Latest from Horse & Hound in Queen-elizabeth-ii-cup

Back on top: Whitaker secures spectacular second Queen’s Cup victory

Sarah Radford — Sat, 26 Jul 2025 17:08:00 +0000

James Whitaker became the first member of his clan to etch his name twice on the Queen Elizabeth II cup at Hickstead’s Agria Royal International Horse Show (RIHS), bullseyeing his main target for the summer with top ride Just Call Me Henry.

“My plan ended here — I’ll have to make another one now!” said James, who was so sure he’d outclassed the opposition with his gutsy round, he punched the air as he crossed the finish.

“It’s a great class to win. Some feel lucky to win it once and I’ve been lucky enough to win it twice.”

James first captured this coveted national trophy at the age of 21, riding his brother William’s Derby winner Glenavadra Brilliant.

“It only took me another eight years to win it again,” he said. “I’ve had some nice horses in it but the only way [Just Call Me Henry] was going to knock a fence today was if I messed up.”

Eight set the pace for gripping decider

The JCL Insurance Brokers Queen Elizabeth II Cup had 29 hopefuls on the start list this year and it would have been easy to think it was an uncharacteristically soft track when there was a clear from first out Emily Seal and the 10-year-old Karmaletta.

But her ecstatic reaction demonstrated it was no small accomplishment and 11 combinations came and went before Gemma Stevens, equally thrilled with Envoy Merelsnest Z, made it a jump-off.

Ella Dalton (Hurricane VDL), Peter Moloney (Nielson), Ronnie Jones (Thomascourt Emirates) and Allana Clutterbuck (Vykinbay) joined the hunt, accompanying James into a gripping, eight-man decider.

All bets are off as lead changes rapidly

Pathfinder Emily’s tidy clear made sure the clock would dictate the outcome but the lead changed hands rapidly: Ella went more than 7sec out in front, before Peter shook off her advantage. Ronnie then gambled on a slicing the line into the double that didn’t pay, setting the fastest time but tipping the first element.

Vykinbay ate up the ground for Allana, and you’d understand why she thought she’d done enough as she edged 0.16sec out in front.

But a determined James was fresh from an impressive rankings win at Chard CSI3* and knew how to get the most from this 10-year-old gelding, who can be relied on to stay careful from full charge.

With a very quick exit from the double and turn to the final fence, he smashed the target by 1.43sec.

“He didn’t leave much to spare”

“He’s been knocking at the door for a little while, jumping a lot of rankings clears and then having an unlucky fence in the jump-off. He was good last week at Chard and it carried on to this week,” James said.

“I was very happy with the horse, I felt like he didn’t leave much to spare. The only place I was slow was back to number three, the oxer, which wasn’t a great fence for me so I knew I had to take a bit of time there. I was very tight back to the JCL fence, which is where I think I got it.”

Runner-up Allana, riding the great partner she took a shine to in France as an eight-year-old that “no one else wanted”, was again best of the under-25s. The 17-year-old gelding has been in the best of form, winning his first CSI2* grand prix at Chepstow in May.

“I’m not sure where I lost it today,” Allana said. “My plan was originally to go seven to the red and white vertical and I made it round there in six. He spends a quite a lot of time in the air, so I wonder if that’s where he lost some time, especially over the last where he jumped big.”

“I think I would definitely change a few things if I could do it again,” said third-placed Peter, who has been a threat in every jump-off he’s contested since taking over the reins of former Foxhunter champion Nielson last year. “I was too slow to number two and too conservative into the double but these guys were better than me today but I’m very pleased with my horse, he’s very consistent and tries his best every day.”

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‘Next year will be his year’: meet showjumping’s rising star, with Queen’s Cup the goal

Jennifer Donald — Fri, 22 Dec 2023 13:00:34 +0000

2024 looks set to be an exciting year for 25-year-old showjumper Alex Somerville-Cotton. She was recently selected for the British Showjumping, in conjunction with Sport England, 2023/2024 gold development programme and, with a really promising string of horses that she’s been producing herself, the future is looking bright for this ambitious and talented young rider.

