the leaderboard from fifth to second.

Individual standings

Team standings

Full report on the European Showjumping Championships in H&H next week, out Thursday, 27 August.

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Britain’s showjumpers made a fantastic start to their campaign at the FEI European Showjumping Championships in Aachen, Germany, today (19 August).

The team sit in bronze position after the Turkish Airlines-sponsored speed and handiness competition, with Joe Clee also third individually.

Placings in today’s competition are converted into points to determine the team standings. Riders then carry these points with them throughout the team competition (Thursday and Friday) and, for the top 25, into Sunday’s individual final.

Joe was the final team member today and he rode tight, economical lines to finish clear in 69.67sec on Ludwig Criel’s Utamaro D’Ecaussines.

“I was aware I had to go fast and he’s a great horse to go fast on — the faster you go, the more he tries,” said Joe. “But I was worried about going fast for the first time in the arena as the faster you go the bigger he jumps. But he handled it well and the further round I went, the more risks I felt I could take.”

Britain’s first and second team members in, Michael Whitaker and Ben Maher, put the team in a strong position.

Michael was sent in first for the team as his horse is not particularly fast. His clear with Beverly Widdowson’s Cassionato put him 41st of the 92 starters today in 76.56sec.

“My horse is pretty inexperienced and not very fast because he jumps so high,” said Michael. “I did as good as I can today and I just need to carry on doing that, but the other three need to be faster than me.”

Ben was next in on Tatiana Korsakova’s Diva II and had a fantastic round for seventh place in 70.78sec.

“I played it safe to one jump, the Mercedes fence at number 10,” he said. “I saw one less stride quite a way back, but I felt her lose balance a bit [so I added a stride].”

Jessica Mendoza took the number three slot today on her senior championship debut with Sarah Mendoza’s Spirit T. She started off well, but had the second part of the double at fence 8 down and then also fence 11, a purple oxer off four strides from the Mercedes upright. Her time was fast, but with 8sec added for the knockdowns she sits 56th on a total of 79.35sec.

“It wasn’t my best round,” said Jessica. “The first fence was a bit unlucky, then I pushed her on and she found the distance a bit short in there [to fence 11]. I try not to get nervous, but today I was a bit nervous.”

Britain’s focus here in Aachen is to win qualification for the 2016 Olympics in Rio, which means finishing in the top three, excluding the teams already qualified (the Netherlands, France, Germany, Sweden, the Ukraine). The team certainly got off the start blocks towards that aim in great style today.

Home side lead

Germany leads the team competition after today’s speed class. Three of their riders went clear, with Ludger Beerbaum (Chiara 222) sitting second, Christian Allman (Taloubet Z) eighth and Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum (Fibonacci 17) 11th.

“We’ve only done a third of the team competition, so no one went completely flat out like you would in a jump-off, but I’m happy with my performance and that of my team,” said Ludger.

The fourth home side pair, Daniel Deusser and his 2014 World Cup champion Cornet D’Amour, had the gate at fence six down to sit 22nd — this was the largest fence on the course at 1.53m. This was one of the two places where course-designer Frank Rothenberger had given riders a choice of an inside or outside line over different fences, but the slower outside route was barely used.

France holds silver position, spearheaded by Penelope Leprovost, who retained the individual lead she took as the seventh rider into the arena today. She scorched round in 67.67sec on Flora De Mariposa.

“I was too long to the triple bar, but she was amazing,” said Penelope. “I didn’t think I would be so fast.”

The ground in the arena felt a little soft underfoot today after some rain over the past few days, but riders said it rode well. Frank Rothenberger explained that he avoided setting any tight turns to protect the ground with nearly 100 horses running over it.

All the competitors progress to tomorrow’s team competition. After that, only the top 10 teams (out of 23 who have started today) and the top 50 individuals will move forward to Friday’s class.

Full report on the European Showjumping Championships in H&H next week, out Thursday, 27 August.

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Following the announcement of the British squad for the Longines FEI European showjumping Championships in Aachen, Germany (19-23 August), we bring you all of the facts and figures about the four selected horses and riders.

Meet the British showjumping squad for the Europeans

Joe Clee

Age: 37

From: Belgium

Horse: 11-year-old Utamaro D’Ecaussines (Uta)

Owner: Ludwig Criel

Previous success: Joe made his first senior championship appearance for Great Britain at the World Equestrian Games last year. Originally from Yorkshire, he moved to Belgium over 10 years ago where he lives with his wife and three children. Joe represented Great Britain at junior level at the European Championships in 1996. Uta and Joe have been part of the British team at the past three Nations Cup events, winning in Rotterdam.

