Can anything in the sport of showjumping cap a day in which you win one of the most prestigious grands prix in the world? Well, yes it can if your first child also decides to make her arrival on the morning of the competition. We headline this week’s international showjumping news round-up with the remarkable story of Olympic champion Christian Kukuk’s unforgettable day in Florida, in which he won the $750,000 Rolex grand prix hours after becoming a father. No wonder he described himself as “the happiest man on the planet”.

Read on for all of this week’s showjumping news and results from around the world.

Showjumping news: “A day we’ll never forget”

The Olympic champion Christian Kukuk had “a day we’ll never forget” on Saturday, 29 March, when he not only celebrated becoming a father for the first time, but he also won one of the biggest grands prix on the global circuit for the second year running.

With almost immaculate timing, Christian and his partner Veronica Tracy were due to welcome their first child just after the 12-week Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, Florida, concluded. But baby Lila decided to make her appearance a day early, arriving at 1am on the morning of WEF’s season finale, the $750,000 Rolex US Equestrian Open grand prix.

Christian won the competition last year and the euphoric new father teamed up once again with his incredible Olympic gold medal-winning partner Checker 47 to produce one of the performances of his life. In an eight-way jump-off, he beat runner-up US rider Laura Kraut (Bisquetta), with pathfinder Ashlee Bond of Israel riding Donatello 141 finishing in third.

“I’ll be there as fast as I can!” was his message to Veronica after winning the class on Saturday evening.

“As always, Checker gave me his all. It really was a dream come true and something we’ll be able to relive for every birthday to come. I am the happiest man on the planet tonight,” he said, also crediting groom Sofie Karlsson, for whom the Madeleine Winter-Schulze-owned Checker is “like her best friend”.

“I know every single button and Checker knows and trusts me. It’s a relationship based on trust,” he said. “I know exactly what I can ask from him, and he knows I would never ask anything crazy from him. Consistently winning on this level is only about creating a deep relationship with your horse.

“I knew Laura was fast and that I had to try everything in the jump-off,” added Christian, who has spent his first winter in Florida. “It went well and then suddenly I had too many strides to the last. I thought for a second that I had lost it but I looked to the screen and saw I got lucky in that moment.”

Laura admitted she had “left the door open”, and Christian managed to stop the clock 0.29sec quicker than her and Cherry Knnoll Farm’s 11-year-old mare.

“Being second to the Olympic champion feels pretty good,” she said. “Bisquetta is a very quick horse, but I got a bit cautious.”

Ashlee Bond credited her Olympic partner: “Donnie and I have been together for nine years, and after the Olympics I wasn’t sure he was going to do this again.

“The fact that I get to be third in a Rolex 1.60m grand prix makes me grateful and I don’t take any of these moments for granted,” she added. “As long as he keeps telling me that he loves his job, he’ll do it. Then, if he can give my daughter pony rides for the rest of his career, that’s fine.”

• Rolex US Equestrian Open grand prix results

Wins for Mendoza and Maher

Great Britain’s Jessica Mendoza added another victory to an impressive string of results at this year’s WEF, this time with borrowed horse VDL Stella, the ride of one of her students.

“There were enough in the jump-off so it was nice I was last to go; I could see what everyone was doing,” she said after landing the CSI2* jump-off class. “She doesn’t have the biggest stride so I couldn’t do the leave-outs. Some did seven [strides] to the double, but I knew doing eight was just as quick. I went quick without losing my cool.”

Ben Maher is nursing a fractured foot, but he also managed to win on the final week of WEF, topping the Adequan WEF Challenge Cup with Point Break, who was newly arrived in Florida from the Dutch Masters and was due on a return flight for this week’s World Cup Final in Basel, Switzerland.

“He came, did his job and he’s leaving,” said Ben, who beat world number two Kent Farrington on Toulayna, with Daniel Coyle third with Ariel Grange’s Legacy. “Competition is tough here – it always is – but I think more and more of the world’s best are coming here.”

• WEF results

Grand prix glory for Ryan

Ireland’s Thomas Ryan landed the Toscana Tour’s CSI4* grand prix in Arezzo, Italy, with 10-year-old Jezebeau BC, after just three combinations made the jump-off. Earlier in the week, Jack Whitaker continued his excellent form with Equine America Valmy De La Lande, finishing second to Harrie Smolders (Mr Tac) in the Longines world rankings grand prix qualifier.

• Toscana Tour results

Showjumping news: a milestone in Mexico

And finally in this week’s international showjumping news round-up, we head to Mexico, where Italy’s Emanuele Camilli delivered a milestone first Longines Global Champions Tour (LGCT) grand prix success with Chacco’s Girlstar, edging out Jörne Sprehe and Sprehe Hot Easy. Jérôme Guery and Great Britain V completed the podium.

“I took all the risk and I was lucky that it went my way today,” said Camilli, who secured his place at the Super Grand Prix in November.

Denis Lynch is the new LGCT championship leader at this early stage in the series.

• LGCT of Mexico results
• To stay up to date with all the breaking news from major shows throughout 2025, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

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Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

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

In this week’s international showjumping news round-up, we head to the iconic Grand Palais on the Champs-Élysées in the centre of Paris, where top-tier showjumping makes a welcome return after several years. There was much excitement across the pond too, where, in Florida, the second leg of the Longines League of Nations produced a high-pressure finale, resulting in the narrowest of winning margins.

Read on for a round-up of this week’s leading international showjumping news stories and results.

Showjumping news: iconic venue makes welcome return

After a hiatus of several years during which the Grand Palais was transformed into an Olympic sporting venue for Paris 2024, top-flight showjumping made a welcome return to the iconic venue, on the Champs-Élysées in central Paris.

Under the breathtaking glass roof, the prestigious Saut Hermès took place over three days and Sunday’s feature grand prix was won by Simon Delestre with Cayman Jolly Jumper, finishing just ahead of Great Britain’s Robert Whitaker riding the brilliant stallion Vermento.

Robert and the Blatchfords’ 12-year-old stallion were drawn first against the clock, producing a double clear in 41.70sec. But France’s Simon Delestre triumphed in a time of 41.21sec, marking a historic third victory in this prestigious class.

“You can sense the weight of history at this venue,” said the in-form Simon, who won the Rolex grand prix at the Dutch Masters the previous week.

Robert said: “Simon was too quick, but I have no regrets.”

Great Britain’s Allana Clutterbuck (Vykinbay) and Claudia Moore (Hardesther) finished second overall in the Les Talents Hermès team competition.

• Saut Hermes results

USA claim victory in showjumping team thriller

With a vocal home crowd to propel them, the US squad of Lillie Keenan (Argan De Beliard), Aaron Vale (Carissimo 25), Laura Kraut on Dorado 212 and McLain Ward with Ilex delivered a dazzling victory in the second leg of the Longines League of Nations (LLN) in Ocala, Florida.

“To win on home soil and to have everyone see one of the best venues in the world is so special, because we all share an incredible sport,” said 28-year-old LLN debutante Lillie, who referred to Argan De Beliard as her “trusty team-mate”. “The more pressure the better for us.”

But in a dramatic evening of twists and turns, the contest remained nail-bitingly close at every stage and Germany were left ruing a first-round time-fault which kept them one point off the victors in the final standings. USA’s victory was only sealed with a final double clear from final rider McLain Ward (Ilex), marking a first LLN success for the United States.

World number seven McLain, who spent four weeks on the sidelines after a fall in January said: “The drama at the end is a testament to the format – it makes for excellent sport and competition.

“When Sophie Hinners [Germany’s final rider] jumped clear, I got a smile on my face and thought, ‘OK, game on’. This is what we do – you focus and this is what you live for.”

Belgium finished third with 13 faults, equal with Ireland who missed out on the final podium place by just one second when the two teams were split by accumulated times.

“We set very high expectations of ourselves, so obviously we’re disappointed,” said Ireland’s chef d’equipe Michael Blake, who picked Darragh Kenny (Eddy Blue), Cian O’Connor (Bentley De Sury) and 20-year-old Tom Wachman with Tabasco De Toxandria Z as his trio for round two; Daniel Coyle and Incredible sitting it out after a four-fault tally in round one.

“Some of the poles that dropped were ones that we ordinarily wouldn’t have, but that’s jumping. There were some real positives out there and plenty to build on,” added Michael.

Great Britain repeated their Abu Dhabi result of sixth. Pathfinders Ben Maher and Dallas Vegas Batilly returned from an eight-fault first round to stay faultless in round two, while Jessica Mendoza (In The Air) hit a rail in each round and anchor rider Harry Charles (Casquo Blue) jumped clear in round one but added four penalties in round two. GB’s LLN team debutant Charlie Jones, 26, produced a super opener for just four faults on Capitale 6, but was on the sidelines for round two.

Chef d’equipe Di Lampard said, “It was a tough competition with strong teams and a strong course but everyone handled it well.

“The team were so unlucky; we were four faults away from third place and a clear from Jess or Harry in the second round would have clinched it.”

Di credited Charlie’s “unbelievable” performance.

“He had an early rail at fence two but kept it together to come home on four faults, all credit to him, he was outstanding.,” she said. “It is a shame with this format he couldn’t go again.”

• LLN results

Olympic champion lands grand prix

After a nine-way battle between some of the titans of the sport, the reigning Olympic champion Christian Kukuk landed Thursday’s $350,000 Lugano grand prix at the World Equestrian Center in Ocala, Florida.

Riding the hugely exciting mare Just Be Gentle, with whom he jumped double clear in the LLN, the German rider set an unbeatable target from first draw. Ireland’s multi-medallist Cian O’Connor came closest with his own Iron Man but next-generation talent was hot on their heels, with 25-year-old French rider Nina Mallevaey (Nikka VD Bisschop) and 20-year-old US competitor Mimi Gochman (Inclen BH) in third and fourth respectively, the top five rounded out by the mighty combination of Henrik von Eckermann and King Edward.

“She’s as sharp as a lion and in the ring she just wants to go fast,” said Christian of the Dutch warmblood by Tyson. “I’m excited for the rest of the year with her.”

• Lugano grand prix results

Showjumping news: “We’re over the moon”

Finally in this week’s international showjumping news round-up, we head to Wellington, Florida. As the Winter Equestrian Festival reaches the final furlong, 20-year-old US rider Ansgar Holgers Jr landed the biggest success of his career in the $200,000 KASK CSI4* grand prix with Pixel-K Van’t Kattenhey.

“Any win feels nice, but this is definitely the icing on the cake,” he said, after beating Spencer Smith (HHS Seattle) and Shane Sweetnam (Gilona AO) to the top of the podium.

Ashlee Bond was among the other winners this week, riding Night Wish to victory in the WEF Challenge Cup. Their partnership hasn’t been plain sailing, however.

“He had a rearing issue and he was quite opinionated,” she said. “I worked with Leo Rauscher and he spent two weeks with him and completely turned this horse around. I’m really proud of the work because this was almost a lost cause. The fact that we’re here a year after he did his first 1.40m is really special. My goal is for him to do the FEI World Championships next year at Aachen, and the LA Olympics is my end goal. I think this horse has a good shot at jumping clear every day. I’m working backwards from three years to today.”

• WEF results
• To stay up to date with all the breaking news from major shows throughout 2025, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

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In this week’s international showjumping news round-up, we head straight to Spain where Great Britain’s Will Fletcher celebrates “the best day I could ever imagine” with the “feisty” mare Iwalinde who “tries her heart out every time she goes in the ring”.

Then at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Florida, USA, a 24-year-old beats an Olympic gold medallist and the world number one to post her first ever five-star success. What a moment!

Read on for all this week’s international showjumping news and results.

Showjumping news: ‘The best day I could imagine’

Great Britain’s Will Fletcher and 12-year-old mare Iwalinde secured a victorious double on the CSI4* Andalucia Sunshine Tour in Spain this week. They started the week by topping the 1.50m Hipotels Trophy and concluded with victory in the 1.55m Dunas de Barbate Trophy grand prix.

“I can’t believe it,” said Will. “It takes an army and Iwalinde was fantastic – she’s a feisty girl and she tries her heart out every time she goes in the ring. She just gave me the best day I could ever imagine.”

Iwalinde is by VDL Zirocco Blue and Will co-owns her with John Walter. In the grand prix the pair beat French rider Penelope Leprevost (Baloubet De Talma), with Great Britain’s Simon Crippen third on Handsome. Matt Sampson produced what would have been the winning time in the four-way jump-off having taken the reins on Tim Gredley’s championship partner Medoc De Toxandria, but it came at the expense of eight faults.

• CSI4* Andalucia Sunshine Tour results

Aimez Moi posts another likeable performance

Sameh El Dahan and WKD Aimez Moi continued their winning form by heading a CSI3* 1.45m classic at Desert Circuit 9 in Thermal, California. Nine riders contested the jump-off and, from penultimate draw, the British rider rocketed to victory.

“She was brilliant. She was very, very quick on the turns,” said Sameh of the 15-year-old mare he co-owns with Joanne Sloan-Allen. “She covers a lot of ground at speed. I didn’t watch anybody else because I know she’s fast. I just stick to my plan and don’t get too distracted with the number of strides that other people are doing.”

• Desert Circuit results

Five-star debut success and why is the world number one riding in a brace?

THE $500,000 Bainbridge Companies CSI5* grand prix at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Florida, USA, was won by 24-year-old Belgian rider Emilie Conter riding Portobella Van De Fruitkorf. In a seven-way jump-off she beat Olympic gold medallist Harry Charles (Sherlock) and world number one Henrik von Eckermann (King Edward) to post the first five-star victory of her career.

“I didn’t think I would beat these other riders, but I looked up and saw that I was in first,” she said. “It hasn’t sunk in yet. I’m super happy with my horse and my team for making this happen.”

Emilie revealed she saw a really long distance to the final oxer during the jump-off.

“I heard Helena Stormanns scream ‘Go get it!’, so I took it,” she said. “We’ve come a long way. We took it very slow in the beginning because I always knew she was special. When I first started riding her, she was a bit colder but always had massive scope. When she was younger, she was not so impressed with the small jumps but now the bigger the fences, the better she jumps.”

“There are no words for her,” added Emilie, whose groom Lisa Sorg earned the $500 Double H Farm groom’s award.

Runner-up Harry Charles credited WEF for having “nearly as good an atmosphere as anywhere in the world”.

“I didn’t plan on jumping Sherlock in too many of the bigger classes under the lights; he’s still quite green at night, but tonight he jumped better than I could have hoped,” he said of the 12-year-old owned by his father Peter Charles and Stall Zet. “I thought the course-builder did a great job – you saw the perfect amount in the jump-off. I’m very happy with second place.”

Third-placed Henrik von Eckermann has been working hard behind the scenes to rebuild the confidence and turn around the fortunes of showjumping megastar King Edward.

“He jumped a very good indoor season but in the jump-offs that were full speed, I’m a guy who wants to win and pushed a little too much and we lost a little confidence,” said Henrik. “He feels good and is jumping better and better with every show.”

Henrik has also been recovering from a hand injury incurred in a fall which means he’s currently riding with a brace.

“In the ring, adrenaline is going and you want to do it and then afterwards you feel it, but it could have been worse and I’m happy that I’m able to continue riding,” he said. “Emilie did a fantastic job tonight and I’m very happy for her.”

• WEF results

Showjumping news: grand prix glory

Closer to home, Jack Whitaker (Equine America Valmy De La Lande) and Mark Edwards (Royale Tale) were CSI2* grand prix winners on the Italian Champions Tour and Jumping Gassin International in France respectively in another successful week for British riders on tour in Europe.

Zero is a “misunderstood” hero

Irish showjumper Darragh Kenny won WEF’s Adequan WEF Challenge Cup round nine with new ride Zero K in Florida.

“The first rounds have been pretty good, jump-offs haven’t been perfect,” he said. “I knew it was going to be very fast today, and she has a big stride, so a lot of the lines were connected. I could use her big stride and hopefully not make mistakes.”

Darragh describes Zero K as “very sensitive”.

“She’s special in her own way, but in the ring, she wants to do her best,” he said. “Sometimes she tries too hard, but it’s always in the right way, and that’s what I really like about her. She’s a little tense sometimes but for the most part she’s just misunderstood. She wants to be the best she can.”

• To stay up to date with all the breaking news throughout major shows such as London International and more, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

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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

The new year is barely a fortnight old, but 2025 is already all systems go for international showjumpers as the sport hits top gear around the globe. Just some of those headlining this week’s showjumping news round-up are winning riders Darragh Kenny and Julien Epaillard, but there were also big grand prix results for the likes of Tim Gredley and Ellen Whitaker. Meanwhile in a touching moment, Nina Barbour received her third-placed rosette in a class she sponsored from her four-year-old son, who stepped up to present the prizes in Abu Dhabi.

Read on for our weekly round up of international showjumping news and results.

Showjumping news: three wins from three shows for Darragh Kenny’s new ride

Week one of the 12-week 2025 Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) kicked off with another big win for Ireland’s Darragh Kenny at only his third show with Andrzej Oplatek’s 13-year-old Chaccossini (Chacco-Blue x Cassini II).

“Straight away we clicked,” said Darragh, who had already racked up a five-star win with Chaccossini at the London International and in a CSI2* in Belgium on debut.

The pair’s first win at WEF came in the CSI3* $32,000 Hermès 1.50m classic.

“At our first show we won a ranking class, then his second show I took him to London where he was clear in a 1.55m and won a big 1.50m class [the Christmas Tree Stakes] – and this is my third show with him,” said Darragh, “He’s a cool horse. He’s unbelievably fun and competitive. He also has this huge stride, which makes him fast against the clock.”

Ten jumped clear in round one for an exciting jump-off where Chaccossini’s “fast stride” came into play, beating second-placed Lillie Keenan (USA) on Opium JW van de Moerhoeve TN, with Charlotte Jacobs third riding Thomascourt Ballypatrick.

Saturday night’s $140,000 Southern Arches CSI3* grand prix was won by Egypt’s Nayel Nassar with ESI Ali, a 10-year-old Irish Sport Horse by Stakkato Gold, bred at the Hughes’ ​​Ennisnag Stud and produced by Seamus Hughes Kennedy until Evergate Stables bought him in 2023.

“He’s 10, so this is the first year I start to ask them a little bit more,” said Nayel. “I try not to do too much with them as nine-year-olds and hope that it lengthens their career. We’re listening to him telling us what he’s ready for and we’ll keep placing him where we think he can be successful.”

• WEF week one results

“McGregor jumped his heart out”

The CSI3* Al Shira’aa grand prix presented by Longines during week one of the Al Shira’aa show in Abu Dhabi, UAE, went to home rider Abdullah Mohammed Al Marri riding crowd favourite BBS McGregor. The pair triumphed with the sole double clear, finishing ahead of Great Britain’s Joe Stockdale with Barbara Hester’s Ebanking, who scorched home with the quickest jump-off round but with a pole down at the final fence.

“I went into the jump-off knowing that a steady clear would guarantee the win,” said Abdullah Mohammed Al Marri. “Of course, it was a risk, but the gamble paid off.

“McGregor jumped his heart out and I’m thrilled. Thank you to the Al Shira’aa team and especially to HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Hazza Al Nahyan for her continued support, not only of the team but for running this incredible show.”