Alex comes from a non-horsey family but she and her mother have been breeding some super youngsters in recent years and her current top horse, the 11-year-old Conan Doyle, aka Henry, has recently returned from colic surgeries and has stepped up impressively to rankings classes.

Alex caught the showjumping bug at school and decided while completing her A-levels that she would work full-time with horses instead of going to university – and she hasn’t looked back since.

She was previously selected for British Showjumping’s Advanced Apprenticeship in Sporting Excellence (AASE) and is now embarking on the gold programme for riders aiming to establish themselves at the 1.40-1.50m level, and those that are bidding for the world class performance pathway programme. She is excited at the opportunities it presents to her, including camps with lead coaches Matt Lanni and Nicola McLeish and sessions with saddlers, farriers, equine physiotherapists and coaching in rider strength and conditioning.

“It’s amazing. I’ve known Matt for ages and he’s brilliant,” says Alex. “They’ve really tried so hard to help the people coming through the sport to have the best head-start.”

Alex says she wouldn’t be where she is today without a horse called Summer – “the best thing that ever happened to me” – who was bought by her late father from Matt Lanni, and is now a very successful broodmare.

“I’ve bred too many horses now!” says Alex. “I have about 12 in work, all the young ones I do myself and the oldest one that I started is eight, my grey Kevin [Amazing-K Van’t Kattenheye Z]. I started him as a three-year-old and he’s now jumping rankings which is really exciting. He’s a complete lunatic, but he loves to jump so it’s really rewarding.”

Alex Somerville-Cotton says her goal for 2024 is to jump the Queen’s Cup at Hickstead‘s Royal International with Henry, having missed it last year owing to his colic surgeries.

“I think next year will be his year,” she says, planning to head to Sentower and Riesenbeck at the start of February. “I know everyone wants to jump on a team and that would be amazing, but to just keep establishing myself at ranking level and being competitive and seeing how we get on, that would be fantastic.”

Breen remains king of the Queen’s: Shane lifts Hickstead trophy for fourth time

Sarah Radford — Sat, 29 Jul 2023 17:14:28 +0000

Shane Breen not only extended his record as the most prolific winner of the Queen Elizabeth II Cup since it was opened to both genders, he also secured back-to-back wins with the same horse, cruising to victory on Old Lodge’s wonderful grey mare Haya at the Royal International Horse Show.

Shane was the first male rider to win the Queen’s Cup, following the rule change in 2008, and now, with his fourth win, is almost rivalling the record of the great Liz Edgar, who won it on five occasions when it was a women’s-only competition.

This year, Hickstead-based Breen Equestrian, which he runs with wife Chloe (nee Bunn), was also the historic class’s title sponsor.

“Next year, I’ll have to sponsor the King George as well!” Shane quipped.

Clears were slow to come round Kelvin Bywater’s 1.50m track for this prestigious national showdown — only second out Jessica Burke (Express Trend) left the fences intact out of the first 10 rounds. A further six jumped clear before the end of the class, ensuring a decent face-off against the clock.

Jessica gave an indication of the target time with her opening round, posting 38.99sec, but it cost her the first part of the double. Three clears followed, from Adrian Whiteway (Chacco Volo); Sammie-Jo Coffin (Chaccomo Blue) and Philip Miller (Don Royale), but all were in excess of 42sec, leaving the door wide open.

Hickstead maestros battle it out

Serious money would always have been riding on the last three riders to jump, who were all previous winners of this class, with a litany of Hickstead credentials: reigning Derby champion David Simpson, riding 13-year-old Flashback VL, 2022 Derby champion Shane and Harriet Biddick, who has won or come second in most of the major classes here, riding Night Of Glory OL, who like Haya is owned by Old Lodge.