What you might not know: Joe began his career working as a stable jockey at the Brendon Stud.

His reaction to selection: “I’m delighted to have been selected and I’m really happy for Utamaro’s owner and the entire team. It’s been a lot of pressure in the lead up to this and I just want to thank everyone for putting up with me!“

Ben Maher

Age: 32

From: Hertfordshire

Horse: 10-year-old Diva II (Diva)

Owner: Tatiana Korsakova

Previous success: No stranger to the senior Great British team, this European Championship will mark his fourth European team call-up. Ben was also a member of the 2012 Olympic Games gold medal-winning team. Ben and Diva are regulars on the Global Champions Tour circuit and most recently were on the British Nations Cup team for both Rotterdam and Hickstead.

What you might not know: Ben first represented Great Britain at the young rider Euoropeans in 2004 riding Alfredo.

His reaction to selection: “I’m very happy to be selected. Diva has been a great horse to me over the past twelve months and has proved herself to be a good team horse. Hopefully we can play a strong part in qualifying Great Britain for the Olympics.”

Jessica Mendoza

Age: 19

From: The Netherlands

Horse: 14-year-old Spirit T (Spirit)

Owner: Sarah Mendoza

Previous success: Jessica got her first British team call-up in 2010 for the pony Europeans. Last year she won team gold and individual silver at the Junior European Championships with Spirit. Originally from Wiltshire, Jessica recently moved to The Netherlands where she is now based with her parents. Spirit and Jessica have come up through the showjumping ranks together and were recently part of the winning British Nations Cup team in Rotterdam.

What you might not know: Jessica was National School individual champion at Hickstead in 2007 and 2008.

Her reaction to selection:

Michael Whitaker

Age: 55

From: Nottinghamshire

Horse: 10-year-old Cassionato (Casey)

Owner: Beverley Widdowson

Previous success: A stalwart of the British showjumping team for many years, this championship will mark Michael’s 14th European Championship appearance. He was a member of last year’s World Equestrian Games team riding Viking and won team gold riding the same horse at the 2013 European Championships. Michael and Casey have notched some good results on the Global Champions Tour circuit and were part of the winning Rotterdam Nations Cup team earlier this year.

What you might not know: Michael trained with legendary Swedish coach Lars Sederholm when he was 16.

His reaction to selection: “I think we’ve got a very good team, it’s been a good selection. All horses have been on really good form; in fact they have all been brilliant. I’m looking forward to it and feeling confident”.

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The British team for the FEI European Showjumping Championships has been revealed — and it doesn’t include world number one rider Scott Brash.

Joe Clee, Ben Maher, Jessica Mendoza and Michael Whitaker will all head to Aachen next week (19-23 August) to represent Team GBR.

The four riders were in the team that won the Rotterdam Nations Cup earlier this year.

However, the pressure is on, as the Europeans is the final chance for Britain to qualify for Rio next summer.

To do so they must finish in the top three of non-qualified nations at Aachen. This also includes Ireland, who recently won the Dublin Nations Cup (7 August) and Belgium, who took the Hickstead leg (31 May).

The Netherlands, France, Germany and Sweden have already qualified.

As current Olympic and European champions, the British team will be also hoping to retain its title.

“We are all entirely focused on the job we have ahead of us,” said chef d’equipe Di Lampard.

“Qualifying for Rio is at the forefront of our minds and we are absolutely committed to giving Great Britain the chance to defend the team gold title won at London 2012. We move forward to Aachen as a strong united team and are looking forward to the championships and all it brings”.

Joe Clee, who is based in Belgium, will be taking part with Utamaro d’Ecaussines. The pair were part of the World Equestrian Games (WEG) squad last year.

Ben Maher, who was instrumental on the 2013 Europeans team, helping Britain to gold and securing individual silver, will partner Diva II.

Ben said: “Diva has been a great horse to me over the past 12 months and has proved herself to be a good team horse.

“Hopefully we can play a strong part in qualifying Great Britain for the Olympics.

“Regarding the team, it’s a previous winning combination that has been selected consisting of good horses and we are all looking forward to repeating the form we had together in Rotterdam.”