British success also came for Katie Speller and smart youngster Z7 Pink Panther, who landed the seven-year-old final. Meanwhile the biggest smiles of the day came when Bolesworth managing director Nina Barbour finished third in the Bolesworth International-sponsored 1.30m speed class riding Geshia Batilly, receiving her prize from her four-year-old son William, who stepped up to present the prizes for the class.

• Al Shira’aa Show week one results

Showjumping news: Epaillard continues his winning run

Next in this week’s round-up of international showjumping news, French showjumper Julien Epaillard celebrated success in the World Cup of Basel, Switzerland, with prolific winner Donatello D’Auge. The only other double clears came from second-placed Maikel van der Vleuten with Beauville Z NOP and Great Britain’s Tim Gredley riding Imperial HBF, who finished third.

“When I watched Julien go, I thought, if they gave me 100 goes at the jump-off, I wouldn’t be able to beat him!” said Tim. “I know my horse is going to jump clear rounds and the class played into my favour. All the big guys were trying to beat each other, as they should do, and I just stuck to my plan of jumping a clear round. It’s worked out nicely.”

Julien’s strategy had been to earn enough points to qualify for the World Cup Final.

“When I went in the ring, I saw the risk of turning inside fence three to the double was big, so I decided not to,” he said. “Donatello is a really special horse for me and my family. He’s in top shape and this is also why I really want to get to the final.”

Brazilian rider Yuri Mansur and the great Vitiki won the prestigious Golden Drum at the show, and Henrik von Eckermann of Sweden and Iliana triumphed in the grand prix, where Tim and Imperial HBF were again in the ribbons.

• CSI5*-W Basel results

Ellen Whitaker’s cracking prospect steps up

Great Britain’s Ellen Whitaker rode the very exciting 10-year-old mare Korlenski to finish on the podium in the CSI4* grand prix on week one of the Doha Tour in Qatar.

Victory went to Austrian rider Gerfried Puck (Equitron Naxcel V) with Abdel Said in the runner-up spot with Arpege Du Ru. But just 0.16sec separated the top three; Ellen slotted into third with Tilly Shaw’s Cornet Obolensky mare, who looks a cracking prospect for the year ahead.

Scott Brash continued the strong performances from the British contingent in fifth with Hello Valentino and Millie Allen secured seventh with her double clear on E-Maitresse TVH Z.

• Doha Tour results
• To stay up to date with all the breaking news from major shows throughout 2025, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

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Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

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

This week’s international showjumping news headlines revolve around Irish rider Michael Duffy dedicating an emotional first five-star grand prix win at Miami Beach, USA, to his friend Jack Dodd, who died in 2018.

Read on for a round up of this week’s international showjumping news and results.

Showjumping news: ‘This one’s for you, Jack Dodd’

Miami Beach once again pulled out all the stops for the second leg of Longines Global Champions Tour, but emotions ran high after Ireland’s Michael Duffy, the winner of Saturday’s grand prix, dedicated his first five-star grand prix success to his close friend Jack Dodd, who died in a car accident six years ago at the age of 25.

“I won my first five-star grand prix and I want to dedicate this to Trish and David Dodd, parents of my friend at home [Jack Dodd] who passed away,” said Michael.

From nine jump-off contenders, Michael and relatively new ride, the 12-year-old Claptonn Mouche, produced the only double clear to take top honours, ahead of Max Kühner and EIC Cooley Jump, with France’s Julien Anquetin and Blood Diamond Du Pont in third as the fastest of the four-faulters.

“It’s been a while coming now, it’s probably about time we got our fingers out and did something,” said Michael. “It’s amazing, I’m a bit lost for words… I’m not the biggest talker but even more so this time. I have no words.

“It’s tough jumping here, it is so delicate. I wanted to be as quick as I can and leave the jumps up to get the job done.”

• LGCT of Miami Beach results

WEF Leading rider award to Cian O’Connor

Another Irish showjumper was celebrating this week as Cian O’Connor claimed the overall leading international rider award, presented by Martha W Jolicoeur of Douglas Elliman with Michael and Wendy Smith, in recognition of his consistent performances during the 2024 Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) in Wellington, Florida.

Margie Goldstein-Engle of USA took second, with another Irish rider, Shane Sweetnam, finishing third in the standings.

“We had an incredible winter in Florida,” said Cian. “The horses performed really well and that is thanks to all of their owners – Sue and John Magnier, Sarah Stoute, Nikki Walker, and Pat Crean. All our horses jumped outstandingly and I was delighted to have won the title of leading international rider of the WEF circuit.

“All credit must go to the brilliant team behind the scenes, from everybody in the stable who puts in the hard work, day in and day out, to all of my support staff, and everybody else who contributes to the Karlswood team. I am extremely grateful to each and every one of them.”

Showjumping news: Rome Gladiators win GCL of Miami

And finally in this week’s international showjumping news round-up, the Global Champions League (GCL) of Miami Beach, held against the stunning backdrop of the Atlantic Ocean, was won by the Rome Gladiators squad of Michael Duffy, Laura Kraut and Lorenzo De Luca. The squad climbed the leader board in round two to top the podium.

“We’re both new to the Rome Gladiators this year, although we were former Gladiators, we are back for 2024!” said Laura, who jumped clear with Bisquetta, with team-mate Lorenzo on Cappuccino 194 in round two. “I love being at home and it’s really fun to have the crowd here watching and cheering for me.”

• GCL of Miami Beach results

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‘What a day to be Irish’: a momentous team win, but British disappointment

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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

Irish showjumper Daniel Coyle has been no stranger to the international showjumping news headlines in recent months and he racked up a tremendous St Patrick’s Day victory at the Live Oak International in USA at only his third show with the aptly named gelding Incredible.

Read on for this week’s round-up of some of the big showjumping news stories from around the world, and results.

Showjumping news: a World Cup hat-trick for Coyle

At the London International in December, Irish showjumper Daniel Coyle began a tremendous winning streak that stretched to his fifth five-star grand prix and third World Cup success, this time riding the aptly named Incredible at Live Oak International in USA in the Longines FEI World Cup of Ocala.

“I’ve had a really, really good experience with the World Cup already, but I think this is the first year I’ve ever won three in one season,” said Daniel, who has been dividing his time between the USA and Europe this winter.

He only began riding 11-year-old Incredible (Clinton x Heartbreaker), previously with Dutch rider Eric Ten Cate, in January after his mentor Jeroen Dubbeldam scouted the gelding for Daniel.

“Every time I go in the ring, I’m finding something new in Incredible,” he said. “It’s great that I can find that out while competing at the top of the sport. He was incredible before I got him and it’s good to know that I was a good rider before, he was a good horse before, and today I can say that we are also very good together.

“Incredible had already done some Nations Cups and some really good things, but his rider didn’t get the chance to go to the big shows every week. Jeroen said, ‘We should try him.’ Immediately we saw that he would fit with us, and he could really help Legacy. He has done that and more. I have somebody like Ariel Grange who can step up and buy the horses and somebody like Jeroen as a mentor who can actually find the horses for me.”

• Live Oak International results

A winning double for Ward

US Olympic team gold medallist Mclain Ward secured two big wins at the Winter Equestrian Festival, topping the $215,000 Horseware Ireland CSI4* grand prix with Contagious and the Adequan WEF Challenge Cup riding First Lady.

“Contagious is getting older now [15] and it’s a little more work but he has a huge heart,” said Mclain. “He’s had a bit of four-faultitis here in Florida – two great grands prix with one down – but I felt that he’d jump well tonight. It was a very hot night and a quick turnaround for us. I only jumped three jumps in the schooling area because I didn’t want to let him bottom out. He dug in deep and we were lucky to go last.”

Belgium’s Nicola Phillippaerts and Derby De Riverland was the US rider’s closest challenger, with Harry Charles best of the Brits in fifth on Aralyn Blue.

• WEF results

Showjumping news: young horse titles go to Ireland

Ireland performed a clean sweep of the 2024 young horse finals at WEF, Florida. Philip McGuane and the Evergate Stables’ My Lady Van De Krekel (Aganix du Seigneur x Numero Uno), bred in the Netherlands, won the seven-year-old championship, having been bought at the SLF Horse Auction in Belgium last summer.

“She’s super careful, not very big but she has a lot of qualities,” said Philip. “Harrie Smolders tried her and really liked her so we only saw the videos and ended up buying her. She came over to us in August last year.”

A winning double for Mark Edwards

And finally in this week’s showjumping news round-up, among a string of British wins on the various tours, Mark Edwards celebrated a world ranking class victory double on the La Caccia Garda Tour in Italy, with Flying Tinker II and Tinkers Tale, while Royale Tale also collected the red ribbons.

• Borgo La Caccia results

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Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

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

In this week’s international showjumping news round-up, we celebrate grand prix success for Irish rider Jessica Burke and mega gelding Express Trend, while the return of the Rolex grand prix results in a “pinch me” moment for the winner, who will now be targeting the Rolex Grand Slam. There were also incredible scenes at WEF when a 49-year-old lawyer won a five-star grand prix at her first attempt, having only ever wanted to jump 1.20m.

Read on for a round-up of this week’s international showjumping news and results.

Showjumping news: Jessica Burke and Express Trend scorch to victory

Ireland’s Jessica Burke teamed up with Liam Nicholas’s home-bred 14-year-old gelding Express Trend to win the CSI4* Equine America grand prix on the Andalucia Sunshine Tour in Spain. She smashed the target set by Britain’s Simon Crippen on Handsome (Toulon x Phin-Phin) from first draw after a three-way jump-off for this ranking class and Paris Olympic qualifier.

“It was an unbelievably brave and correct call by the team here at the Sunshine Tour to run the grand prix on the grass today – the ground is unbelievable,” said Jessica, describing the track as “very difficult” and “quite trappy”. “My horse feels in brilliant form. He hadn’t jumped on grass since Dublin last year, but once I jumped two fences in the warm-up, he felt amazing so I was quite confident.

“Express Trend is 14 and it’s only now I feel that we have the right ability, and I think that helped us a lot today.”

There were also wins for Matt Sampson with Geneve R on the big tour and Ellen Whitaker riding the nine-year-old Cornet Obolensky mare Korlenski in the 1.50m Ashford Farm Trophy ranking class.

• Andalucia Sunshine Tour results

“I have to pinch myself – this is unbelievable”: a memorable Rolex grand prix win and new Grand Slam contender

Next in this week’s showjumping news, we turn to Sunday’s Rolex grand prix at The Dutch Masters, which was won by home rider Willem Greve and Highway TN NOP after a thrilling nine-way jump-off, in which world number one Henrik von Eckermann and the great King Edward finished runner-up in their second big class on the trot. The Dutchman made masterful use of his last draw to swoop home just 0.04sec faster than his Swedish rival. He becomes the new contender for the Rolex Grand Slam of Showjumping.

“I have to pinch myself – this is unbelievable,” said Willem. “Words cannot describe how I am feeling. I am so thankful for my horse for his courage and his mentality. It means so much to me to win in front of my home crowd – the history here is incredible, and it is an honour to add my name to the list of winners. I have been coming to the Dutch Masters since a was a small child, so to win here is a dream come true.”

• The Dutch Masters results

Showjumping news: Graham Gillespie triumphs

On the Spring MET III, Oliva Nova, Spain, Graham Gillespie opened proceedings with CSI2* 1.45m grand prix victory on Veneno (Chacco-Blue x Baloubet Du Rouet) after a 15-way jump-off.

“Veneno has been on great form and I’m delighted with the win,” said the British showjumper. “It was a great week for the whole team.”

• Spring MET results

“I just wanted to jump 1.20m”: 49-year-old lawyer’s victory on five-star debut

Brazilian showjumper Luciana Lossio, 49, won at her first attempt at a five-star in the $385,000 Bainbridge Companies grand prix at Wellington International’s Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) with her long-time partner, 14-year-old Lady Louise Jmen.

“This is unbelievable – I’ve been with this mare for six years and in the beginning I just wanted to jump 1.20m, but we became so much more,” she said. “We went higher and higher and today I’m here in my first five-star and winning alongside these riders that I just enjoy watching.

“Lady Louise is so confident. She doesn’t change from day to night or from the grass to sand. She’s perfect,” said Luciana, who works full-time as a lawyer in Brazil; many of her family had travelled from her home town to watch. “Tonight was our night.”

• WEF results

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Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

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

In this week’s international showjumping news round-up, there is plenty to celebrate for a unique team of Irish horses in the Nations Cup at Wellington International’s Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) – something team manager Michael Blake said he’d never seen “in 100 Nations Cups”.

A young British rider also posts a landmark first five-star victory in Doha, Qatar, and a highly anticipated rising British equine star achieves a watershed coming-of-age performance.

Read on for a round-up of the highlights of this week’s international showjumping news and results.

Showjumping news: “This team is a little unusual”

Ireland fielded a mix of Olympic veterans and team debutant horses for the $150,000 CSIO4* Nations Cup during week eight of WEF, which proved to be a winning formula as they topped a cracking contest between the 10 teams.

Pathfinder Darragh Kenny (Eddy Blue), David O’Brien (El Balou OLD), Shane Sweetnam (RR Combella) and Cian O’Connor with Fancy de Kergane topped the leaderboard ahead of Canada and the USA. Great Britain’s squad of Jessica Mendoza (I-Cap CL Z), Tim Gredley (Imperial HBF), Sameh El Dahan (Oscar-A) and Ben Maher (Ginger-Blue) finished in fourth.

“This feels amazing – I’m so lucky that my parents had their flights organised, all my students, my clients and my sponsors are here, we’ve had a great night,” said Irish squad debutant David, who jumped clear in round one, just adding two time-faults in the second leg for owners Chansonette and Leap Year Farms.

“It was a very strong team, I was thinking to myself how many times have the three of them [Shane, Cian and Darragh] competed for Ireland compared with some other teams. It’s really special for me to be sitting up here with three Olympians. They are so experienced.

“I came in on a horse who was willing to fight for me and who doesn’t want to knock any poles down. The horse has a long history and I got him because he was a difficult child, and he needed a continuing program. To me, he’s my number one, so every day we’re out for a long time and it’s a process to keep him focused. But results-wise, I’m very happy with him. He’s probably been the reason I was able to go out on my own and have a business.

“I’m delighted it paid off and everything came together. It’s a great atmosphere, when you come in the ring everything is pumped up. My heart was pumping, the horse’s heart was pumping. There was a big cheer when we cleared the last fence.”

Darragh Kenny jumped for clear and four on Kerry Anne LLC’s Eddy Blue.

“I love to ride for Ireland. It’s one of my favorite things, second to winning, of course,” he said. “But winning with an Irish team, that’s even better.

“Eddy Blue has never done two rounds like that before, but he seemed to step up to the occasion very well.”

Anchorman Cian O’Connor on Coolmore Showjumping’s Fancy De Kergane jumped clear in round one but was able to sit out round two, with team victory already in the bag.

“We saw a bit of everything in the course tonight,” said Cian. “Obviously, it plays a part with one round in the daytime then one at night. Both rounds were light, delicate and the plank was difficult to judge.

“This horse is only nine, so he’s just stepping up to this level. There aren’t many nine-year-olds able to do this, so I’m very happy with him. There’s something very special about the night classes here. So many people were here tonight and it’s one that everyone wants to win.”

Shane Sweetnam and the mare RR Combella jumped for four faults in each round.

“That’s the purpose of giving her a chance in this – you really do learn a lot,” he revealed. “She showed her character and how good a horse she is. I think the rider could have done better, but I was very happy with her, especially at the end to go and give a solid round to make sure that we did win.”

Irish chef d’equipe Michael Blake said: “This team is a little unusual. In 100 and something Nations Cups that I’ve been involved in, I’ve never had a full team where none of the horses ever jumped a Nations Cup before. That shows true depth in that we could put out a team of new horses, very good horses, but still new horses.

“On paper we didn’t look like the favourites, but I knew we’d be hard to beat. Canada looked strong, the US looked very strong, but we had a lot of experience, and we know how to dig deep.

“We love to come here because the atmosphere is amazing. To see a full house, that’s what lifts you, it’s very special.”

• WEF Nations Cup results

“A big day in the office” for 20-year-old Olli Fletcher

British rising star Olli Fletcher described winning his first five-star class, at the LGCT of Doha, Qatar, as “a big day in the office” and he couldn’t have been happier with Alison Walton’s 12-year-old BP Pocahontas after winning the opening tw0-phase.

“It was an amazing show – the stadium and the arena are beyond anything I’d ever jumped in, so I’m happy the horses enjoyed it with some good results,” Olli told H&H. “Winning my first five-star is definitely a memory that won’t be forgotten, that’s for sure. It was very special.

“My mum and owners Alison and John Walton had come from South Africa to watch, which was lovely because they’ve been instrumental in my career,” added Olli, who also made his debut for GCL team Monaco Aces on Hello William. “Both the horse and I learnt a lot and we’re looking forward to the season ahead.”

Another five-star winner at the show was Ireland’s Denis Lynch with the mighty stallion Vistogrand.

• LGCT Doha results

Holly Smith’s 14-year-old stallion makes sensational comeback

Making a welcome return to the showjumping news headlines this week was Holly Smith’s 14-year-old stallion Fruselli, who jumped to a victory double after a year on the sidelines.

The flying duo landed the ClipMyHorse.TV grand prix on the CSI2* Andalucia Sunshine Tour in Spain, having topped the Vejer Trophy speed class on Thursday, where she beat Tabitha Kyle on last week’s six-bar winner Desterly. Holly described it as “a bit of an emotional” result after “a long road back from injury” for the stunning chestnut.

Guy Williams was among the other British winners this week on the tour, landing the 1.45m ranking class on 12-year-old stallion Ernie Of Greenhill Z.

• Andalucia Sunshine Tour results

Showjumping news: an emotional victory as LGCT season kicks off

The first Longines Global Champions Tour (LGCT) crown of the new season was earned by Belgium’s Abdel Saïd riding Bonne Amie in the €375,000 grand prix of Doha, Qatar, after a 10-way jump-off. The winning duo edged out Ireland’s LGCT grand prix first-timer Harry Allen on Calculatus by less than a quarter of a second, with Marcus Ehning third on relatively new ride Coolio 42.

“Bonne Amie is incredible, but she’s a big, sensitive lady and I struggled a little in the jump-offs last year,” said Abdel after securing his first LGCT grand prix victory. “I would maybe over-ride her a little, or not ride with enough feeling. But today it felt as though she matured and grew with some small changes and I’m thrilled it all came together. She truly deserves this win.”

Abdel has qualified for the new-look LGCT Super Grand Prix at the GC Playoffs in Riyadh this year.

• LGCT grand prix of Doha results

Tom Wachman and 15-year-old mare soar to glory

Next in this week’s showjumping news round-up is young Irish rider Tom Wachman, who teamed up with his European team gold and individual silver-winning 15-year-old mare Cathalina S (Salt N Pepa S x Sandro) to win a 1.45m speed class at WEF.

“I think I was the only one in the class to do five strides to the double of verticals,” said the 19-year-old. “Cathalina has a huge stride and that’s one of the big things for her, how she can be very quick in the speed classes. I think that’s where I probably won. She’s super.”

• WEF results

A winning streak for Ben Maher and a coming-of-age performance

And finally in this week’s international showjumping news round-up, the reigning Olympic champion Ben Maher celebrated a coming-of-age performance from rising star Point Break in the $200,000 CSIO4* grand prix at WEF, Florida.