David’s 13-year-old ride, who is owned by Melanie Davies, was the less experienced of the three, but put in a solid bid in 40.18sec, cutting more than 2sec from the lead.

“I said to his owner on the phone outside that he was feeling like he was getting better and better and today he put it all together, so I am very happy with him,” David said.

“I could have been a lot tighter from one to two, as Shane informed me! He’s the first one to tell me when I’ve let something slip!

“I wanted to post a double clear,” he added. “He’s not the quickest especially compared with the two behind me. I thought I might be able to put pressure on and hopefully they’d make a slip up but they both delivered.”

Shane and the lovely 11-year-old grey mare lived up to every promise with their effortlessly smooth round, axing 2.76sec to set a formidable lead.

There was still Harriet and Night Of Glory OL to come and they had arrived at Hickstead on the back of a wave of form, having headed both the area trial and the international stairway at the New Forest Show earlier in the week.

Harriet had the mare’s natural speed and the partnership’s experience to rely on, and looked like she may be able to rival Shane’s target on the final line, but they crossed the finish just over a second behind to take the runner-up spot.

“I know Shane is so fast and when I watched the others go round in excess of 40sec and Shane went round in 37.42sec I knew he’d be hard to beat,” Harriet said.

“I think there was a difference in the size of the horses — mine is smaller and quick across the ground and I added one to the second last which is maybe where I lost it.”

‘I have great respect for her’

Shane was full of praise for Haya, who has mostly been on 5* duties on the Global Champions Tour this year, but who he chose to place in the Queen’s rather than jump the day’s 5* classes.

“I thought it would be nice if she could do the double, so I thought I’d keep her for it,” Shane said. “I’m delighted she did it and delighted for Old Lodge that they have a one-two.

“It felt better winning it this year than last as it was Haya’s second time and I have great respect for her, she’s such a nice mare in every way.

“If you go in the ring and have a fence down, it’s basically you that’s knocked the fence, as she is so incredibly careful.

“She’s an incredible horse, she has such a lovely nature and is like your best friend. She’s lovely with the grooms and everyone. I’m very lucky to have her.”

Irish rider victorious in Queen Elizabeth II Cup

Eleanor Jones — Sat, 30 Jul 2016 16:55:07 +0000

David Simpson lifted the prestigious Queen Elizabeth II Cup at the Royal International Horse Show today (30 July), giving his wedding fund a boost in the process.

The Irish rider took the feature class on Chessy 17 today (30 July), two weeks before he weds fellow showjumper Louise Pavitt.

The combination jumped one of only three double clears, in 47.85 seconds, two seconds faster than second-placed Holly Smith, on Lammy Beach.

“I have to keep winning classes to pay for the wedding – it certainly keeps you hungry,” said David.

Last to go was former Hickstead Derby winner Phillip Miller, who recorded the fastest time, 46.51sec, on Caritiar Z, but four faults cost them the win and relegated them to fourth place.

David has the ride on 11-year-old mare Chessy 17 for three months last year but she was sold to the US.

“Due to other commitments, the owners have given her back to me to ride but I presume I won’t be keeping her for long,” he said.

“I’d love to keep her but I don’t think it will be long before someone offers them a big price for her. She’s really cool – like a cross between a pony and a motorbike but really strong with it.

“She hasn’t got all the jump and scope of some of the other horses but she’s a fighter and she’ll take on anything.”

It was a good day for Ireland at Hickstead today, as Billy Twomey scored a brace of international victories.

He won the Bunn Leisure Salver this morning with Diaghilev, and the British Speed Classic with Thomas.

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The Irishman has now won three international classes at this year’s Royal International.

Five riders jumped double clear in the Bunn Leisure Salver, but Billy and Diaghilev finished 1.49sec faster than Guy Williams, who took second place.

“I didn’t think anyone had gone that fast but I knew I had Guy to come after me so I had to put a marker down,” said Billy.