Nineteen-year-old Jessica Mendoza makes her senior championship debut with Spirit T. The pair put in a gutsy performance in the King George V Cup at Hickstead last month, securing her spot on the team.

Jessica added: “It’s amazing. Spirit’s jumped absolutely brilliantly this summer and deserves it.

“It was never in my plan at the beginning of the year, but she kind of made it the plan as she just kept getting better and better each time we stepped up a level.”

Team GBR stalwart, Michael Whitaker who was also on the gold medal-winning Europeans 2013 team will ride Cassionato.

Travelling reserve is Guy Williams and Titus II.

Non-travelling reserves are Robert Whitaker and Catwalk IV and William Whitaker and Fandango.

All four selected athletes contest the team competition, with the three best scores counting. The top 25 combinations will be invited to contest the grand prix from which the individual medals are decided.

Last month Scott told H&H Hello Sanctos was not jumping, should he be selected for the team, but that he was putting nine-year-olds Hello M’Lady and Hello Forever forward.

It was not in Sanctos’s “best interests” to contest both the Europeans and the final leg of the Rolex Grand Slam in Calgary (9-13 September) — where the pair stand to win a €1million bonus.

However, Hello M’Lady didn’t compete in the King George V Cup at Hickstead as planned and picked up four faults during the Dublin leg of the Nations Cup (7 August).

Ben Maher’s top ride, 13-year-old mare Cella was also ruled out as she had picked up a “minor injury” while John Whitaker also ruled himself and Argento out of contention saying the horse wouldn’t be suited to the big, grass arena at Aachen.

For a full preview of next week’s FEI European Championships at Aachen, plus guest comment from Graham Fletcher, don’t miss this week’s issue of H&H, out Thursday (13 August).

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The five showjumpers who will represent Britain in the final of the Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup in Barcelona next month (9-12 October) have been selected.

Spencer Roe (Wonder Why), Joe Clee (Utamaro d’Ecaussines) and Michael Whitaker (Elie van de Kolmen or Cassionato), who all rode at the World Equestrian Games (WEG) earlier this month have been chosen.

William Whitaker (Fandango) and his cousin Robert Whitaker (Catwalk IV) make up the squad.

After uncertain approach to the final, Britain scraped through to qualify at the last opportunity — at Dublin in August.

The final of the series takes place at the Real Polo Club de Barcelona and will see 18 teams from nine countries battle it out.

The final will consist of three competitions. The top eight teams from the opening class will go to the third and final competition, while the remainder will compete in the Challenge Cup, which will be held before the final competition.

Last year, despite Scott Brash earning a bumper €100,000 jackpot when jumping a double clear, Great Britain only finished 8th of 18.

This year the final clashes with the Horse of the Year Show in Birmingham (8-12 October).

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Great Britain’s hope for world championship glory has come to an end as the squad failed to reach the final 10 of the team jumping at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Normandy.

Thirty-two teams jumped in Wednesday’s round and the British squad of Michael Whitaker (Viking), Joe Clee (Utamaro D’Ecaussines), Spencer Roe (Wonder Why) and Scott Brash (Hello Sanctos) finished 18^th. Michael and Joe produced 12-fault rounds, 21-year-old Spencer added eight and anchorman Scott finished with four faults.

“These things go in cycles and we had a fantastic cycle with the Europeans [2011], Olympics [2012], Europeans [2013] in the other part of the cycle and the same thing has happened to Germany,” said Great Britain’s performance manager Rob Hoekstra. “It’s disappointing, but there are also some real positives — Spencer rode fantastically and Joe’s horse is a bit inexperienced, but finished up really well.

“It was disappointing for Michael, things really didn’t work out. But people know we’ve lost a lot of our top horses over the last few months — it just shows we have a small team of championship horses to choose from.”

Only the top 10 teams progress to the next round on Thursday and the Netherlands have moved up to the gold medal position with USA in silver and Germany third. Ireland go through in eighth.

Individually, Frenchman Patrice Delaveau holds the lead, with Beezie Madden (USA) in second and Rolf-Goran Bengtsson third. The top 50 individual riders continue after today and only Scott Brash makes the cut for Great Britain, in 36^th position.

Don’t miss the full report from the WEG showjumping and the full reaction from the British team in next week’s issue of Horse & Hound, out 11 September.

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Irish teenager Bertram Allen, the youngest rider competing in the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games showjumping, won the opening speed leg riding Molly Malone V.

The 19-year-old’s winning round helped put the Irish squad into seventh place, behind first day leaders France.