The 10-year-old Swedish warmblood Action-Breaker x Balou Du Rouet stallion, owned by Charlotte Rossetter and Pamela Wright, produced the only double clear after a five-way jump-off.

“This is probably the biggest grand prix he’s won,” said Ben, who acquired the stallion as a six-year-old. “He’s just an incredible horse. He started at WEF in the seven-year-old jumpers. It wasn’t so long ago he was spooking off every golf cart and we were in the back arenas; I kept switching arenas trying to get the groundwork in. But he was always a very talented horse and he’s progressed very nicely.

“He’s a stallion and he’s had quite a few very nice foals now, but he’s like a pet when you’re not on him. But his athleticism is what separates him from the other horses. The way he can bend his body and move his shoulder allows my job to become much easier. I can ride at the jumps and trust that he can do the job for me.”

Earlier in the week, Ben had triumphed with Jane Clark’s 13-year-old mare Ginger-Blue in the WEF Challenge Cup, who also made her Nations Cup debut with Ben this week.

“It’s always special to win any FEI competition, especially here in Wellington; there’s a lot of good horse and rider combinations any week,” said Ben. “But there’s a lot of people that fly in especially for this week, so to start it like this is a confidence boost.

“There’s strength and depth in my team, both horses and people. It’s a great time to be able to ride right now,” added Ben, whose groom Kirsty Bond won the groom’s award in the grand prix.

• WEF results

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Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

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

Never has one rider’s new horse got people talking as much as John Whitaker’s potential Olympic hope Arqana De Riverland and the pair’s sublime clear round at CHI Al Shaqab in Doha at the weekend was shared all over social media as they continue to step up to the bigger classes.

Plus, we saw a 16-year-old rider clearing 1.85m to win her first CSI4* and a 24-year-old beating two Olympic legends in a World Cup qualifier, where the world number one rider bounced back from a warm-up fall to finish second. Read on for all this week’s showjumping news and results.

Showjumping news: “She’s going to be really competitive” says John Whitaker

A video of John Whitaker jumping clear on new ride Arqana De Riverland – touted as a prospect to take the 68-year-old to the Paris Olympics – was circulating far and wide on social media this week, such is the global love for our British showjumping legend. Their clear round at the CSI5* Al Shaqab in Doha was shared alongside hundreds of appreciation posts for John as they stepped up to 1.50m level at just their third show together, and he told H&H the mare was “jumping very well”.

“She’d been with her previous rider Juliette Faligot for seven years so she was a bit set in her ways, but she jumps brilliantly – just sometimes we don’t have that control yet and there’s been the odd misunderstanding, but I think we’re coming together more and more,” he said. “She’s really careful, she’s quick and I think she’s going to be really competitive.”

John also jumped into the placings with two masterful double clears on his Nations Cup hero Equine America Unick Du Francport at the show, including a fifth-placed finish behind winner Malin Baryard Johnsson (H&M Indiana) in the grand prix.

“He has had a rest and seems to have come back really well, we just did a couple of small shows in Belgium before we came out here and to get used to the mare too,” said John. “You walk the courses out here thinking ‘Oh this is big’, then everyone goes in and jumps clear. But he feels fantastic.”

Ireland’s Richard Howley was another rider making showjumping news by finishing in the ribbons, landing the 1.50m with nine-year-old multi-winner Zodiak Du Buisson Z.

“I am absolutely over the moon,” he said. “My horse is in great shape, he is really growing into this level so easily and week after week he is impressing me more. This gives me great belief for the future that my horse can win at grand prix level.”

Richard finished ahead of France’s Simon Delestre (Dexter Fontenis Z) and Mark McAuley in third on GRS Lady Amaro for Ireland.

The action continues at the same venue this coming week when the 2024 Longines Global Champions Tour (LGCT) season kicks off.

• CSI5* Al Shaqab results

Teenager clears 1.85m to beat her older rivals

The youngest rider in the 12-strong field contesting Saturday’s six-bar on the Andalucia Sunshine Tour in Spain, British teenager Tabitha Kyle, smashed the opposition, throwing both hands in the air as she celebrated clearing 1.85m to win her first ever CSI4* class.

Tabitha, 16, was riding Su and Gordon Hall’s 16-year-old mare Desterly at her first international show after recovering from a neck fracture sustained in a car accident which meant she missed the last few months of 2023, her last year on ponies.

• Andalucia Sunshine Tour results

Home-bred secures “unbelievable” World Cup glory for 24-year-old rider

Dutch showjumper Lars Kersten made showjumping news headlines as a surprise winner of the final leg of the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup series of Western Europe in Gothenburg, Sweden, riding grey mare Hallilea. World number one Henrik von Eckermann bounced back from a collecting ring fall to claim the runner-up spot on King Edward, with fellow Swede Peder Fredricson third on 18-year-old Catch Me Not S after a seven-way jump-off.

The 24-year-old Dutchman, part of the Young Riders Academy, is trained by his father Pieter and was riding his father’s 12-year-old home-bred mare to beat two of the greatest Olympic riders in the world in a thrilling jump-off.

“That makes it even more special – I’ve been working with Hallilea all her life and she has been a big part of my career,” said Lars. “To grow together to this level and to win a World Cup in Gothenburg is unbelievable.

“The moment she turned five, I took her over and it’s special that we’ve done this journey together. We already had some nice placings, but almost nothing beats winning the World Cup here in Gothenburg – it feels a bit unreal!

“I’ve seen Henrik and Peder in so many jump-offs so I know they are capable of being faster than me,” he added. “To sit in front of these guys is not easy and most of the time I will be behind them, so today is a big, big day. But I think I was pretty fast and in the end it showed that it was not that easy to beat me, so I’m very, very pleased with my mare. She absolutely gave 100% today.”

Lars has also had training from his “idol growing up”, Marcus Ehning, and six-time Olympian Jos Lansink.

“I was told the Scandinavium Arena wasn’t an easy ring to ride in, but I found it quite comfortable,” he said.“Maybe it fits my riding, I’m maybe a bit of a light rider and I try to stay fluent throughout the turns, so actually maybe the [oval] shape of it suited me very well. And obviously the horse felt really great as well so it all came together.”

Henrik’s jump-off performance came only minutes after he slipped out of the saddle on landing over a warm-up fence on King Edward during the preceding rider’s round. Ever the professional, he put his unscheduled dismount behind him and his world championship-winning partner scorched round, but couldn’t quite catch the time set by the young winner.

“Maybe my horse jumped too well in the jump-off and he lost a bit of time,” Henrik said. “But this is a good way to lose.”

Peder Fredricson batted off questions about Paris this summer by saying, “Asking me about the Olympics in February is like asking how the weather will be in August! We are building up the horses but there is still a long way to go. It is for sure my main goal this year. I am giving all my horses in the stables a chance now and we will see in the next months how it is going.

“Lars is a great rider. It is nice to see the next generation doing so well.”

Among the top 18 riders who have qualified for the World Cup Final in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in April are title-holder Henrik von Eckermann, who topped this year’s league, Steve Guerdat, Ireland’s Richard Howley and a quartet of British showjumpers; Robert Whitaker, Harry Charles, Scott Brash and Ben Maher.

• Gothenburg Horse Show results

Showjumping news: “Dreams really do come true”

British showjumper Claudia Moore proclaimed that “dreams really do come true” when winning her first CSI3* 1.50m grand prix in the final week of the Moura Spring Tour in Valencia, Spain, riding Hardesther. The only other double clear came from another Brit, Chloe Aston, riding the Arko III nine-year-old Akito Von Rocherath Z.

“’Hardy’ is my horse of a lifetime, I trust her and didn’t overpush her as she’s naturally fast,” said Claudia, one of a strong contingent of British winners at this week’s show.

• Moura Spring Tour results

There’s just no stopping Daniel Coyle, “I stared death in the face at the Liverpool”

Continuing a phenomenal winning streak, Irish rider Daniel Coyle made more showjumping news when he lifted the CSI3* $100,000 LeMieux grand prix at the World Equestrian Center, Ocala, Florida, this time riding Farrel, after a 15-way jump-off.

“On Farrel, you can turn on half a stride,” said Daniel of the 14-year-old KWPN gelding (Cardento 933 x Stakkato) owned by Ariel Grange.

“He’s an amazing horse to turn back to a vertical. He’s had a few years off but he’s very handy. Turning back so tight to the second-last jump, that’s all to do with the horse there. [Second-placed] Aaron Vale and I both took risks, but at the end it comes back to the horse and if you can nail it.

“I galloped to fence one and hoped everything came up good, I was really risky across the centre to the Liverpool – I couldn’t see the flags and I stared death in the face, but he pricked his ears and jumped it.

“The celebration in the end is the only part of the sport when we get to interact with the crowd,” added Daniel about his third win of this week; he also finished third behind Aaron Vale (Obi Wan) on another 14-year-old, Quintin. “It’s usually just the horse, the owners and the people, so when the audience comes out screaming and are having a great time, it makes it so special for us.”

Showjumping news: Vogel has the magic Touch again

Germany’s Richard Vogel, ranked 11 in the world, and United Touch S captured top spot in the $385,000 Lugano Diamonds CSI5* grand prix at Wellington International’s Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) after a four-way jump-off in which the quartet all produced double clears over Anthony D’Ambrosio’s tracks.

“I have been lucky enough to ride a lot of good horses in my life, but he’s outstanding,” said Richard. “When he leaves the ground, that power and scope is something very unique and I’m very happy to be in his saddle.”

Darragh Kenny had set the early standard on 17-year-old Holstein stallion VDL Cartello before the lead jumped first to US Olympic team gold medallist McLain Ward on 16-year-old Callas and Shane Sweetnam on James Kann Cruz, back from a break, settled for third.

“I was very lucky that I went behind all three of these guys, and I knew I had to risk it all,” said 26-year-old Richard, whose groom Felicia Wallin won the $500 grooms’ award presented by Double H Farm. “If I had a rail, I was fourth and if I was a slow clear, I was fourth so there was not so much to lose.”

• WEF results

Ben Maher is back at the top

And finally in this week’s international showjumping news round-up, world number two Ben Maher won the $116,000 Adequan WEF Challenge Cup round seven at WEF with Dallas Vegas Batilly, with less than a second separating the top three riders.

“I’m lucky with Tilly – she has a huge stride, so I was able to get going and make up some time,” said Ben, 41. “It was lucky for me that I stayed ahead today. It’s always difficult to win here, whether on Thursday or Saturday night. When you have riders like Kent Farrington and Richard Vogel coming behind you, it’s never over until it’s over.

“She’s been an incredible horse early in her career. She jumped great in the five-star a couple weeks ago and I felt she was on form, which is why we brought her back this week.

“My 18-month-old son Cooper can sit on her and she’s the sweetest horse ever. But when you’re on her, she has a lot of opinions. I have to be the passenger, not the pilot, and get her to do things by asking her, not telling her. We’ve come with a great relationship, and I want to bring out the best in her. We saw today that she’s a real fighter for me.”

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Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

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

In this week’s international showjumping news round-up, Irish showjumper Mikey Pender enjoyed an outstanding run of success, while Amanda Derbyshire posted a winning streak of her own, including on a very exciting new stallion.

This was a week where a strong Irish contingent was absolutely flying, but so was Guy Williams in Spain. Read on for our weekly round-up of showjumping news from around the globe, plus results.

Showjumping news: Pender’s week to remember

Irish showjumper Mikey Pender saluted the crowd in delight after his flying finish on his great partner HHS Calais secured victory in the Longines CSI5*-W grand prix at the HH Sharjah Ruler Cup in the UAE. This victory with the Bravo Hughes-owned son of Cavalier Royale, bred in Ireland by Ita Brennan, sealed a marvellous run of success for the 24-year-old Hickstead Derby-winning rider.

Mikey started the week by filling the top two placings in the grand prix qualifier, topping the leaderboard on HHS Calais and slotting into second on Al Shira’aa Stables’ 10-year-old stallion Chacco Bay. Mikey went on to win Sunday’s winning round on Chacco Blue, before triumphing on his Rome Nations Cup and Riyadh grand prix winner HHS Calais after a formidable 14-way jump-off.

“I went over there for six weeks, building up the horses, and that was the perfect way to end,” said Mikey, who was part of Ireland’s second-placed team in the new Longines League of Nations the week before on Calais. “You’re going there to win those big five-star grands prix, so to pull it off on a horse who is in great shape, jumping well, is what it’s all about.

“He jumped very well the week before in the League of Nations so I was quite hopeful.

“Chacco Bay jumped his first five-star grand prix last week – he had two down but I was very happy with how he jumped – then he was second on the first day here and won his 1.55m on Sunday. So he improved and he felt like he jumped even better – he’s very exciting.”

Continuing the Irish domination, Hickstead-based Shane Breen and home-bred Scarteen (Cardento x Chellano Z) finished third to Mikey with a super double clear in the horse’s first five-star grand prix and Shane won Saturday’s speed class with 16-year-old Z7 Ipswich.

• HH Sharjah Ruler Cup results

Amanda Derbyshire’s horse-buying trip pays off

US-based British showjumper Amanda Derbyshire claimed a string of national and international wins on her first visit to TerranNova Equestrian Center, Florida, combining a horse-buying trip with a bucketful of success in the ring. As well as national success, Amanda claimed a 1.45m victory on Otto BH before heading the grand prix with the 12-year-old and finishing third with a new ride, the eight-year-old stallion Destine To Be.

“It was fast today,” said Amanda after the grand prix. “There were 13 in the jump-off so I knew speed was going to matter. I did one stride less to the double, he’s got a big stride and he’s careful, and it all worked out in my favour.

“It was Destine’s first FEI week so I’m probably more excited about him, that was a fast double clear stepping up.”

• CSI2* Myakka City results

Showjumping news: first grand prix victory is “everything and more”

Making the showjumping news headlines at the World Equestrian Center, Ocala, Florida, was Mexico’s Carlos Hank Guerreiro, posting a first ever grand prix victory riding H5 Sporthorses’ H5 Porthos Maestro WH Z. Rain couldn’t dampen the competitive spirit in the CSI3* $100,000 Coca-Cola Beverages Florida grand prix over tracks set by Colm Quinn.

“My trainer Eduardo Menezes told me there were only five in the jump-off so I might as well go for it,” said Carlos. “We wanted to test the horse a little bit. He’s still green, and this was his first real big jump-off. My horse is very fast naturally, you just let him go and he is just eager to canter forward.

“He’s an amazing horse,” he added. “I got him as a seven-year-old who was quite green. He was produced by a very young rider from Belgium, who took him to the children’s European Championships then to the Belgium national championships at 1.45m. We saw him there and purchased him shortly after.

“From then on, he’s just done everything and more that we’ve asked of him. We stepped up to this level last year and he’s had a few good placings, but never in the podium and never a win, so I couldn’t be happier with him. He did everything and more out there tonight.”

In second was Daniel Coyle on new ride Incredible, with third place going to another Irish representative in Tom Wachman on Coolmore Showjumping’s Berlux Z. Tom had won Thursday’s grand prix qualifier on Cathalina S and had simultaneously been competing at the Winter Equestrian Festival, where he won an under-25 class on nine-year-old mare Obora’s Laura.

A career best win for a little mare with a big heart at WEF

There was no stopping the Irish in this week’s showjumping news and it was Philip McGuane on board the Evergate Stables’ Orphea HQ who recorded a career best in the Winter Equestrian Festival Challenge Cup, held on the grass Derby field.

“Philip has developed a really strong partnership with Orphea,” said owner Nayel Nassar of the mare who has been with Evergate Stables since a seven-year-old. “It’s been really cool to see him come into his element, get more competitive, and dig in for these kinds of classes because we always knew he was capable.”

Philip joined Evergate Stables to produce their young horses after riding for Switzerland’s Beat Mandli and US rider Katie Dinan.

“Orphea is not very big herself, but she has a big heart,” he said of the Emerald mare. “She knows where the jumps are, and as long as I don’t make a mistake she’s always there. I just need to get her anywhere near the jumps to be honest.”

• WEF results

Spanish success: Ernie flies to victory

On week two of the Andalucia Sunshine Tour in Spain, one of the show’s big winners was Guy Williams, who landed Sunday’s CSI4* medium tour grand prix on the 12-year-old Emerald son, Ernie Of Greenhill Z. On the Moura Tour in Valencia, Sandy McLean scored in a 1.45m with his great partner Gino F.

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Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

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

In a bumper week of international showjumping news, we bring you plenty of top-flight action including Harry Charles securing his ticket to the World Cup Final, and we were thrilled to see Laura Renwick winning her first grand prix since recovering from serious injuries sustained in consecutive falls. Then not a week goes by without mention of Daniel Coyle and his incredible winning streak.

Read on for a round-up of this week’s showjumping news and results from around the world.

Showjumping news: “The beginning of a very successful story”?

Swiss superstar Steve Guerdat landed the penultimate leg of the Longines FEI World Cup Western European League in Bordeaux, France, with exciting 11-year-old mare Is-Minka. He was joined on the podium by 22-year-old Frenchman Jeanne Sadran (Dexter De Kerglenn) in second with young British star, 24-year-old Harry Charles, third on Sherlock, securing his ticket to the World Cup Final in Saudi Arabia in April.

Steve, a three-time World Cup title-holder, described the victory as “so exciting”, on this Mylord Carthago mare who was due to be sold last year, but Steve’s father-in-law stepped in to secure her future with the 2012 Olympic champion.

“We had a bit of bad luck with a lot of four faults in our first five-star grands prix, but today she showed what she’s capable of and it’s only the beginning of a very successful story for her!” he said. “The track was pretty tough – it started with two big jumps and that really backed up the horses, and then the triple combination [fence six] was very difficult but Is-Minka is a very good combination jumper and she showed that today.”

Three riders lost their chances here, including two falls, one from world number one Henrik von Eckermann and Calizi, although he later reported that both he and the mare were none the worse for the experience.

Harry Charles agreed that the first-round track was “relentless” but was delighted with his La Coruna victor Sherlock, whom he hopes to take to the final.

“He should have been clear in the World Cup last week in Amsterdam, he just had a small mistake at the last jump, but I’m happy to have put it right this week and I’m very proud of him,” said Harry. “He’s still very new at this level and he felt pretty at ease around there so I have good hopes for the future.

“I saw Steve’s jump-off round and he made it look a lot easier than it was. I thought maybe I could get him but then I realised quickly after the first three jumps ‘I don’t think I’m actually close’, so I just tried to leave the jumps up. Sherlock needs another few rounds at this height going at that speed to really get it. But I couldn’t have asked for more.”

Harry had earlier won a 1.50m five-star speed class at the show with Stall Zet’s multi-winning Billabong Du Roumois, while Matt Sampson continued his winning form from previous weeks winning Saturday’s 1.45m equivalent with MGH Candy Girl, chased home by Scott Brash on Hello Mr President.

Sunday’s Audi grand prix was won by home rider Julien Epaillard on Donatello D’Auge, with Irish riders Denis Lynch in second on Brooklyn Heights and Jessica Burke third on Nikey HH.