In the speed classic, Billy, drawn last, relegated British Olympic team member Ben Maher to second place by one-hundredth of a second.

Billy and Thomas had already won the Bunn Leisure Vase on Thursday.

Don’t miss next week’s H&H, out 4 August, for a full report from Hickstead.

Young British rider wins prestigious Queen Elizabeth II Cup at Hickstead

Sarah Radford — Sat, 01 Aug 2015 16:42:23 +0000

Young rider Chloe Winchester floored the favourites to win the coveted Queen Elizabeth II Cup with her 12-year-old mare Avoca Valkyrie at Hickstead’s Longines Royal International Horse Show (RIHS) earlier today (Saturday 1 August).

“It’s such a prestigious class and such an honour to jump here, and to do a round like that was even better,” said 21-year-old Chloe, who was tackling the 1.60m track here for the first time. “I’m very surprised to have won.”

Chloe produced one of six first round clears from 26 starters, and had an advantageous penultimate draw in the jump off.

Tina Fletcher set a strong opening lead with a clear on Hello Sailor, which was soon contested by Kerry Brennan and the exceptional Wellington M. The diminutive gelding stopped the clock 0.01sec off Tina’s time to lie in a close second place.

Chloe’s fluid round on her partner of three years found strides all round the course, as the mare devoured the track with impressive scope. They broke the beam with a full 3.75sec in hand.

But last to jump were 2013 Derby winners Phillip Miller and Caritiar Z, who were in with a strong chance of claiming the 66-year-old trophy.

The charismatic grey was economical, but couldn’t match the Irish mare’s ground-eating pace, taking the runner-up spot 3.02sec behind.

“She just loves to run and jump and height is never an issue for her,” added Chloe, who has been gaining international experience this year with an appearance on the three-star nations cup squad at Odense in Denmark.

The pair will now head off for more Team GBR duties in Austria, where they will jump on the young rider European squad in Wiener Neustadt [10-16 August].

Don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine’s special RIHS report, on sale Thursday 6 August

New sponsor for Queen Elizabeth II Cup

Horse & Hound — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 12:51:19 +0000

Hickstead’s Queen Elizabeth II Cup has a new sponsor — power systems company Templant Events has agreed to fund the class for three years.

The Queen Elizabeth II Cup takes place on 30 July during the Longines Royal International Horse Show and will be televised live on Sky Sports.

This news story was first published in the current issue of Horse & Hound (24 March, 2011)

Hickstead’s historic Queen Elizabeth II Cup downgraded

Charlotte White — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 15:47:27 +0000

Lady show jumpers have responded with shock and sadness to news that the historic Queen Elizabeth II Cup show jumping class is to be scrapped in its current form.

The competition — Britain’s only ladies’ international class, which began in 1949 and takes place at Hickstead’s Royal International Horse Show (RIHS) — will in future be downgraded to a national class open to both sexes.

Five-times winner of the trophy Liz Edgar told H&H that she was appalled by the decision.

“This is a big shock. I am totally appalled. The Queen’s Cup is a piece of show jumping history we cannot afford to lose,” she said.

“It is the best cup in England to win for the lady riders, something really special. If they couldn’t continue to run it as it was at Hickstead, they should have put it into another competition.”

Di Lampard, who won the cup in 1994 and 1998, said: “When you look at the list of great names on the cup, it’s such a shame that it’s being downgraded in this way.”

But she added that the competition had always been let down by the poor prize-money on offer (£6,000 last year) in comparison to the men’s equivalent class, the King George V Cup (£15,000 last year).

The Queen’s Cup has a long and celebrated history and has been won by many of show jumping’s most famous lady riders, including Marion Mould, who won three times, Pat Smythe, Caroline Bradley and Jessica Kurten.

The move apparently comes at the behest of the International Equestrian Federation (FEI). It said that instead, the men-only King George V international class will now be open to both sexes.