“It’s a bit unexpected — to end up winning the class is a big bonus,” said Bertram. “I had a smooth, good round and the plan was to give her a good run today.”

Lying second individually is Patrice Delaveau for France with Orient Express HDC with Belgium’s Gregory Wathelet third riding Conrad De Hus.

In the team standings, Sweden currently hold the silver medal position with USA in bronze, ahead of Germany, the Netherlands and Canada.

Great Britain complete the first day in 11th

after clear rounds from Michael Whitaker (Viking), Joe Clee (Utamaro D’Eccaussines), Spencer Roe (Wonder Why) and a 4sec penalty for Scott Brash (pictured right), who has been suffering from a bad bout of food poisoning, left the team in a “solid position”. There are two more days of jumping ahead before the team medals are decided. Michael Whitaker is the best British rider in the individual standings, in 42nd.

“It’s unbelievable to do a clear round at my first World Games,” said 21-year-old Spencer. “If you’d told me a year ago I would be doing this, I wouldn’t believe you! The first two guys did brilliantly — I couldn’t ask for better teammates.”

“It nearly went to plan today,” said Great Britain’s performance manager Rob Hoekstra. “We wanted three solid rounds, then Scott could have a go, and it nearly worked — till he knocked that jump down! But he was still pretty quick.

“Spencer rode a super round — we made a plan for him, what to do and what kind of speed to go at, and he did exactly that and I think that horse will come back tomorrow and jump a really good round.

“We would have liked to be a bit closer to the leaders — we wanted to be within a jump of them and we’re two jumps behind — so it’s OK. but a bit further behind than we’d like to be.”

Team standings after day one:

• FRA (2.08)
• SWE (3.01)
• USA (4.72)
• GER (4.82)
• NED (4.83)
• CAN (6.00)
• IRL (6.51)
• BEL (9.53)
• COL (9.86)
• QAT (11.01)
• GBR (12.39)

Individual standings after day one:

1. Bertram Allen (Molly Malone V) IRL

2. Patrice Delaveau (Orient Express HDC) FRA

3. Gregory Wathelet (Conrad De Hus) BEL

42. Michael Whitaker (Viking) GBR

43. Scott Brash (Hello Sanctos) GBR

48. Joe Clee (Utamaro D’Ecaussines) GBR

65. Spencer Roe (Wonder Why) GBR

The competition continues tomorrow (Wednesday, 3 September) – follow us on twitter @horseandhound and via the website for all the news and updates.

The full report appears in next week’s issue of H&H magazine, out Thursday 11 September.

WEG showjumping: Scott Brash talks to H&H [VIDEO]

H&H caught up with British showjumper Scott Brash after the speed competition at the World Equestrian Games (WEG)

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now

Bertram Allen of Ireland holds the lead at the half-way point in Tuesday’s (2 September) opening leg of the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG) showjumping in France.

The 19-year-old rode the British-bred Kannan mare Molly Malone V to the fastest time of the morning (77.01sec) in this first round against the clock in which both individual and team riders compete.

“It all went according to the plan, which was to get a sound round,” said Bertram, a recent winner of the grand prix in Dublin. “Molly Malone just took everything in her stride. We had some tight turns, but she can handle it and we got the measure right today.”

Bertram is based in Germany with Marcus Ehning, who currently sits in 12th place with Cornado NRW. He added: “My student is in the lead, so it’s special.”

75 of the 153 riders have jumped so far and France’s Penelope Leprevost (Flora De Mariposa) holds second place in 77.82sec with Peder Fredricson of Sweden third on H&M Sibon (78.96sec).

The course has resulted in a surprising number of problems with eight eliminations including Brazil’s pathfinder Doda De Miranda, who fell when AD Rahmannshof’s Bogeno refused at a vertical.

Team GB’s Michael Whitaker (Viking) is best of the British, lying 18th, with Joe Clee (Utamaro D’Ecaussines) in 21st position individually.

“I’m very proud to be here,” said Joe, who produced a great clear in 85.49sec with the “fresh” but slightly spooky 10-year-old stallion.

Michael added: “It was a solid start. My horse did everything I wanted him to do so it’s been good for the team.”

Spencer Roe (Wonder Why) and anchorman Scott Brash (Hello Sanctos) jump for the team later this afternoon.

Don’t miss the full report on all the showjumping action from WEG in H&H next week, out Thursday, 11 September.

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now