• Jumping Bordeaux results

Grand prix success for Debney on comeback mare: “I never have to wear spurs”

Also in this week’s showjumping news, US-based British rider Grace Debney jumped to CSI2* grand prix glory in week four of the 2024 Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) on the grass Derby field at Equestrian Village in Florida. Riding 13-year-old Diamant De Semilly mare Zarina De Vidau, the 20-year-old US-based rider topped an 11-way jump-off

“My horse is naturally super fast,” she said. “I walked a plan and talked about it with a few people, but I felt like I should stick with it. A couple of people had different ideas but I know my horse really well because I’ve had her for five years.

“I was definitely worried about Tom Wachman and Mark Bluman – Mark had my time, so I was definitely sweating a little. She’s so quick though, I never have to wear spurs on her because she’s always just going and you can’t really beat that footspeed. She actually won this grand prix two years ago and then she was out last WEF, so it’s just really nice to have her back.”

Tom Wachman for Ireland finished nearly two seconds adrift on Coolmore Showjumping’s 15-year-old Lazzaro Delle Schiave.

• WEF results

Irish one-two in Florida

WEF’s $62,500 Hérmes CSI4* 1.50m classic resulted in a one-two for Ireland, led by Shane Sweetnam on new ride Irandole Du Flot (Vivaldi Du Seigneur x Ogano Sitte), ahead of Cian O’Connor with Eve D’Ouilly, after a 14-way jump-off at WEF.

“This horse has had a great week,” said Shane. “She only did her first 1.50m class at the end of last year so to be this competitive already against this standard of horses shows how good she is. It’s a great class because it’s not a grand prix, but it’s a top class. You can really judge where your horse is experienced and where they need more education, whereas a grand prix is a very tough class, so if the horse is inexperienced they can get lost.

“They learn a lot in these 12 weeks of circuit and it’s great to have options like the grass and the international ring throughout the season,” added Shane, who was awarded the Martha Jolicoeur leading international rider award.

• WEF results

Showjumping news: Renwick makes winning grand prix return after injury

British rider Laura Renwick accumulated some eye-catching results on home soil last week and transferred that winning form during the first week of the Spring Tour in Valenica, Spain, claiming top spot in the CSI3* grand prix with a typically scorching round aboard the former Ben Maher ride Enjoy CK Z, owned by Charlotte Rossetter and Pamela Wright.

This was a welcome comeback for Laura, who only returned to the ring last summer and has been rebuilding her string after two consecutive falls put her out of action — in the first fall she broke her pelvis and femur, then she later broke her neck and was off for a further three months.

“I’m not sure I believed I would ever be able to win something like this again after my injuries, but this mare has given me everything,” she said of Enjoy. “It was a silly fall on the flat and I didn’t really think I’d hurt myself — I thought I’d hurt my arm and hit my head but when they did an MRI, they found a fractured bone at the top of my neck.”

• Moura Tours in Valencia results

Daniel Coyle makes it a big-class hat-trick

No stranger to H&H‘s showjumping news pages at the moment, flying Irishman Daniel Coyle landed his third big win in as many weeks when, now back in the USA, he topped the $100,000 Wheels Up grand prix at the World Equestrian Center, finishing first and second with Farrel and Quintin respectively.

Fresh from claiming back-to-back World Cup victories in Europe with Ariel Grange’s great mare Legacy, he qualified another two of her horses, both 14-year-olds, for the nine-way jump-off and ended up beating his own time to win.

“Leopoldo Palacios is the best course-builder there is,” said Daniel. “The most difficult for sure, but most people like that. I was lucky because I was able to go first on Quintin. He has a bigger stride, but Farrel is fast in a different way – he’s handy, neat and tidy in the way he jumps. I knew I had a good round on Quintin, but I also knew I could do a whole lot more with Farrel.”

The Irishman is hoping to represent Ireland at the forthcoming Longines League of Nations at the same venue.

“Legacy just got back here, so she’ll have a little break and she’ll start to work her way up and hopefully if everything goes well, we can get selected to jump,” he said.

Showjumping news: “I’m grateful for the entire team that makes wins like this possible”

US-based British showjumper Amanda Derbyshire credited her whole team for her four-star win with grass specialist Otto BH at WEF, Florida.

“He’s a great horse and the 1.50m is kind of his level, so I use him when I can,” said Amanda, who also finished fifth in the grand prix riding 16-year-old Cornwall BH.

“I’m grateful for the entire team that makes wins like this possible, and I love riding on this field, so I always save him for this. He’s fast, careful and very catlike and economical in his jump.

“He has a big stride so you can go forward to the fences, especially with this big field on a long run,” she added. “You can really dare him at the jumps, knowing you don’t have to slow up too much because he’s going to try to clear them.”

• WEF results

Paul O’Shea: “He feels as good as ever” at the age of 16

And finally in this week’s showjumping news round-up, there was further Irish success when Paul O’Shea and 16-year-old Emerald gelding Imerald Van’t Voorhof lifted the $215,000 MARS Equestrian CSI4* grand prix at WEF, Florida. Nineteen-year-old Mimi Gochman finished second with a double clear on Holsteiner mare Celine BH for owner Gochman Sport Horses.

“He’s been a super horse for me; he’s done amazing things over the five years we’ve been together,” said Paul. “We jumped double clear in the Nations Cup at Hickstead which was a big thing for me because I always watched Hickstead growing up. He also won the Queen’s Cup in Spruce Meadows and he won the five-star grand prix at the Palm Beach Masters so he’s done a lot of really good things and he feels as good as ever.”

• WEF results

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‘I owe everything to Legacy’: World Cup podium finishers fight back to win London grand prix

‘As good sport as you’ll see anywhere’: British one-two in spectacular London World Cup

Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

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

Success breeds success, according to the popular sporting hypothesis, and we see it in bucketloads in this week’s international showjumping news round-up.

From Daniel Coyle’s back-to-back World Cup wins with brilliant mare Legacy, to the input of two of Great Britain’s greatest showjumpers Nick Skelton and William Funnell in other riders’ success, there’s been plenty to celebrate in the world of showjumping. Read on for a round-up of this week’s international showjumping news and results.

Showjumping news: back-to-back World Cup success for Coyle and Legacy

Fresh from their World Cup success in Leipzig last weekend, Irish showjumper Daniel Coyle and Ariel Grange’s super 14-year-old mare Legacy triumphed again with another extraordinary performance in a World Cup thriller in Amsterdam. The duo sliced nearly 3sec off the leading time set by Dutch rider Willem Greve on Highway TN NOP to take top spot.

“I’ve been doing dry January, I do it every year, but Ariel Grange said ‘Go and have a few beers’,” Daniel said. “So I had three after last Sunday’s win and I think we might have a few more tonight!”

Daniel explained that commitment and determination have been the key to his success.

“My brother Jordan won everything on ponies and I didn’t win so much, or so it seemed!” he said. “In any sport I suppose you just get stuck in and get on with it or you get left behind and give up. Thankfully it went the right way for me in the end.

“It goes back to riding those ponies at home in Ireland where it’s very competitive. I rode with my brothers and everybody else, even the likes of Richard Howley, who now also has won a few World Cups. I was always chasing those guys. It’s good to see now I can have some revenge and I guess I also had some great horses in my career in the smaller divisions that have taught me how to do jump-offs. If being competitive in a jump-off is all I can give back to Legacy then I’m happy enough with that.”

Daniel has formed a unique partnership with Dolly, as Legacy is known at home, who has now earned a few weeks off in Florida before five-star League Of Nations duty.

“For years, we weren’t really on the same page,” he explained. “She’d jump one fence very high and the next fence I’d ask her to jump – like a plank or something delicate – she’d knock it down and I’d be very confused as to why. But I feel now we are very much on the same page; we have a real understanding.

“We have a huge year ahead with the World Cup Final and the Olympics – and for sure we’ll be looking at both with her – but we have to have a conversation about it all. The main thing is to get her to the Olympic Games like she is right now and try to win a medal! She’s in the prime of her life, she’s got better, she’s got older, and maybe so have I.”

Two qualifying rounds remain in the Western European League series, after which the top 18 riders in the standings will earn a ticket to the World Cup Final in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in April.

Also enjoying a successful time in Amsterdam, British rider Matt Sampson landed a winning double of five-star speed classes with his London International winner MGH Candy Girl.

• Jumping Amsterdam results

At the other end of the scale…

While Daniel Coyle is racking up multiple World Cup successes, amateur Mexican rider Jose Alberto Martinez Vazquez produced a career first World Cup qualifier riding Quinley in Puebla, Mexico.

“Quinley means everything to me. I’ve never had a horse like him before,” he said of the Holsteiner gelding he’s produced for 11 years from a four-year-old and with whom he represented Mexico at the 2022 World Championships. “Going to the last fence, you’re always thinking, ‘Is this enough?’ I had a bit of a miscommunication, but Quinley still went over it. I’m thankful.”

• CSI4*-W Puebla results

William Funnell leads UAE to first Nations Cup success, Great Britain third

Weeks after taking the helm as the new UAE chef d’equipe, William Funnell led the squad to a debut Nations Cup success at the CSIO4* Sharjah. Omar Abdul Aziz Al Marzooqi on Enjoy De La Mure, Abdullah Mohd Al Marri (BBS McGregor, formerly with Jack Ryan), Ali Hamad Al Kirbi with Jarlin De Torres and Abdullah Humaid Al Muhairi (Chacolu) didn’t hit a fence throughout two rounds, accumulating just two discarded time-faults to win on a zero score from Germany with five penalties on the card.

Great Britain finished third on 24 faults, represented by Joe Stockdale (Ebanking), Donald Whitaker on Millfield Colette, Skye Higgin riding Djordania Du Tillard and Jack Whitaker on Equine America Q Paravatti N, with Ireland finishing fifth.

British chef d’equipe Di Lampard said: “To finish on the podium was incredibly pleasing. We had two good results with young horses Ebanking and Djordania, which is encouraging for these partnerships for the future. We need to improve marginally as a team as we look forward to the first Longines League of Nations competition in Abu Dhabi. There was a slight lack of consistency, but we are looking at all the positives of yesterday.”

• CSIO4* Sharjah results

More showjumping news: home-bred Grey Goose provides just the tonic

In more international showjumping news, Australian showjumper Rowan Willis flew to top spot of the CSI2* $100,000 Lugano Diamonds 1.45m grand prix on the Split Rock Jumping Tour at the TerraNova Equestrian Center in USA riding his home-bred mare Wellington Grey Goose (Corlensky x Grandira).

“Wellington Grey Goose is a real tryer and she’s fast,” said Rowan. ““I’ve done Split Rock shows ever since I came to America, and Derek Braun always puts on great shows. It’s really good for the competitors, has good prize money, and they have a fantastic facility here in Sarasota.”

• CSI2* Split Rock Jumping Tour results

$215,000 grand prix goes to Foster

Canadian showjumper Tiffany Foster won the Winter Equestrian Festival NetJets CSI4* grand prix riding Battlecry, a 10-year-old by Vigo D’Arsouilles x Latano, whom she owns with Artisan Farms and Kent Farrington.

“I’m really happy to finally check this one off,” said Tiffany, who was also awarded as the week’s leading international rider while Battlecry’s groom Kaytlyn Brown earned a $500 prize. “My horse has a bit of a right drift – just like every horse, he goes one way or the other – so, I thought the jump-off was actually going to suit him.”

Luciana Lossio took second for Brazil on Lady Louise Jmen, while the Nick Skelton-trained French rider Nina Mallevaey took third on Cartier SR.

“Nick told me I could have gone faster to the last, but I’m so happy with my horse,” said Nina. “He’s really trying to do everything for me. I’m going to try to have many more podiums like this.”

Great Britain’s Ben Maher took fourth on Faltic HB and Irish showjumper Cian O’Connor slotted into fifth on Maurice for owner Pat Crean.

• WEF results

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Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

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

“I owe her so much” said Irish showjumper Daniel Coyle of the exceptional 14-year-old mare Legacy, who continued her winning streak this week with World Cup glory in Germany. Their fearless jump-off round drew gasps from the crowd at nearly every fence, and it was fully deserving of the top spot.

In other showjumping news from across the globe this week, we round up some of the action from the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) in Florida, and there has been two-star competition on home soil with Kelsall Hill’s first international show. Read on for this week’s round-up of international showjumping news and results.

Showjumping news: “Like no other horse I’ve ridden”

Irish showjumper Daniel Coyle was “over the moon” after lifting the 11th leg of the Longines FEI World Cup in the Western European League at Leipzig, Germany, with the outstanding 14-year-old mare Legacy (Chippendale Z x Bon Ami).

The pair had most recently triumphed in the London International grand prix but the World Cup qualifier there had been snatched from their grasp by Scott Brash and Ben Maher. But in Germany, against a world-class field of 12 jump-off rivals, they produced a scorching round that had the crowd gasping. Drawn midway, the duo set off with a daring angle across the first fence which set them up perfectly for a spin round on the right rein over the next two fences, including the crucial double. With that out the way, the 29-year-old pushed Legacy into top gear and she obliged with electric acceleration, gamely taking out strides and flicking her heels to clear the penultimate planks on the tightest of angles.

Daniel then rode a racing finish to the final oxer, scorching across the line clear in 31.70sec, the world number 14 rider punching the air in delight and lifting his hat in response to an appreciative crowd, while Ariel Grange’s exceptional mare earned plenty of pats.

Daniel faced some anxious moments, first as Sweden’s Peder Fredricson on rising star SV Vroom De La Pomme Z soared home considerably faster, but just tipped the front rail of the final oxer. Last drawn Martin Fuchs of Switzerland also gave his all in pursuit on Commissar Pezi, but was left shaking his head when the clock stopped 0.43sec off Daniel’s time for the runner-up spot. His team-mate Steve Guerdat took third on the “powerful” but “difficult” Double Jeu D’Honvault, earning the Swiss former Olympic champion a ticket for his 15th World Cup Final.

“Legacy has had an amazing jump-off round once again – with these guys all behind me it’s not so easy. I wanted them to know I’m here to play with them, I’m not just here to compete. But today’s for her,” said Daniel, who has also now qualified for the World Cup Final in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in April. “There’s no horse who tries harder than her. She is like no other horse I’ve ridden. Once you ask her to do something, if it’s actually possible she will do it.”

Drawn early in the jump-off, Great Britain’s Robert Whitaker conjured an eye-catching second steadier clear out of Stephen and Caroline Blatchford’s Vermento to finish seventh and pocket a further 10 World Cup points.

The previous day, Ireland had also topped the podium; Michael Duffy headed the six-bar on O’Balou Van De Plataan.

• Partner Pferd Leipzig results

Gonzalo versus Gonzalo

In more international showjumping news this week, Trevor Breen’s former stable star Gonzalo found winning form with Rodrigo Pessoa in the $50,000 Palm Beach Equine Clinic Grand Prix at Wellington International, Florida. They were chased home by Ireland’s Darragh Kenny on Eddy Blue, with another Gonzalo, Spanish rider Gonzalo Busca, third on Cristiano Obolensky.

The winning horse’s new owner Rachel Penner is out injured so the ride has been passed to her coach, the 2004 Olympic champion, for the time being.

“I’ve been keeping the horses running until she’s back,” said Rodrigo of the 13-year-old. “He has a lot of experience, so it was no mystery to us what he could do. We wanted to put him under the lights tonight for possibilities later in the season when he goes back to Rachel.”

The $140,000 Keyflow Feeds USA CSI3* grand prix went to Richard Vogel of Germany riding Cydello, and Jordan Coyle of Ireland and For Gold landed the Hermès 1.50m.

• WEF results

Showjumping news from Kelsall Hill

There was further Irish success closer to home when Richard Howley claimed top spot in Kelsall Hill’s inaugural CSI2* Cheval Liberte & Windmill Farm Estates 1.45m grand prix riding HK Horses’ nine-year-old Zirocco Blue gelding Zodiak Du Buisson Z, the fastest of three double clears. The runner-up spot went to Jennifer Billington and her great partner Flipper Darco UK Z while Fraser Reed finished third on Westbank Rio.

• Kelsall Hill results

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Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

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

American showjumper Lauren Hough had a very lucky escape at the Winter Equestrian Festival in Florida, USA, last week when the hackamore bridle she was using on a new stallion snapped in the ring.

As can be seen in the video above, which Lauren posted on social media, the panicked horse then takes off, twice careering over the wings of one of the fences on course – and continues round for a dozen more laps after the video ends.

The Olympic showjumper explained to H&H what happened to cause this terrifying incident, and it all stemmed from the stallion having a playful kick as Lauren put her leg on when she got in the ring.

“So I gave him a little tweak on my inside rein and as I did so, the front of the hackamore broke – the leather snapped clean off the metal,” she explained. “So I was left holding the reins, but then he panicked and took off like Seabiscuit!

“Obviously people didn’t want to alarm the horse, so they kept quiet, but more and more people got in the arena to try to help – probably about 15-20 people – but the horse kept going and kept jumping the wing of the fence.

“Some people actually told me to jump off the horse, but I’d have been in the hospital if I’d tried that.”

It took until “the 11th or 12th lap”, but fortunately for Lauren, a pair of quick-thinking Olympic champions came to her rescue.

“Nick Skelton, Uli Kirchhoff and one other guy used some poles to try to pen him in by getting around him with the rails and he finally got startled – and tired, probably – and he stopped,” said Lauren of her saviours that day. “Nick grabbed hold of the horse and just told me to get off.

“Throughout it all, I stayed really calm, I don’t know why. I was never scared at all. But I lost my dad [Olympic showjumper Champ Hough] last Monday and I’m pretty sure he was my guardian angel that day, because it could have gone so much worse.”

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Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

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

After a superb seven weeks, the Andalucía Sunshine Tour 2023, sponsored by l’a Consejería de Turismo, Cultura y Deporte’ and co-financed by the European Union, came to a close with a second CCI4* win on the trot for Irishman Mikey Pender and HHS Calais.

Mikey and Bravo Hughes’ 12-year-old gelding followed up last weekend’s win in the Suzuki grand prix with victory from last draw in the Andalucía Invitational Grand Prix, an Olympic qualifier, on 26 March.

“It’s amazing to win the grand prix here,” Mikey said. “Calais jumped outstanding today, there were 12 in the jump-off so it was a bit more difficult than last week. Then, I was lucky enough I didn’t have to jump off.

“It was quite fast, the class, and I think it was a brilliant course. The jump-off maybe didn’t suit me perfectly but we were lucky enough to come out with the right result.

“It’s absolutely incredible to win two grands prix here in a row and I think it builds up our season amazingly. I think we are ready to go to the big shows and thanks to the Sunshine Tour here for giving us the chance to hopefully build up for another brilliant season.”

There was another big win for Ireland yesterday, as Darragh Kenny ended the penultimate week of competition at the Winter Equestrian Festival at Wellington International with a win in the $226,000 Bainbridge Companies CSI4* grand prix on Oakland Vantures’ Vancouver Dreams.

He had qualified for the grand prix during the Adequan WEF Challenge Cup on Friday, but elected not to jump off with the 13-year-old mare, a strategy that paid off on Sunday.

“You don’t have to worry about the jumps in the jump-off, you just have to get the right spot,” he said. “She’s an incredible horse.”

“She’s like 15 out of 10 careful, so the most important thing is to get her to relax, come down a little bit and not stay up in the air,” said Kenny, who started riding the mare early this year, taking on the ride after Austria’s Max Kühner.