“The idea of having two classes, segregated by sex, was contrary to the way the FEI likes to do things,” said a spokesman. “We were particularly concerned that the prize-money for the men’s class was three times that for the women’s. So there will be one grand prix this year.”

Lizzie Bunn, show secretary of Hickstead, confirmed that the King’s Cup, running for the 97th time this year, will be the only grand prix class at the Royal International in July.

The prize-money for the King’s Cup will be increased to £60,000 — from £45,000 last year — with £20,000 to the winner.

The prize-fund for the new-style Queen’s Cup class has yet to be decided and a sponsor is sought.

“The King George V Gold Cup will now be open to all the qualifying international and British riders at the show and the Queen Elizabeth II Cup will be open to the top 25 riders qualifying through the BSJA’s international trial list,” said Ms Bunn.

“This gives the county shows a prestigious final at the RIHS and offers an opportunity to some of the second-tier male riders who were not able to compete before.”

Nick Skelton, who won the King’s Cup in 1984, 1993 and 1999, welcomed the idea of a single grand prix competition at the Royal International, but would like to see the Hickstead Derby — the biggest cash prize show jumping class in Britain, with £40,000 to the winner — moved from its June slot to the RIHS programme.

“I think this change is as it should be, a single grand prix, with more prize-money, but the highest-placed woman [in that class] should win the Queen’s Cup,” said Nick. “And we should include the Derby in the show. Then more international riders would take part.”

History of the Queen’s Cup

1949: The Queen Elizabeth II Cup is presented in perpetuity to the Royal International Horse Show (held at White City) by The Queen in 1949. It was originally called the Princess Elizabeth Cup. First winner was Iris Kellet of Ireland with Rusty who won £30.

1960: RIHS and the Queen’s Cup competition move to Wembley

1971: A second win for Marion Mould and Stroller. Mrs Mould wins again in 1976 on Elizabeth Ann

1982: RIHS moves to the NEC Birmingham

1986: A fifth win for Liz Edgar on three different horses

1991: RIHS moves to Hickstead

2007: Won by Tina Fletcher on Overa — her third win. Mrs Fletcher won £6,000

2008: Cup to be downgraded to a national class

This news story was first published in Horse & Hound (14 February, ’08)

Latest from Horse & Hound in Queen-elizabeth-ii-cup

Back on top: Whitaker secures spectacular second Queen’s Cup victory

Eight set the pace for gripping decider

All bets are off as lead changes rapidly

“He didn’t leave much to spare”

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Alex caught the showjumping bug at school and decided while completing her A-levels that she would work full-time with horses instead of going to university – and she hasn’t looked back since.

“It’s amazing. I’ve known Matt for ages and he’s brilliant,” says Alex. “They’ve really tried so hard to help the people coming through the sport to have the best head-start.”

Alex says she wouldn’t be where she is today without a horse called Summer – “the best thing that ever happened to me” – who was bought by her late father from Matt Lanni, and is now a very successful broodmare.

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Hickstead maestros battle it out

‘I have great respect for her’

Shane was full of praise for Haya, who has mostly been on 5* duties on the Global Champions Tour this year, but who he chose to place in the Queen’s rather than jump the day’s 5* classes.

“I thought it would be nice if she could do the double, so I thought I’d keep her for it,” Shane said. “I’m delighted she did it and delighted for Old Lodge that they have a one-two.

“It felt better winning it this year than last as it was Haya’s second time and I have great respect for her, she’s such a nice mare in every way.

“If you go in the ring and have a fence down, it’s basically you that’s knocked the fence, as she is so incredibly careful.

“She’s an incredible horse, she has such a lovely nature and is like your best friend. She’s lovely with the grooms and everyone. I’m very lucky to have her.”

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Irish rider victorious in Queen Elizabeth II Cup

Young British rider wins prestigious Queen Elizabeth II Cup at Hickstead

New sponsor for Queen Elizabeth II Cup

Hickstead’s historic Queen Elizabeth II Cup downgraded