“She tried her guts out today and was brilliant. You can’t help but love her.”

Second and third place went to Lillie Keenan with Fasther and Nicola Philippaerts on H&M Luna van’t Ruytershof Z respectively; in fourth was Britain’s Sam Hutton on Casablanca-H.

What better way could there be of celebrating your 21st than by winning a four-star grand prix in style?

Britain’s Nicole Lockhead Anderson did just that on 27 March as she and her own eight-year-old Emerald Irish Cruise took top honours in the CSI4* Equipe Ladies Invitational. The victory topped off a super record at the Andalucía Sunshine Tour in Vejer de la Frontera, Spain – Sunday’s was their ninth win of the seven-week tour.

“I have no words to describe how much I love this horse, she is my hero,” said Nicole, who won a brand new Equipe saddle.

AP McCoy’s daughter Eve took the win in the Heusdens Schäffer CSI1* grand prix at the Sentower Park youth meeting in Opglabbeek, Belgium, with her father’s Cocktail d’Azur.

Four riders jumped clear in the first round of the 1.30m class but the 15-year-old rider and 11-year-old gelding were the fastest by three seconds.

Sophie Evans, 16, came third in the 1.40m Aloga Auction Under 25 Grand Prix on ESM Equestrian’s Hatzidee PR, and Madison Seedhouse, also 16, came third in the Emmers Equestrian Pony Grand Prix, on ESM Equestrian’s Vaughann De Vuzit.

Shane Breen’s 13-year-old daughter Darcy, at her first international show, came third in the 1.25m Ashford Farm Children on Horses grand prix with Lea Popely’s Kunis.

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Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

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

In this week’s international showjumping news, we watched Great Britain’s Jodie Hall McAteer swoop to victory in a CSI5* speed class in the Longines Global Champions Tour season opener in Doha, Qatar, where an inexperienced mare also posted an “unexpected” grand prix victory.

We were also wowed by one horse-and-rider combination’s daring angles en route to victory in Ocala, Florida, and a 10-time Olympian leading his Nations Cup squad to glory. This is what the sport’s all about! Here is our weekly round-up of international showjumping news and results.

Intricate fan is make or break fence

Course-designer Alan Wade was at his brilliant best at the World Equestrian Centre in Ocala, Florida, with this intricate fan fence (main image, top) in particular testing horses and riders in the $40,000 1.4m CSI3* two-phase. Victory went to speedy US rider Aaron Vale with Lori Osterstock’s I Adermie R4, who scythed over this obstacle at a breathtaking angle to set an unbeatable time.

“Alan Wade is a world-class course-designer and he has been creating great courses all week,” said Aaron. “The first phase let you jump around a bit, then the second phase had some fun elements. There was a hard inside turn from the Wheels Up jump to the fan vertical. It was hard to get inside to that fence smoothly because it was a tough angle.

“I didn’t get there as smoothly as I wanted, but Adermie is quick-footed enough that she kept it up,” he added of the 10-year-old Den Ham Blue R x Namelus R mare. “Then I found the rest [of the course] forward and to my advantage as Adermie is the type of horse that the faster you go, the better she jumps.”

• Ocala results

Kimosa is the speed queen

THE 2023 edition of the Longines Global Champions Tour kicked off in Doha, Qatar, where there was plenty to celebrate for young British rider Jodie Hall McAteer, who swooped home fastest in Saturday’s 1.50m speed class riding the 13-year-old mare Kimosa Van Het Kitrahof.

She beat leading Swedish riders Malin Baryard-Johnsson on Harley Davidson and Henrik von Eckermann riding Hollywood V by nearly 2sec.

“I’d had a bit of an unlucky show but Kimosa’s been in great form recently. We’ve not actually had a big win for a while, although we’ve come close a few times, so it was really nice to get one finally,” said Jodie, who also represented New York Empire in the GCL competition. “I didn’t see Malin and Henrik’s rounds, I just made my own plan and stuck with it. Kimosa is a naturally very fast horse so I never really have to ride her too quick, she naturally covers the ground and she’s like a little pony, with a very fast pace. She’s always very competitive when I leave the fences up.”

Amongst the other winners in Doha was Ireland’s Denis Lynch, who topped the opening five-star two-phase on Cornet’s Iberio.

• LGCT of Doha results

Inexperienced mare posts ‘unexpected’ CSI5* grand prix victory

Philipp Weishaupt (Just Be Gentle) and his co-rider from Ludger Beerbaum‘s stables, Christian Kukuk (Nice Van’t Zorgvliet) filled the top two positions on the LGCT grand prix podium in Doha, Qatar, separated by just 0.05sec. Remarkably, both riders teamed up the previous day to win the Global Champions League representing new team Riesenbeck International while team manager Ludger was in hospital recovering from surgery on a broken leg. Taking third in the grand prix was speedy French rider Simon Delestre on Dexter Fontenis Z after a 12-way jump-off.

It had been 11 years since Philipp’s last LGCT grand prix win and this was the mare’s first ever attempt at a grand prix, at only her fourth show at the top level.

“This is a very very special moment,” said Philipp, who earned a ticket to the Super Grand Prix in November for this victory on the inexperienced nine-year-old mare Just Be Gentle. “Winning a Longines Global Champions Tour grand prix is special but even more so with this young mare. I was never expecting to jump clear, let alone win. These unexpected wins are the nicest ones so I am over the moon right now.”

• LGCT grand prix of Doha results

‘I’m delighted she hasn’t been sold!’

A mare who was brought in to be sold won the $226,000 CSIO4* grand prix at the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) in Florida, under Irish rider Daniel Coyle.

Ivory TCS is a 10-year-old Falaise De Muze mare whom the 28-year-old rider owns with Ariel Grange’s Lothlorien Farm. She was bought at the 2020 WEF Sport Horse Auction as a seven-year-old, with the original plan to sell her. Instead, she has climbed the ranks with her rider, and grand prix victory at the weekend was secured after a four-way jump-off.

“I think I was beatable, but there wasn’t much of a gap, which was my plan,” said Daniel, who was drawn second of the quartet. “Ivory is a very fast horse in every jump-off. She might take two extra strides than a big horse, but that doesn’t mean she’s necessarily slower, because she does it so fast. I tried to use that today because there were no related distances – it was single fences, then turn back and gallop halfway across the track, so I tried to use the quickness that she naturally has to my advantage.

“She was bought to be sold and I’ve had a few people try her, but I have to say I’m delighted that she has not gone yet,” added Daniel, who was also awarded as the top money-earning Irish rider during CSIO week at WEF.

• WEF grand prix results

Ten-time Olympian leads Nations Cup victory

Canada, led for the first time by 10-time Olympian chef d’equipe Ian Millar, won the CSIO4* Nations Cup at Wellington International. The quartet of Erynn Ballard (Gakhir), Mario Deslauriers (Emerson), Tiffany Foster (Hamilton) and Beth Underhill (Nikka VD Bisschop) fought off some fierce competition from the remaining 10 teams, with Brazil finishing second and Ireland in third, represented by David Blake (Claude), Cian O’Connor (Berlux Z), Shane Sweetnam (Namaste Van Het Eyckeveld) and Max Wachman (Kilkenny).

“I think we had great confidence and we really wanted to give it a good shot for a win, especially with our new leader, Ian Millar,” said Beth. “I think all of us together are friends and have been for many years, so there’s been this great synergy and strength among us.”

Irish chef d’equipe Michael Blake said: “We knew Canada had a strong team and I’d like to congratulate them on their performance. We had some very strong performances tonight and some unlucky faults. As always, I would like to thank the owners of our Irish team horses who make competing in Nations Cups and successes like tonight possible. And to our team sponsors – thank you.”

Great Britain’s Jessica Mendoza (OO Seven De L’Equipe), Sam Hutton (Verona 13), Grace Debney (Agadance Van’t Gelutt Z) and Amanda Derbyshire (Cornwall BH) took seventh.

• WEF Nations Cup results

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Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

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

An amazing assortment of exceptional showjumping horses took starring roles this week as we enjoyed five-star competitions from Qatar to USA to Sweden.

We’ve always loved Marcus Ehning’s exceptional stallion Stargold, with his charismatic flick of the heels, and he once again proved unbeatable in Saturday’s feature class in Doha, while Laura Kraut’s outstanding championship horse Baloutinue somewhat surprisingly won his first five-star grand prix at the age of 13. A gelding who is blind in one eye proved that having limited vision is no barrier to success and a British teenager had the honour of beating an Olympic eventer in an international grand prix, as we bring you this round-up of this week’s international showjumping news and results.

‘A dream come true’: Kraut’s Olympic hero wins his first five-star grand prix, aged 13

The $425,000 CSI5* Lugano Diamonds grand prix during week seven of WEF at Wellington International was won by US rider Laura Kraut with her Tokyo Olympic team silver medal-winning partner Baloutinue. Somewhat surprisingly, this was the consistent 13-year-old gelding’s first five-star grand prix victory.

The pair had penultimate draw in a seven-way jump-off and survived a sharp challenge from final rider and her US team-mate Mclain Ward (Contagious), who finished 0.3sec slower, with Ireland’s Shane Sweetnam third riding the 10-year-old Irish-bred gelding James Kann Cruz (Kannan x Cruising).

“I had a good feeling when I walked the course,” said Laura. “My horse had jumped very well on Thursday, so this is just a dream come true.

“I took a real shot at the double – I came in there a little more forward than I’d have liked to! But he tried so hard coming out,” said Laura of the galloping jump-off track, describing Baloutinue’s (pictured below) flying leap over the final oxer as a “heroic effort”.

“I’m just so excited by Baloutinue, he’s been so great for so long – I haven’t had the opportunity to jump very many jump-offs with him but I felt like tonight he was right there for all of it,” added Laura of the Balou Du Rouet x Landor S gelding owned by St. Bride’s Farm. “I always try to go faster than I probably should, but he’s fast enough on his own, and tonight I just let him go his speed and that seemed to work better. He’s a trier, he’s elastic and he’s very careful.

“It was a fantastic crowd; the atmosphere here at night is as good as it gets,” added Laura. “We feel like the crowd is really behind us; when I was clear it was an explosion.”

Baloutinue’s groom Margo Thomas was also awarded with a $500 award presented by Double H Farm.

• WEF results

Ehning goes for gold

Germany’s Marcus Ehning and the charismatic Stargold (pictured above) produced a scintillating triple clear on a warm night in the Qatar desert to become the first back-to-back winners of the CSI5* 1.60m grand prix at Commercial Bank CHI Al Shaqab, Doha.

“He felt so fresh and enjoys the heat here, so I had a good feeling,” said Marcus after the stallion threw in some trademark bucks en route to victory. “He’s a stallion with a lot of character and I try to let him stay that way.”

• Commercial Bank CHI Al Shaqab results

‘She has a heart as big as a lion’

Shane Breen posted a win for Ireland in Thursday’s 1.45m two-phase in Doha, Qatar, with his gallant mare Haya, whose gritty style makes her deceptively quick, scoring by 0.28sec over Kevin Staut (Dialou Blue PS). Shane first spotted the grey at a show in France, when his brother Trevor had tipped him off.

“She struck me as really smart, with laser-vision to her jumps and was super careful,” said Shane, who won last year’s Queen Elizabeth II Cup at Hickstead with the mare. “So I slept on it but when I went to ask her rider Harold Megahey if I could try her, she’d already gone home. So I bought her without trying her! She has a heart as big as a lion.”

• Commercial Bank CHI Al Shaqab results

Teenager beats Olympic eventer

Great Britain’s 18-year-old Olivia Banks recorded the novel achievement of beating New Zealand Olympic eventer Tim Price on his Boekelo winner Happy Boy, to land the CSI* grand prix on the Andalucia Sunshine Tour riding Geodina HS. Swiss showjumper Steve Guerdat claimed the CSI4* 1.55m Equine America grand prix at the venue riding the 10-year-old mare Dynamix De Belheme, whom he thinks is “the best horse I’ve ever had”. The pair soared home half a second faster than team-mate Martin Fuchs riding Commissar Pezi after a 12-way jump-off. Nicole Lockhead-Anderson and Emerald Irish Cruise were among the other British riders on form this week.

• Andalucia Sunshine Tour results

Rider cancels his plane to enjoy his World Cup celebrations

The final leg of the Longines FEI World Cup Western European League in Gothenburg, Sweden, was won by French rider Marc Dilasser riding the 13-year-old gelding Arioto Du Gevres. For the top 18 riders, all roads now lead to Omaha, USA, in April for the World Cup Final, and this includes Great Britain’s Harry Charles and Scott Brash.

“This is my first ever World Cup win,” said Marc, who was drawn first in the jump-off. “Arioto was not always an easy horse – when he was young, he was difficult to ride, but he has always been a fighter!

“This has been a fantastic day for me and my owners. I had a plane to catch this evening but instead we cancelled that and we will stay one more night and break out the champagne here in Gothenburg – it’s important to celebrate the big moments!”

• CSI5*-W Gothenburg results

Horse with limited vision wins $100,000 grand prix

Brazilian showjumper Santiago Lambre won the $100,000 Hampton Green Farms grand prix at the World Equestrian Centre, Ocala, Florida with the 16-year-old gelding Chacco Blue II, who is blind in one eye.

Irish course builder Colm Quinn set the track and Santiago describes his Chacco Blue son as a “slow mover” but with “a mile long” stride and the pair executed some terrific turns to win.

“Tonight, he showed his speed,” he said. “I tried to gallop everywhere I could and be tight back to the second to last vertical. Luckily for us, both tight turns were on his good side, and not blind side. If it were on his blind eye side I would’ve had to give him a touch more room, but this course was perfect for him.”

A hat-trick of blue ribbons for Olli Fletcher

Great Britain’s Olli Fletcher finished runner-up in the Villamoura Atlantic Tour grand prix for the third time, this time riding the 12-year-old Garande. His previous two close finishes came with Hello William. This time he missed out to Dutch victor Niels Kersten riding Tippy Z. Guy Williams and Crispina Z, and Adrian Speight on Millfield Baloney won a rankings class and James Smith, Laura Mantel and Chloe Aston were just some of the riders flying the British flag in impressive style.

• Villamoura Atlantic Tour results

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Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

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

We enjoyed a bumper week of international action this week with top class action continuing in the UAE, the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) in Florida and the tours in Portugal and Spain just some of the highlights.

This week we celebrate a multi-winning home-bred stallion, a new mare that has put “a massive smile” on Shane Breen’s face and what it means to hear your national anthem ring out, in our weekly round-up of this week’s international showjumping news.

‘Super smart, super kind and super sassy’

Irish showjumper Shane Breen landed the CSI2* grand prix in Sharjah, UAE, with a very exciting new eight-year-old, Instrumental (Qualdandro x Indoctro). Hickstead-based Shane and Chloe Breen bought the eye-catching bay mare from Lisa and Peder Fredricson just before Christmas. Shane made his competition debut with her in the UAE last month, since when they have been turning out some star performances.

“She’s been lovely,” Shane told H&H. “We started with 1.30m and 1.40m classes the first week, then I hadn’t planned to do a grand prix with her so soon, but she was double clear and fifth in the grand prix last week. Then this week she jumped clear in the first round and I looked at the jump-off course and thought I’d just do what she felt comfortable with and she was fantastic.

“It was just one of those rounds when you’re completely and utterly in your comfort zone, it was a fantastic feeling. She did all the lines on one stride less and the turn to the oxer beautifully. When she jumped out of the double, it gave me such a good feeling that you nearly forget what you’re doing, I had such a big smile on my face.”

As well as being careful and scopey, Shane describes Instrumental as “super smart, super kind and super sassy – the perfect mix”.

“It’s very exciting,” said Shane, who hopes to take some embryos from the mare. “I have to restrain myself a bit because she is only eight, but we’ll see where we end up.”

Shane has also been in the money on his Hickstead Derby hero, Can Ya Makan, “who is getting better with age – he looks incredible,” said Shane as he builds up the 17-year-old for a tilt at this year’s Hamburg and Hickstead derbies, and the 15-year-old Z7 Ipswich, “who is always flying the flag”.

Shane’s brother Trevor Breen finished third in Sunday’s five-star grand prix riding Mandy Hall’s 12-year-old Germaine W. The winner was Italy’s Emanuele Gaudiano riding the great Chalou.

The Irish flag also flew for double five-star winner Jessica Burke, who landed Sunday’s winning round with a flying performance on Express Trend, who she said was “believing even more than I was”, having also lifted the week’s opening two-phase ranking class with Inpulss, “the horse that keeps on giving and keeps me smiling.”

• Sharjah results

Nine wins and counting from home-bred stallion

Maisy Williams and her family’s seven-year-old home-bred Gold Rush, who is by her father Guy Williams’ brilliant partner Gold Digger, have been making a real name for themselves on the Vilamoura Atlantic Tour, racking up an astounding winning streak in the young horse classes. The pair again won this week’s seven-year-old grand prix in impressive style.

“He’s won loads of classes now – he’s jumped 12, won nine and been placed in another,” Maisy told H&H. “He’s always won a bit, but recently he’s improved – he had a rest and has come back better than ever.”

Maisy began riding Gold Rush as a four-year-old and qualified for last year’s World Breeding Championship for Young Horses at Lanaken.

“Every time he goes in the ring, he tries his hardest,” added Maisy, 16, who hopes to contest newcomers second rounds with the seven-year-old later in the year. “He’s won all the seven-year-old grands prix so far. The courses are big enough and they build them well to get them started for the rest of the season.”

• Villamoura Atlantic Tour results

First time lucky for Darragh Kenny amid Irish celebrations in Florida

During week six of WEF in Florida, Ireland’s Darragh Kenny won the CSI3* 1.50m classic riding new partner Vancouver Dreams (main image above) after a 15-horse jump-off. The 13-year-old mare (Valentino 240 x Stakkato) was previously a five-star contender for Austrian showjumper Max Kühner.

“I’ve actually never done a jump-off on her before, so I wasn’t sure what to expect,” said Darragh, who is riding the mare to sell but “having some fun with her first”.

“She’s unbelievably careful so I knew I could take a bit of a risk at the double and I did and it paid off and she was brilliant.”

Darragh’s pupil Francis Derwin landed the Hermès U25 welcome class riding AHG Whiterock Cruise Down (Cruisings Micky Finn x Touchdown), who he’s been riding for the past three years, having taken the reins from his sister.

“I think he is very good at being fast without me having to try to be fast,” said Francis, competing in his second year at WEF after earning a bursary to ride under the tutelage of Darragh. “He’s been giving me some great help and I’ve been getting in the ring on plenty of horses, so it’s been a good opportunity to keep learning.

“I wasn’t really planning on trying to win but when I went in, he jumped one, two and three very good, so I thought I’d have a bit of a go when he was jumping well,” said Francis, who also won the Champion Equine Insurance jumper style award for the performance.

Another young Irish rider, Tom Wachman won Sunday’s Hermes under-25 grand prix riding I’m Here, just pipping US-based British showjumper Grace Debney on a new ride, the nine-year-old Jesprit HS, into the runner-up spot.

The Irish national anthem rang out once more in the CSI3* grand prix, when Bertram Allen racked up another victory with the brilliant Emmylou.

• WEF results

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Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

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

The annual Great Charity Challenge at WEF (Winter Equestrian Festival) not only raises millions of pounds for charity, it’s a great opportunity to spot some of the world’s leading riders dressed in an assortment of crazy fancy dress costumes.

This year Wellington International was transformed into candy world as riders and horses represented their favourite sweets and we saw everything from a rainbow-coated team of Skittles to the sparkling Milky Way riders and the pink hues of the Cotton Candy crew, which featured British Olympic showjumper Jessica Mendoza – winners of the best costume contest. The effort that has gone into these fancy dress costumes is simply astounding.

This year’s event, sponsored by Fidelity Investments, on 4 February, raised $1.7million to be distributed among local non-profit organisations and the goal of the evening was to inspire and empower others to get involved in their communities.

The Great Charity Challenge (GCC) fancy dress event always results in an exciting showjumping competition, too, with each team made up of three riders ranging from future stars to Olympians. The winning team from a field of 34 consisted of 15-year-old debutante Campbell Brown, Abby Funk, 17, and Emma Hechtman, 22, representing “Dylan’s Candy Bar” who rocketed home in a winning time of 91.622sec.

“I’m just so happy I got to be on a team, come here and have this much fun,” says Abby. “My horse was so good and I’m grateful for her and this event.”

“This $100,000 is a life-changing amount of money for our clinic,” adds Madison Schwarz from winning recipient Caridad Center, the largest free healthcare clinic in Florida.

Young British talent Grace Debney was part of the runner-up placed team, alongside Vivian Golden and Gabriella Curry, who earned $90,000 for their charity.

“I am in awe every year as to how much more excitement and support can surround the event,” says Anne Caroline Valtin, executive director of GCC fancy dress competition.

“Thanks to Wellington International’s commitment to covering all costs associated with the event, one hundred percent of the funds raised go straight back to work in our community, creating long-term impact. This is what makes the GCC unique and so impactful. We simply can’t thank our donors and sponsors enough for coming together to be the change each and every year.”

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Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

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

British team showjumper Sam Hutton, who is currently out in Florida competing at the 12-week Winter Equestrian Festival with AS Sport Horses’ string of horses, talks about changing his riding style and the joy of spreadsheets

I’ve been in Florida competing at the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) since 6 January and we’ll stay until 3 April. It’s an incredible set-up with the showgrounds in the middle, and all the barns and houses around it. Riders come from all over the world and will rent however many stables they need for the number of horses they bring.

I have six of my own horses here, plus four horses for clients, and it’s a great experience for them. You can pick and choose your classes and they range from national competitions to four- or five-star weeks, when there will always be a two-star running alongside. So there are plenty of options if you want to drop a horse down or if they’re ready to step up into the bigger classes.

You can end up running back and forward between rings, though! There are at least 12 rings being used for competitions here, then two minutes up the road is Global, a separate venue where they have the dressage and a beautiful jumping field – it’s brilliant.

They’ve improved the footing in the main arena and in a couple of other rings, too, and they’re building a whole new grass stadium and a few other rings closer to the show. They’re really developing the whole place.

Into speed mode

The time allowed is the biggest difference competing here – it’s a lot tighter! So you have to get into speedy mode as soon as you arrive. The time is always tight in grands prix, but the rings are really big here, which can also catch you out – especially during the first few weeks when you’re finding your feet – and it takes a bit of getting used to.

Although it is expensive, there are so many advantages to coming here – the horses are much more relaxed with the Florida sun on their backs and I like them to have as much field time as possible. But you have to be careful you don’t overdo it and burn the horses out too early. There are a lot of shows and you can get a bit too excited wanting to jump everything. So I’ve made a plan with all my horses to get in the rhythm for the season ahead in Europe.

At the beginning of the season, I make a spreadsheet for each horse for which shows I want them to jump at and what their goals are. You’re working with horses, so of course that changes week to week, but it’s nice to have something to aim each horse towards. Hopefully we’ll get there!

“An unbelievable opportunity”

My top horse at the moment is Melusina BVL Z, who I’m aiming for the Nations Cup here hopefully. Then I’m also excited about Casablanca, who I got halfway through last season, and a new 10-year-old mare called Verona 13, both of whom I’m planning to step up to the next five-star in a fortnight.

I was placed in a three-star grand prix with Cian O’Connor’s former top ride, C Vier 2, whom AS Sport Horses found for new owner Isabella Russekoff. I was keeping the horse in shape while she was at school and he was amazing to ride – it is an unbelievable opportunity to ride a horse like him.

The show stepped up to five-star competition for the first time last week, so this is when new combinations and horses start to come to the fore for the year ahead. There’s a lot to look forward to.

● Is WEF the envy of the world? Let us know at hhletters@futurenet.com including your name, nearest town and county for the chance to have your thoughts published on the letters page is a future issue of Horse & Hound magazine

• This exclusive column will also be available to read in Horse & Hound magazine, on sale Thursday 16 February

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Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

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

There’s having an impressive back end – and then there’s the “freaky” kick-back of Elusive, who was in full flight with Aaron Vale to take the $100,000 Budweiser Grand Prix at the World Equestrian Center, Florida.

Home rider Aaron and Thinkslikeahorse’s 14-year-old KWPN gelding were last of eight to go in the jump-off on Sunday (12 February), and they saved the best for last, finishing clear over half a second ahead of MTM Apple and Tracy Fenney.

“It’s always an advantage to go last in the jump-off,” Aaron said. “You get to see what’s on the table. I was able to watch three or four from the stands to get an idea of the track. I got on and watched Apple from the in-gate. She was pretty quick, but this course seemed to be set up for my horse.”

Aaron and Elusive had pedal to the metal from the off.

“I thought I might do the ten [strides] from one to two, because my horse is a bit smaller, and Tracy Fenney and a few others got the nine, but we ended up finding the nine on a nice gallop,” Aaron said. “I felt like I was pretty tight back to the skinny, then I think I was one stride more to the next, but hugged the pond as much as I could to the double combination. I was hoping to find it a bit more open, but I had to check and wait.

“He just jumped his eyeballs out through that double, then I ran up to the oxer on the rail. To the last jump I heard my fans and Mike Connors yelling from the rail to go, and I wasn’t sure if I could leave out that last stride, but I said ‘Screw it’, kicked and he took off.”

Aaron and Elusive stopped the clock at 41.318 seconds to steal the win.

“When he’s operating and you’re going against the clock, he gets a little freaky kicking out that hind end,” Aaron said. “Even in the first round, something woke him up and he was putting that extra effort in a few places. When he has that feeling, you know it’s going to be a good day.”

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Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

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

Olympic showjumper Kent Farrington has paid tribute to his grand prix-winning superstar Gazelle, as she retires to a life of “green pastures and sunshine”.

Robin Parsky’s 17-year-old Belgian-bred mare was given an official send-off on Saturday evening (11 February), during the Fidelity Investments grand prix at the Winter Equestrian Festival at Wellington International, Florida.

Kent and Gazelle’s achievements included winning the Aachen grand prix in 2019, the Geneva grand prix in 2017 and the Queen Elizabeth II Cup at Spruce Meadows in 2016 and 2017. They also won the Fidelity Investments grand prix at Wellington in 2017, “making Saturday a poetically appropriate evening to celebrate the mare’s successes and healthy retirement”.

“After 10 years of extraordinary accomplishments at the most prestigious showjumping events in the world, it was a difficult decision for Kent and me to have Gazelle leave her sporting career,” Ms Parsky said. “But I am delighted to report that she is in terrific condition, and she will be heading for a well-deserved life of green pastures and sunshine.

“Kent and I had a great experience here in 2017 when Gazelle won the Fidelity [Investments] grand prix, so we decided that we would let her retire at the top of her game here. To be able to have her fans thank her and know how much we appreciate her, that is what we wanted. Thank you to all of Wellington and everyone here at WEF for helping us do this wonderful tribute to an incredible horse.”

Gazelle won over $4m during her illustrious career, which also included winning team bronze for the US at the 2015 Pan Am Games. She was named international horse of the year by US Equestrian in 2020.

“I’m obviously very proud of her results,” said Kent. “Thank you to Robin and my team and all the people who have been a part of her journey. She made me a better rider and a better horseman, and for that I’m probably the most grateful.”

A spokesman for Wellington added: “The entire team at Wellington International wishes Gazelle a collective congratulations on an exceptional sport career and expresses their sincere thanks for all the thrilling moments.”

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Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

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

Equine golden oldies, including the 17-year-old Hickstead Derby winner Can Ya Makan, were making headlines from as far afield as Florida to the UAE and Spain as teenage horses captured grands prix, with US rider Mclain Ward stating his horses’ longevity was a “great testament” to his team.

Here, we celebrate these achievements and the rest of the past week’s international winners and showjumping news.

Ebolensky and Sampson top Spanish grand prix

Competing in her first grand prix since winning the final day’s feature class at the London International, Ebolensky proved she’s back to her brilliant best when winning the CSI4* Andalucia Sunshine Tour Horseware Big Tour 1.55m grand prix with the fastest of only two double clears (pictured top).

Matt and the Evison family’s 14-year-old Clinton mare stopped the clock in 39.68sec, beating Germany’s Kendra Brinkop (In Time) in a nine-way jump-off where their rivals all faulted. Scott Brash and new ride Hello Valentino finished runners-up in the medium tour equivalent in Vejer De La Frontera.

• Andalucia Sunshine Tour results

‘He’s taken me to the Olympics and World Championships’

Bertram Allen and the brilliant 11-year-old Pacino Amiro (pictured below) landed Thursday’s five-star jump-off class at the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) in Florida. From a starting field of 54, the Irishman won over tracks set by Frank Rothenburger, where a tight time allowed in round one caught out several combinations.

“I knew going in that I had to have a good round, but I didn’t want to overdo it today with the grand prix coming up on Saturday,” explained Bertram, who beat his countryman Conor Swail (Count Me In) into the runner-up spot with Laura Kraut third on Baloutinue. “My plan was to be quick early on because I knew if I caught the first two fences well that my horse is as quick as any other.

“He has really been a fantastic horse for me; he is only 11, but he’s already been to the Olympics, the World [Championships] and won a five-star grand prix here.”

• WEF results

Simpson’s speedy success and the winning return of Can Ya Makan

England-based Irish showjumper David Simpson landed the CSI2* Longines Sharjah grand prix in the UAE riding the exciting eight-year-old Pjotr Van De Kruishoeve. Shane Breen was also a winner earlier in the week riding his Hickstead Derby hero Can Ya Makan.

• CSI2* Sharjah results

‘Their health is a great testament to my team’

US rider Mclain Ward landed a big class double at WEF with a pair of teenage horses, crediting the longevity of his top-flight string to his team’s careful management. His first victory came in Saturday night’s grand prix riding the 15-year-old Callas, the mare’s first success at this level. He beat Ireland’s Darragh Kenny (Volnay Du Boisdeville) into second with Kent Farrington third on Landon, who he considers to have a very bright future.

“She’s been knocking on the door, so it’s nice for us to break through and get a big win,” said Mclain. “The jump-off was built for us. She cuts a little left, so at fence one to two I could take a straight line. I needed the Hermès [oxer] to show up well off that rollback. Everybody had to make a sharp turn and it was a bit awkward, but I got away with that one.”

Mclain followed up the following day in the 1.50m classic riding the 13-year-old mare Alanine De Vains, becoming the first rider since 2014 to do the big class double.

“She should have won the class earlier in the week, but I made a mistake,” said Mclain, competing in just his second class with the mare. “She’s very careful and very fast, so that plays into my hand with a jump-off like this.”

Crediting his team, Mclain added: “We’ve worked really hard to build a great string of horses and to maintain them so that they last a long time. My top horses are 17 years old, 15 and 14 – they are experienced, which gives you such an advantage, and their health is a great testament to my team. We have great owners that allow us to show these horses the right amount and not put too much pressure on them.”

• WEF results

Irish victory in Belgium

Irish rider Jason Foley won the CSI2* grand prix at the Flanders Horse Xpo riding the nine-year-old mare Rockwell RC. From nearly 60 starters, 10 came forward for the jump-off. Best of the Brits was Robert Whitaker and Vermento, who just picked up four faults in round one.

• Flanders results

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Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

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

Olympic showjumping champion Ben Maher is recovering after he had a “bad fall” while competing in the US last week.

Ben is in Florida, where he has been jumping a number of horses at the Winter Equestrian Festival, at Wellington International.

“Due to a bad fall last week, I will be taking an unscheduled holiday,” said the Tokyo individual gold medallist yesterday (9 February). “I appreciate all of the kind messages”.

Ben added that he will keep everyone updated on his recovery, and he hopes “to be back soon”.

Ben has had a number of top placings in Florida, including a win with his 20-year-old Rio Olympic partner Tic Tac during the second week of the series. The pair fought off 22 combinations to top the CSI3* 1.45m speed class on 19 January by two seconds, then two days later Ben and the stallion were third in the CSI3* 1.50m.

On 28 January Ben had another victory, in the CSI4* grand prix, with new ride Dallas Vegas Batilly, owned by Charlotte Rossetter and Pamela Wright. Ben and the 10-year-old Selle Francais mare were the quickest in the 14-horse jump-off, with Ireland’s Shane Sweetnam and Namaste Van Het Ecykeveld having to settle for second and Kent Farrington third with Toulayna.

The Winter Equestrian Festival is in its fifth week, and will run until 2 April. The show welcomes riders from around the world, with top names on the roster including Laura Kraut, McLain Ward, Daniel Deusseur and Rodrigo Pessoa. Among the Brits competing are Amanda Derbyshire, Jessica Mendoza and Samuel Hutton, while the Irish riders in action include Bertram Allen, Conor Swail, Daniel Coyle and Darragh Kennedy

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Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

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

The Olympic champion Ben Maher, who celebrates his 40th birthday today (30 January), is in flying form already this year and earned his third big class win of WEF (Winter Equestrian Festival) on Saturday, this time riding top new mare Dallas Vegas Batilly.

There was also grand prix success closer to home for Ireland’s Mikey Pender, and 16-year-old Maisy Williams continues to impress while James Smith racked up an outstanding tally of 10 international victories in one week. Here is H&H’s round-up of this week’s international winners, plus showjumping results.

‘It’s been a while since I’ve run to the last fence like that in a jump-off’

Olympic champion Ben Maher landed Saturday’s NetJets CSI4* grand prix at the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) with top new mare Dallas Vegas Batilly, owned by Charlotte Rossetter and Pamela Wright.

Ben and the 10-year-old Selle Francais mare came home quickest in a 14-way jump-off to beat Ireland’s Shane Sweetnam riding the big-striding Namaste Van Het Eyckeveld and US rider Kent Farrington on rising star Toulayna.

“She’s taken some time to get used to me and my system,” said Ben, who first teamed up with the “sensitive” mare four months ago, taking over from Frenchman Nicolas Delmotte. “She’s jumped some great rounds and was clear in the grand prix in Geneva. But every time we come to the jump-off; we’ve had problems with the steering.

“I’ve learned I have to ask her to do things, not tell her.”

“We’ve only had her for four months and it’s been a bit of a trial and error process, but she’s an incredible horse and finally we managed to figure out the jump-off this evening when the time counts,” explained Ben. “It’s always top competition here, amazing atmosphere, it was packed this evening, and it was a difficult enough course for this early in the year.

“I honestly tried not to watch what the others were doing [in the jump-off] and I don’t have so much experience with Dallas at the minute, sometimes when I’ve turned too short she’s got opinionated on me, but everything came off right tonight and it gives me a lot of confidence for the future. I know she has a huge stride so fortunately I knew I could get there [to the final fence] – it was quite long and it’s been a while since I’ve been running to the last fence like that in a jump-off! But it was good fun and it couldn’t be a better start to the year.”

Ben’s groom Derren Lake won the $500 grooms’ award, presented by Double H Farm.

Ireland’s Bertram Allen was also a winner at Wellington International, topping a 1.45m speed class on the Billy Mexico daughter Emmylou, for owners Ballywalter Stables and Noel Delahunty Connaught Bloodstock.

“I have a very competitive horse and she gave a massive effort,” said Bertram. “She’s just fantastic and I knew that if I rode well that I could have a chance today.”

• Winter Equestrian Festival results

Pender’s glory and a 10-class winning streak

Irish rider Mikey Pender and HHS Calais landed the CSI3* grand prix on week one of the Villamoura Atlantic Tour in Portugal, just beating Great Britain’s Olli Fletcher and Hello William after 13 combinations jumped off for the €13,150 top prize. The previous day Mikey had also won the 1.40m jump-off class with the eight-year-old HHS Los Angeles.

British showjumper James Smith enjoyed a phenomenal winning streak of 10 international classes in the opening week, winning everything from young horse classes to a world ranking competition with the Renwicks’ great Arkuga.

“We had a good week!” said James. “I have a few of Laura Renwick’s horses while she’s on her way back. I rode Michelob for them for the first time and he won the six-year-old classes every day, then seven-year-old Dame Diamant Z won two.”

James also made his debut with new ride Juno Rose 23, a 2022 HOYS finalist for previous rider Emma Crawford.

“This was my first show with her and she won every day – three out of three – she’s very nice,” James told H&H.

“John Renwick is known for liking to win, so we were fairly going for it from the start of the tour! But they’re a lovely bunch of horses so they make my job much easier. It was a good week – it’ll be hard to keep it going but we’ll try!”

Among this week’s other big three-star winners were Chloe Aston (Diatendra Von Rocherrath Z) and Guy Williams on the 18-year-old Rouge De Ravel. Guy’s 16-year-old daughter Maisy topped Friday’s 1.30m speed class on new ride Piggle van de Bucxtale, having also won a young horse class with Gold Rush.

• Villamoura Atlantic Tour results

Epaillard claims a World Cup hat-trick

Speedy French rider Julien Epaillard enjoyed a remarkable winning streak through 2022 and has started 2023 in the same vein, posting his third victory of the World Cup season in Amsterdam.

He and the 10-year-old mare Donatello D’Auge soared home quicker than runners-up 23-year-old Swiss rider Edouard Schmitz and Quno, with Brazilian Yuri Mansur and the great Vitiki finishing an emotional third after an eight-strong jump-off.

Julien, ranked number three in the world, now heads the Western European League table ahead of the World Cup Final in USA in April.

“It’s my first five-star win with Donatello D’Auge, so it’s really special for the family and the team,” he said.

Edouard Schmitz, who is half the age of the winner, quipped: “Next time I’ll beat the old man!” And Yuri Mansur said of Vitiki, who has returned from a broken leg incurred in a fall in Aachen. “We had such a long and hard story, but the way he’s jumping this season is unbelievable. This horse is always emotional for me.”

• Jumping Amsterdam results

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Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

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

When Irish showjumper Darragh Kenny won a recent grand prix at the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) in Wellington, Florida, riding Teddy Vlock’s 14-year-old stallion Volnay Du Boisdeville, he revealed: “Teddy seriously loves Volnay. I’m not kidding. He has a tattoo of him on his chest.”

So H&H spoke to 25-year-old Teddy, who represented Israel at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 before hanging up his show jacket, to find out more about this inking.

US-based Teddy first teamed up with Volnay Du Boisdeville (Winningmood x Jalisco B) in 2019, and enjoyed a glittering two years together, competing at some of the most prestigious events in the world, including Spruce Meadows, Paris and London, jumping on Nations Cup teams and in five-star grands prix.

He and the stallion enjoyed an “amazing connection” and it’s that feeling that led to Teddy having a permanent etching of Volnay’s head tattooed on his chest.

“I got it because I don’t want to forget how special that connection is,” says Teddy. “I now work at a private equity firm and sit at a desk all day – I’m not around horses at all – but every morning when I take a shower or whenever I get changed, I still get to see this moment in my life that I don’t ever want to forget. It was so special, so unique – so few people get to experience that horse-human connection.”

The horse tattoo was added next to another memento of his time in the saddle, the Olympic rings (pictured below) on Teddy’s arm. The ambitious young rider had made the Tokyo Olympics his goal less than a decade after he first took up riding and he achieved his dream when he was selected to ride for Israel on his other top horse Amsterdam 27.

“That was a big motivator for me when I was training – I thought it would be fun when I made it to the Olympics to get a big tattoo on my arm,” he explains.

Volnay ended up being Teddy’s reserve horse for the Olympics, but will always be “a very, very special horse”.

“He took me to my first Nations Cups and jumped consistently at five-star level,” he explains. “To me, what is so special about our sport, and what makes it unique from all other sports, is that you build this connection with your team – and while you can build a connection with your teammates on the baseball field or playing basketball, equestrianism is the only sport where your team-mate doesn’t know you’re in a competition. You’re working together to achieve a goal when one of you has no clue what that goal is!

“But every time I went in the ring with Volnay, I trusted him with my life, and that’s very, very special. It’s such a beautiful thing,” he reveals. “I’ve had some good wins and jumped five-star grands prix, but I don’t remember that or miss that, what I remember is the connection with the animals.”

Teddy Vlock: ‘It makes me emotional every time I sit on Volnay’

“Volnay was the perfect fit for me in that I’m a smaller guy and he’s not a big horse,” Teddy adds. “But he has so much engine and so much energy, but in a way that’s controllable. He’d never drag you to the jumps – you really felt like you were a team together. That’s unlike many five-star championship horses, who are a bit too revved up. He’s a stallion, and yes he has a few stallion tendencies like he’ll scream if he sees a mare, but at the same time he’s a pretty chilled guy! He’s that perfect balance of when you want the energy it’s there, but also he’s not too amped up all the time to the point where you feel like you’ve no control.

“I always felt very, very connected to him as if he and I were one being, we were just always on the same page. If we made a mistake in the ring, it was my fault. Obviously horses hit jumps and that’s OK, but it was never because he got spooked or he pulled me too deep, it was always a mistake I made. I just love that he was always going to go as good as I could let him.”

Teddy had always planned to take a step back from the sport after the Olympics as he had recently graduated from Yale University and he started a job in New York two weeks after he returned from Japan. Leading Irish showjumper Darragh Kenny took the reins on his beloved Volnay under the Vlock Show Stables banner and fortunately Teddy was in Florida earlier this month to see the pair win WEF’s grand prix, on what happened to be his owner’s birthday.

“I love watching Volnay with Darragh now, but I still ride him – I’ve probably ridden seven times since the Olympics and most of them have been on Volnay – he’s the only horse I really want to ride,” says Teddy. “It really makes me very emotional every time I sit on him because I remember that feeling of being so connected with him, and I still am.

“I love horses and this is something I’ll always be passionate about, I’ll always be a big supporter of the sport, and I’ve kept some horses from my career that Darragh’s going to be riding and I get a lot of enjoyment out of that. But I always knew it wasn’t what I wanted to do as my long-term career. I went to Yale and I gave myself until I graduated to reach my goal and Tokyo happened to be at the end of that, so during that time 90% of my focus would be on horses and 10% would be on other things like graduating from school, and other work that I was doing. It was an intense few years!

“I have so much respect for people who do the sport as a profession, but I find other things interesting as well and after being an Olympian the next goal would have been to be number one in the world or to win a gold medal and to do that you have to be 100% focussed for ever on horses. You have to eat, sleep and breathe them. I love horses – I’ll always want to be around them and be involved in some way – but I have other things I’d like to spend my time doing.

“Being an Olympian is enough for me.

“But who knows – maybe in five years I’ll be back and will show again. But I’m an all or nothing kind of guy and so right now the entirety of my focus is building a career in finance.

“But I will always have that tattoo as a reminder – it makes me smile every time I look at it.”

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Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

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

Almost a year to the day since his last international showjumping victory, the outstanding veteran stallion Tic Tac returned to the winner’s enclosure in Wellington, Florida, with British showjumper Ben Maher.

At the age of 20, Jane Clark’s Clinton stallion looked better than ever and enjoyed a trip over the fences in the grass Derby field at Equestrian Village during week two of the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) to top Thursday’s (19 January) CSI3* 1.45m speed class with the Olympic champion in the saddle.

“Tic Tac knows everything now, so it’s more about just keeping him fit and enjoying everything,” said Ben, who keeps the stallion in Florida all year round.

“We don’t travel him to Europe. We’re very fortunate with the staff and team at home looking after him. He knows his job and he loves this arena.”

The pair scorched round Oscar Soberon’s track to beat their 22 rivals in a time of 67.07sec. Second-placed rider Luiz Francisco De Azevedo of Brazil finished over two seconds slower riding Collin, while third place went to Max Wachman of Ireland with Coolmore Showjumping’s Quintini. All three combinations finished on the podium again in Saturday’s 1.50m jump-off class, where Ben and Tic Tac finished third behind the Brazilian and Irish riders.

Ben Maher: ‘We take care of him’

Showing his love for the venue, Tic Tac and Ben Maher had won the three-star grand prix on this same week at WEF in 2022, as well as in 2021. Ben has said of his 2016 Olympic ride: “we are very selective when we show him now because of his age” and Tic Tac was last seen at the CSI5* show in Toronto, Canada, in November.

“I’ve said this before, but I think this arena is one of the nicest grass arenas in the world,” said the Hertfordshire rider, who is based in Florida for the next few months. “It’s really old-school ground here and I think as an older horse, he likes the brighter jumps and loves the ground.

“We will potentially bring him out one more time on the grass, but we are very limited with what we do with him, and we take care of him; he’s still enjoying it. He honestly still feels like he wants to do nothing else.”

Ben went on to finish second in the $50,000 Palm Beach Equine Clinic grand prix riding Enjeu De Grisien, having won Thursday’s national qualifier with Charlotte Rossetter and Pamela Wright’s nine-year-old Toulon gelding.

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Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

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

Owners of the newly-branded Wellington International – home to the Winter Equestrian Festival – will be pleased to know that top riders are already ringing the changes. “I think for sure for next year there will be quite a big future here as well,” said Belgium’s Nicola Philippaerts. “It will be exciting to see what’s going to happen and what the plans are, and I will be happy to come back.”

Nicola ended his second full year at Winter Equestrian Festival on a high after landing victory in the $50,000 national grand prix riding his 11-year-old bay stallion, Gijs. Nicola’s jump off time of 41.42sec brought home the win ahead of runner up, Britain’s Ben Maher who finished on 43.34sec with Point Break.

Nicola acquired Gijs last year after coming back to Wellington. “He’s been having good results and he started very good, this season, and then he had a little bit of a dip, but now he feels good again. He wants to give the best of himself. He’s got a lot of blood for a big horse and he’s very quick for a big horse. He’s got a fantastic character. He’s nice to ride and he’s not ‘stallion’ at all.”

Until last year Nicola had only visited Winter Equestrian Festival for a week or so, but had never ridden at the show until he stayed for the full season last year. “It’s been very good for us – the last two years – sales wise, but also on results. This year I had a very good circuit. It’s always nice to win a national grand prix here. Hopefully, we will have a good circuit again next year.

“It’s also nice for me as a European to ride against different people and be in a different crowd here. It’s been good for me so I really want to come back.”

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Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

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

The village of Wellington, home to the Winter Equestrian Festival, is a realtor’s heaven (that’s an estate agent for those of you in the UK) and no one knows that better than Matt Johnson, whose combined interest in property and horses, brought prosperity to the area, with the advent of Andreas Helgstrand, CEO of Global Equestrian Group, owners of the newly-rebranded Wellington International showgrounds.

Matt started out as a working student for various grand prix and Olympic dressage riders, but not coming from money or a horsey family he quickly realised he would need to make some serious money if he wanted to ride so he acquired a real estate license in 1997.

By 2014 Matt’s real estate endeavours had paid off enough for him to travel to Denmark to purchase a four-year-old stallion from Helgstrand, Qasanova, who Matt has since brought up to grand prix level.

“Andreas had heard of Wellington but had not been here,” said Matt. “I told him ‘you should come and when you do I will give you a tour.’” Two years later Andreas took Matt up on his word and the rest, as they say, is history.

“He was really impressed and said I’ve got to be here next year,” said Matt. “Then we found a place to lease for three years and then we started looking at properties to purchase. In the beginning, we were looking at 10-acre properties and then his vision for what he could do here with his business started to evolve so then we started looking at 20-acre farms, 30-acre farms and ended up settling on Windsome, which was 80 acres. So it’s been exciting to work with him.”

It is one of many long standing relationships that has seen Matt rise to the top of his profession – serving now in the coveted position of a Private Office Advisor to luxury real estate company, Engel & Völkers.

“It was a natural progression,” said Matt, who works in his role as a realtor, while also riding and competing at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival. “I was able to tap into the network that I had built in those early years in Wellington. I would say 98% of my clients are connected to the horse industry.”

Wellington land prices have continued to rise over the years and more so since the pandemic.

“It started maybe six months into Covid,” said Matt of the recent property boom that has seen some property prices close to double in some cases. “I thought when Covid happened it was over – I was going to have to get a new job, but it went the total opposite. It started to really take off and about eight months ago it took another jump to a whole new level. It’s substantial – it depends what market and price point you’re looking at, but there has been a huge increase.”

Since the start of the pandemic Matt has closed over $176 million in sales, a clear indication that the once small town of Wellington continues to grow as a world destination for horse sport.

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Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

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

As the curtain prepares to come down on the 2022 Winter Equestrian Festival, the statistics are almost finalised and McLain Ward is second in the prize money stakes with a total of $165,030. He may add to that today when he brings out the ‘adrenaline junkie’ Catoki in the $50,000 1.50m National Grand Prix – the closing class of the festival in the International Arena at Wellington International.

Ireland’s Bertram Allen tops the leaderboard of winnings with a current purse of $184,500 and he too has a chance to top that up riding Emmylou this afternoon. Britain’s Ben Maher will take home $156,280 from WEF unless he and Sentimiento LS La Silla land a podium spot, as 52 of the top showjumpers currently in Wellington vie for the final spoils.

Temperatures are expected to be more forgiving today after yesterday’s $500,000 CSI5* grand prix was impacted by the heat prompting course designer Brazil’s Guilherme Jorge – who now calls Wellington home – to rethink.

“I made some adjustments in the end because of the heat and the humidity,” he said. “I took the spread out of the last few oxers, because we were all feeling the weather a little bit. But, it was fantastic jumping and conditions of the field. Everything worked out very well, so I’m really happy with it.”

Daniel Bluman, winner of the 2012 edition of this finale grand prix, finished second behind Ashlee Bond on Karoline of Ballmore. Daniel was clear and just off the winning pace of 44.09, in 44.29 seconds with Ladriano Z, owned by Over The Top Stables LLC, which gave Israel a one-two finish. “The field looked beautiful,” he said. “And I think that the Rolex grand prix has to feel different than every other grand prix we jump at in Wellington. That was accomplished today, so congratulations to Gui for that.”

One final WEF class is scheduled at the Stadium Derby Field this morning at 10am as 46 horse-rider combinations contest the $50,000 CSI2* grand prix.

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Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

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

Israel’s Ashlee Bond landed the biggest prize of the Winter Equestrian Festival this afternoon, winning the Rolex CSI5* grand prix on Karoline of Ballmore, a horse she announced as an addition to her string, just four weeks ago.

As she ended her lap of honour, the 36-year-old passed her winning sash and ribbon to her five-year-old daughter, Scottie. Ashlee will also take home a monetary prize of $165,000 for the win.

“Thank you to my team, my parents, and, first and foremost, to God,” she posted also immediately after the win on Instagram.

Karoline of Ballmore, a 12-year-old black mare by Diarado out of Faraline V (by Convento Van De Helle), is one of 102 BWP horses competing at WEF grand prix level this winter. She had been previously partnered with Margie Engle and was produced jointly by the Philippaerts brothers, Nicola and Ludo, who were able to help Ashlee get to know the mare while in Wellington. “I got the opportunity to school with them, and they know her very well so we’ve jumped some incredibly big fences,” said Ashlee.

Watching the pair jump with unfussy effectiveness round the five-star course designed by Brazil’s Guillherme Jorge, it was easy to see where Ashlee, 37, was coming from when she commented previously that: “Every once in a while, a horse will come along that you click with immediately and that’s what it was like for me with Korra!”

“The grass field is one of the prettiest arenas in the world,” Guillherme said before the class. He also said that the course would be “challenging” and his prediction proved correct, with it producing just five clears out of the 40 entries. Eight partnerships retired – no doubt in part a reflection on the culmination of 13 weeks showing at WEF and the temperature hitting the 90s, with zero breeze as a respite.

Israel’s Daniel Bluman on Ladriane Z shadowed his compatriot’s time of 44.09sec, jumping clear with 44.29sec on the clock to take second place and a purse of $100,000, while Chloe Reid kept the USA in the frame on Souper Shuttle, finishing third with a time of 47.63sec.

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Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

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

While many 60 somethings might be thinking about putting their feet up and eyeing up retirement, Margie Engle, who turned 64 this week, far from hanging up her spurs, has landed the overall Martha W Jolicoeur Leading Lady Rider title at the Winter Equestrian Festival [WEF].

“It is a great honor,” said Margie, who represented the USA at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. “I have not won the overall award in several years and there are a lot of top female athletes competing here. To be competitive with them is a great feeling.”

The Martha Jolicoeur Leading Lady Rider Award is given in memory of fellow realtor and horsewoman Dale Lawler and was presented weekly during WEF to the high-score female rider based on performances in that week’s WEF Challenge Cup and featured grand prix event.

Consistent throughout the 13 weeks of competition, Showjumping Hall of Fame member Margie claimed the weekly Martha Jolicoeur Leading Lady title during week 11. At the end of the WEF circuit, Margie had amassed a total of 970 points, putting her at the top of the leaderboard ahead of USA’s Lillie Keenan who was the runner-up with 727 points.

Margie competes today in the climax event of WEF, the $500,000 CSI5* Rolex grand prix on the Stadium Derby field – start time 11am. The entry list of 50 riders reads like a Who’s Who of the WEF show circuit and even a seasoned gambler would be hard pushed to pick a cert.

Margie is in the running as much as anyone riding Royce, the 18-year-old 16.2 hands Oldenburg stallion, who is a fellow ‘seasoned’ professional and has been with Margie since he was seven. They won the Rolex five-star in 2018, the same year that Margie previously took the Leading Lady Rider award at WEF and Royce was selected as USEF’s grand prix horse of the year.

“I could not do it without the horses, grooms, sponsors, and owners who continue to support me,” Margie said, after winning her Leading Lady Rider award. “I’m so thankful to have a horse like Royce who takes care of me, and today [Thursday] gave me a great clear round as a birthday present in the WEF Challenge Cup.”

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Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

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

Many young riders will aspire to win the competition of their dreams, whether it is at Hickstead, Aachen, Spruce Meadows perhaps, or the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF). For Britain’s Grace Debney her dream came true yesterday, at just 18 years of age, on the stadium derby field at WEF, winning her first-ever five-star class – the $37,000 1.45m CSI5*.

“This has been a dream of mine for the longest time,” said Grace. “And I never actually thought it would come true, but the fact that it is with her is unbelievably special.” The mare she refers to is Zarina De Vidau, a horse she has come up through the ranks with since the junior jumpers.

The duo’s trust in one another showed through as the only combination to finish their round in under 55 seconds. Relying on the connection they have, Grace and Temple Equestrian LLC’s 11-year-old CDE mare were able to leave several strides out across the course to raise the bar for the competition with a final time of 54.97 seconds.

“Every time we went to leave a stride out today, I would have a split-second thought of pulling to fit in one more,” Grace said. “Then I would remember it was Zarina, and I would know that she had my back. We have so much trust in one another, and she truly enjoys her job, which makes it better for all of us.”

Riders from 14 nations made up the 50 contenders that took the derby field. Brazil’s course designer Guilherme Jorge built a track to merit the highlight of the day’s WEF action featuring a single-round speed challenge, with an economical time limit of 76 seconds. Ireland’s Daniel Coyle and his leading horse, Farona, took the early lead in the speed class on 55.30 seconds.

Ariel Grange’s 12-year-old KWPN mare stayed on top of the leaderboard for most of the class until the young British rider re-wrote the narrative with a fairytale ending.

“She has been my rock for so long,” Grace said of her longstanding partner. “And somehow she has stepped up even more for me this year. Never in a million years would I have thought I would win a five-star competition during Rolex week with this horse.”

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Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

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

Luke Jensen, 18, of Denton, Texas, in his last junior year, took home the win in the WEF Equitation Championship, performing on center stage yesterday in the international ring at the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF).

“I’m so grateful to Stephex and North Run for the ride on Jamaica,” said Luke of the horse he started riding at the beginning of the season. “Jamaica really thrives in a big ring. Actually, Jamaica always thrives. I just wanted to build on what we have been working on through all of WEF.”

Riders for Thursday evening’s championship class qualified by winning an equitation class during the 2022 WEF season, the 2021 Holiday and Horses Horse Show, or the 2021 Holiday Finale show. USA’s Andy Christiansen and Ken Krome designed the 12-fence first course that was taken on by 46 athletes.

Added to the challenge was the rule that riders had to walk the course without assistance of trainer or staff – and to ensure that was the case, riders handed in their cell phones at the start and were only permitted help from one groom in the warm-up ring.

“I was most nervous about the schooling, just because I didn’t want to jump too much since Taco is a quiet horse,” said Atlanta’s Ellie Aronson, who made the biggest jump up the leaderboard with Wolfstone Stables & Sales Inc.’s Conthacco, a 12-year-old Oldenburg gelding by Conthargos, going from eighth to fourth in round two, and ultimately finishing in second.

As the final four completed the work-off in reverse order, Ellie, 16 and in her rookie year in the WEF Equitation Championship, was first to test.

“I had my groom, Amber, helping me,” she said. “And she was amazing. I just tried to do as I felt like I needed to and tried not to stress about it too much.”

The eldest rider of the top four was California’s Augusta Iwasaki, 18, who was competing for the fifth time in class, but on a mount recently transformed from a jumper to an equitation horse. Augusta was comfortable working on her own and landed third place.

“I usually kind of do my own thing anyway. My trainers always get mad at me, because I’m kind of in my own world,” she said.

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Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

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

Fresh horses may be the exception rather than the rule after 12 weeks of jumping at the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF). But careful management of Pacino Amiro certainly paid off for Ireland’s Bertram Allen, who took to the Stadium Derby Field to claim victory in the FEI $140,000 CSI 5* Adequan WEF Series Round XII. They finished with a clear round in 42.88 seconds, ahead of Italy’s Lorenzo De Luca on T One USA who clocked a time of 44.24.

“I started him off out here on the grass the first week just to mix it up a bit because I knew the next three five-stars were on the sand,” said Bertram. “He’s been great all of the circuit. He had the last two weeks off and I’ve just been trying to have him feel fresh. He really felt fresh today and found it very easy, so that was a nice feeling.”

Bertram’s approach to the jump off was to keep calm and carry on. “The biggest thing in the jump off I think was that I didn’t lose my pace anywhere. Every time I turned, something nice came up,” he said. “I didn’t do anything crazy or wild, I just didn’t lose it anywhere.”

The course was suitably testing to cull the initial field of 54 entries to a jump-off featuring 11 horse rider combinations, and to qualify the 40 top contenders for Saturday’s WEF highlight the FEI $500,000 CSI5* Rolex grand prix.

“I must say that I found the course for the first round very good,” said Bertram. “Because sometimes for a class like this for a qualifier, if they don’t build it tough enough you get some lesser people in and then maybe a good horse and rider can be unlucky and miss out. Today there was nothing anywhere unfair or too big, but at least with every eight faulter getting in you had no excuses today.”

Pacino Amiro will fly home after WEF finishes on Sunday and rest for a month before campaigning at shows in Europe. For Bertram, the Festival has proved to be better than he had hoped. “I am feeling great,” he said. “We had a great circuit last year with competitions and sales and I kind of thought that wasn’t going to happen again. So to come here and do better this year – I definitely wasn’t expecting that.”

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Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

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

Carrie Sarabella grew up in New York City and loved the larger than life displays in the Saks 5th Avenue windows – her favorite store. So when Carrie, who shows regularly at the Winter Equestrian Festival, stumbled across the idea of novelty dog, and later horse treats, it took no time to come up with a name – Snaks 5th Avenchew was launched.

Honing recipes for her dog who had food allergies, turned into producing treats that emulated human food as well as show ribbons, birthday cakes and unicorns, to name just a few items. She took them to the barn to share with the horse show dogs and when her horse reached out to join in one day, a lightbulb went on. “Why shouldn’t a horse have pizza?” she said. “It clicked at that moment. Why aren’t there tacos for horses? Why are there not treats that look this cute for horses?”

The gap in the market that she had identified spiraled as the Snaks 5th Avenchew treats became an Instagram sensation – now amounting to some 58,000 followers. They have also been given out as gifts, especially to the leadline class, at the Winter Equestrian Festival.

“I owe everything to the equestrian community because they welcomed it and they were completely just as excited as I was,” Carrie, 39, said. “I was hoping that in this traditional treat world, the idea would be accepted and it was – I owe everything to them.”

After Carrie launched the brand, in 2014, she received a cease-and-desist letter from Saks 5th Avenue, which contended it was a copyright infringement.

Her attorney successfully argued so-called fair-use law, which “recognizes that parody marks cause no harm to the established mark”. He also cited pet perfume brand Tommy Holedigger and fluffy toys maker Chewy Vuiton, who had also survived opposition to their products.

“The horse community was hugely supportive of me at that time,” said Carrie, who has built her foundation on an Instagram word-of-mouth marketing campaign that has spread through the showground of the Winter Equestrian Festival.

“It was cheaper for me to spend money on the people that would be invested in the company,” she said. “So, I started sending them out to people who had horses like myself and I’d say try it, if you like it, post it.”

The ‘Snaks’ selfie of horses enjoying their treats became an Instagram sensation.

“People were very happy to post them,” said Carrie. “And the Snaks are not just for horses. Going back to ‘Saks’ windows – the packages make sure that whoever’s buying it is just as excited about picking out the treats as the horses are eating them.”

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Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

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

McLain Ward continued to add victories to the owner partnership of himself, Bob Russell and Marilla Van Bueren as he won on the trio’s Noche De Ronda in the featured class of the first day of the final week at the Winter Equestrian Festival, the $37,000 1.45m CSI5*.

So far the star of the season for the owners had been Catoki – the horse McLain describes as an ‘adrenaline junkie’ and when in competition mode is not ridden, unless he is competing.

Noche De Ronda, meanwhile, has had a quiet start to the year until yesterday when McLain and the 13-year-old black Oldenburg mare finished the course fault-free and with a time of 30.81 seconds as action at the Winter Equestrian Festival returned to the grass of the Stadium Derby Field.

Bob, was briefly left speechless by the win, but when he found the words he simply said: “That was great”.

“She is just coming back from an injury she got last year,” said McLain, who had nursed the mare back into action, previously jumping round in the international ring to finish clear with time faults.

“We thought we would give her one more time out on this field this season, and she seems to be feeling quite well,” he said.

Course designer Brazil’s Guilherme Jorge made full use of the large field for the two-phase course that posed 15 obstacles including several double combinations as well as a water obstacle.

For McLain, the victory, over 53 of his peers, came at one particular place on the track. “I think where we took over was when we did the inside slice to the double combination,” he said. “If it had been a single it wouldn’t have been that challenging, but with it being a combination it was definitely risky. She’s also got a huge stride that I use to my advantage out here. It was a huge loss not having her in our string last year, but she looks like she has a good year ahead of her.”

Taking time to heal a horse is a subject close to Bob’s heart. “That’s one of those things, we old-timers try to tell the new people coming along,” he said. “When the horses need some time off, you’ve got to give it to them. We practiced what we preached with ‘Ronda’ and the results speak for themselves.”

Second-to-last to go, Sweden’s Petronella Andersson claimed the runner-up title with Nithard Van De Peerdenhoeve, the combination landing clear in 30.99 seconds.

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Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

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

“No hoof, no horse” is a long-established idiom that reflects the art of shoeing and it is no more pertinent than when you are responsible for some of the horses that pass through the Winter Equestrian Festival.

“They only touch the ground in four spots,” said John Anderson Jr. who has 23 years of experience as a farrier for show horses, works for top riders including Margie Goldstein-Engle and will shoe some 30 to 35 horses a week. He learned the craft from his father, who at the age of 73, still shoes the occasional horse, having first started coming to Wellington for clients some 50 years ago.

“My goal is to be as unobtrusive as possible,” said John. ”I want the horse to function, I want him to be balanced, I want him to be able to go out and do his job.”

John will travel the country to serve his customers. “We have an amazing group of clients,” he said, “and we go where they want us to go.”

Wherever he is, John is constantly immersed in his craft. “I’m not looking at who’s on the saddle, I’m watching how the horse hits the ground,” he said. “It’s so ingrained in me. What’s it wearing on its feet, are the shoes going to fall off? When you’re walking along and you’re like ‘yeah, that’s not coming back with that left front’. It’s not even horses that I shoe – you see a horse, then you see its conformation and then let’s see what they’re dealing with.”

Working with horses at the Winter Equestrian Festival, a farrier is likely to shoe everything from a pony from the hunter ring, to a top showjumper in the grand prix. 

“The biggest pressure is when somebody brings you a horse they paid $6 million dollars for and they say, it needs this changed, this changed and this changed… and you say, well you just bought the horse for this amount of money and I’m supposed to make changes to it – it’s a lot of pressure,” he said. 

 “But it doesn’t matter if it’s a $6 million horse or a $6000 horse – it gets the same treatment. Not every horse is jumping a five star, not every horse is going out there and jumping the four foot hunters – some of them are little kids’ horses. You want that horse to be safe for the kid. You don’t want that horse to hook a shoe and fall in the childrens’ class. It’s all about safety for the rider.”

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Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

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

New surveys have been sent out by the Global Equestrian Group, owners of the newly-named Wellington International – home to the Winter Equestrian Festival – to get the input of the equestrian community as the company moves forward with its long-term plan of improvements.

“We sent out surveys last week and we will send out surveys every year to see if we are making progress,” said Anders Bjørnstrup, commercial director. “One for the riders, the grooms, horse owners, vendors, sponsors… we have a lot of questions about how they feel about the cleanliness, the footing, and so on. We also have blanks for people to put in their own comments.”

Anders expects the results to be in by Friday and based on the information they convey, the company will prioritise the improvements for the coming year. “You may not see it, but we have already spent millions on upgrading the facility,” said Anders. “The first thing we did was listen to the riders and put in new footing and changes to the rings.”

Other upgrades that were requested and had been planned for this season, were delayed due to the global pandemic.

“We had ordered a new wifi system – and a new sound system,” said Andres. “But there have been delays due to covid and the wifi is not being delivered until July. People will see changes when they come back for the next Winter Equestrian Festival. They will see changes every year as we cannot transform the showgrounds overnight, but we are committed to a long-term strategy of improvements.”

One significant change this season came with the rebranding of the venue – changing the name from Palm Beach International Equestrian Center to Wellington International.

“People were thrilled with the new name,” Anders said. “They had felt that they were in Wellington – not Palm Beach – and that is why we changed it. It’s more modern and the whole rebranding has been well received.” Not least, by the Village of Wellington itself.

“I have met with the Mayor,” said Anders. “And she is very supportive of what we are trying to do with the investment we are committed to putting into the area.”

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Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

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

From exciting new competition concepts at Thoresby Park Horse Trials to Scotland’s very own Grand National, we present to you the best of horse sport this week…

1. Eventing Spring Carnival at Thoresby Park Horse Trials, Notts

Dates: 31 March-3 April

More info: event website or schedule on British Eventing website

Get the H&H lowdown: read all about it in the magazine dated 7 April

Why we’re excited about it: Thoresby plays host to the first international classes of the British season, including the Lycetts Grantham Cup CCI4*-S, which will serve as a warm-up for a host of Badminton Horse Trials-entered horses, including Tokyo Olympic gold medallists London 52 (Laura Collett) and Ballaghmor Class (Oliver Townend). The class also features host to a new match play contest, in which teams from Great Britain and the rest of the world compete, with competitors riding head to head with their respective counterpart in the three phases. There’s also a new Animalintex leading rider award, a new trophy in honour of Olympic horse Rock Model and the British Eventing Support Trust launch ball, again sponsored by Lycetts, on Saturday evening.

2. British Show Pony Society Area 13A RIHS qualifying spectacular, Duchy College, Cornwall

Date: 3 April

More info: bspsarea13a.weebly.com

Get the H&H lowdown: full report in 14 April issue of the magazine

Why we’re excited about it: Area 13A’s qualifying spectacular will offer competitors ample opportunity to vie for coveted Royal International Horse Show tickets. Horse qualifiers will conclude in a separate horse supreme, while championed ponies can compete for the pony supreme. Winning members of Area 13A will go forward to the members’ supreme, where a £50 prize will be awarded to the champion.

3. Coral Scottish Grand National, Ayr Racecourse, Scotland

Dates: Saturday 2 April

More info: ayr-racecourse.co.uk

How to watch: ITV Racing

Get the H&H lowdown: read the full report from Ayr’s two-day meeting in the 7 April issue of the magazine

Why we’re excited about it: Scotland’s very own Grand National comes just a week before the Aintree race and is the biggest day of the jumps season north of the border, also featuring the Coral Scottish Champion Hurdle. The feature race was won last year by Scottish trainer Lucinda Russell with Mighty Thunder, who heads to Aintree this year, and it is Wales handler Christian Williams who seems to hold all the aces for this year’s race with leading fancies Kitty’s Light and Win My Wings.

4. Week 12 of the Winter Equestrian Festival, Palm Beach, Florida, USA

Dates: 30 March – 3 April

More info: pbiec.coth.com

How to watch: live streamed on the show website pbiec.coth.com/category/live_streams

Get the H&H lowdown: extensive coverage at horseandhound.co.uk/tag/winter-equestrian-festival and highlights of the week’s events in the 7 April issue of the magazine

Why we’re excited about it: it’s the 12th and final week of the Winter Equestrian Festival and the competition ramps up for the concluding five days of five-star competition where the world’s best riders will be bidding for glory in the final grand prix of the series.

5. Dressage Festival Opglabbeek CDI4*, Belgium

Dates: 30 March – 3 April

More info: sentowerpark.com

How to watch: live stream available via Clip My Horse TV

Get the H&H lowdown: highlights in 14 April issue of the magazine

Why we’re excited about it: the European outdoor dressage season gets underway with a competitive contingent of Brits heading to Belgium, including Lottie Fry with Glamourdale and her 2021 team horse Everdale on his first outing since the European Championships. Laura Tomlinson, Lara Butler and Dan Watson will be in action for Britain, too, plus several youth riders.

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Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

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

Following in the footsteps of her legendary showjumping parents Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum and Markus Beerbaum, 12-year-old Brianne Beerbaum showed tremendous style when landing the champion title of the large pony hunter division at the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) in Florida, USA, on Sunday (27 March).

A field of 18 riders lined up for the division’s final three over-fences classes and Brianne produced a string of consistent performances riding Heritage Farm’s 10-year-old German-bred jumping pony Rashinga. The pair won three classes and took fifth position in the under-saddle class, tallying a total of 31 points to take the title.

“Rashinga is actually normally a jumper pony when we are over in Germany most of the year,” said Brianne, a championship winner at WEF last year too. “She only competes as a hunter when we are here at WEF. This is our second year in the large pony hunter division together.

“In Germany, the jumpers are sometimes scored so that helps a bit, but it is a totally different mindset over there,” she explained. “I am grateful she switches between both the disciplines well. She is not the fastest jumper but she is a good jumper with a fair amount of scope. I think she enjoys the variety.”

Brianne’s mother Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum secured many accolades during her distinguished career, including being crowned the European showjumping champion in 2007 and winning team gold at the 2010 world championships, and she was part of the bronze-medal winning German team at the Rio Olympics in 2016. Meredith is well known for her partnerships with such legendary horses as her three-time World Cup Final winner Shutterfly, Checkmate and Fibonacci.

Brianne’s father Markus Beerbaum was also a multi-grand prix winning rider; he won team gold at the European championships in 1997 and team gold at the World Equestrian Games in 1998, while her uncle is another legendary German rider, Ludger Beerbaum.

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Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

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

Ireland’s Mark McAuley is coming to the end of his first season at the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) and his approach to the 12-week contest has drawn praise from his peers.

“It’s very impressive to see what Mark has done,” said Daniel Bluman after Mark finished second this afternoon, one place ahead of Daniel in the $216,000 CSI4* grand prix, behind winner Darragh Kenny – who, like Daniel, is not new to WEF.

“Most of the time you see people overjumping and horses being tired by the end of the season,” said Daniel, who was last to go in this afternoon’s jump off, in a time that was exactly one second slower than Darragh’s winning round of 39.43. “I think it’s a place and a circuit that you must know how to play with, to try to get really strong for the final week, finishing with the Rolex grand prix, which is the highlight of the season.”

Darragh agreed that staying competitive through the whole Festival is a feat that is hard to pull off. “I think to be able to manage your horses to go through 12 weeks here and still at the end have somewhat fresh horses is incredible,” he said.

Mark had back-to-back runner-up finishes, after claiming second place in last night’s FEI $140,000 CSI4* 1.50M championship – and missing out on victory this afternoon by a slim margin, finishing on a time of 39.52 with the 13-year-old bay gelding, Jasco VD Bisschop.

“I think when you manage to get your horses consistent at this level then hopefully the wins are going to come,” said Mark. “I’m very happy with the consistency of this horse in particular.”

This afternoon, the course itself proved to be a test of stamina for the 44 horse and rider combinations competing.

“Last week I was in Paris and I think we were finishing the course in half the time,” said Daniel. “We were taking 90 seconds today, where there, we were taking 55 to 60. It was a long course and it was getting warm out there so I think fitness was definitely an important factor out there today.”

For Mark, WEF proved a tough but instructional experience. “For me one of the best things about the circuit here has been competing week in week out with such good riders, in such good competition at such a high level,” he said. “I think it’s been very good for my riding. I think you really have to be on the ball here every time you go in the ring or you’re not going to get anything.”

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Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

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

While last night’s victory in the $140,000 1.50m championship jumper classic final went to Ireland’s Paul O’Shea, his fellow countryman, Shane Sweetnam claimed the win for the 1.50m jumper classic series at the Winter Equestrian Festival.

“This series produces an incredibly tough class every week, and the level of competition in these classes is set at a very high standard,” said Shane, who despite never claiming a win, had a steady Winter Equestrian Festival with six top-five placings – enough to give him the title.

“You need to have a good string of horses,” he said “This year I had an up-and-coming group of horses as well as some older ones, and it worked out well. While I did not win any, I was consistent at being towards the top of the class each week and that consistency is what ended up winning it overall.”

With 48 starters, Olaf Petersen Jr’s course design whittled the field down to five for the jump-off as Paul and Chancelleros took on USA’s Spencer Smith, Laura Kraut, and Alex Matz, as well as compatriot Mark McAuley who claimed second.

“I knew Alex would be fast,” said Paul. “And that Laura was after me too. I didn’t get to see Mark go but he is always fast, so I just tried to do the best round that I could.”

Mark was first to go clear in 36.97 seconds aboard LT Competition’s 10-year-old CH mare O’Hara ELS. “There were a few elements of the jump-off that were quite difficult,” Mark said. “So I just decided I would try to jump the jumps instead of worrying about being fast.”

Sure enough, Paul was hot on his heels and skimmed over a second off the clock to jump round in 35.51. “Chancelloress felt in top form tonight, and everything was coming up easily,” Paul said. “She is going to do the $500,000 Rolex Grand Prix next week, and I kept that in mind when I was riding tonight so I wouldn’t overdo it.”

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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

The week-long anticipation regarding the rebranding and renaming of Palm Beach International Equestrian Center was rewarded at Saturday Night Lights prior to the $140,000 1.50M series final – Wellington International is the new name for the home of the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF).

Ireland’s Paul O’Shea with Chancelloress was the first rider to win at Wellington International, fastest in the jump-off of the 1.50M series final that featured just five riders from an original field of 49. When asked how he felt about being the inaugural winner, he said: “I hadn’t really thought about it until now, but that is great.”

Speculation had been building ever since the old Palm Beach International Equestrian Center sign on the iconic bridge traversing the entrance to the International Arena was covered over for the start of WEF week 11. Rumour had it, that with the right wind blowing and a vantage point directly underneath the temporary screening, the name might have been discernible. In any case, all those that knew were sworn to secrecy so that the unveiling at Saturday Night Lights proved to be a revelation for most – with a new name, new logo and a signature fence.

Perhaps the biggest hint of the thinking behind the new venue name came from Michael Stone, president of Equestrian Sport Productions.

“The Palm Beach International Equestrian Center [PBIEC] is a storied facility, but the name is quite a mouthful and we have found it can be confusing to non-equestrians, who expect the facility to be located on Palm Beach Island,” Michael said earlier this week.

Show organisers wasted no time in positioning the rebranding. The jump crew did a reveal of the new logo on their shirts, which was also emblazoned on flags flying from the drag crew tractors.

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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

Leading riders such as McLain Ward, Cian O’Connor, Darragh Kenny and more competing at the Winter Equestrian Festival [WEF] are among many showjumpers who have offered lessons to be auctioned off in support of Ukraine. The online auction began today and bids are mounting for the chance to experience what it is like to be trained by the world’s best.

Belgian Equbreeding.auction team and Sébastien Boulanger orchestrated the event and are running it from their platform, waving auction fees. Registration for the auction is also free.

“Although the war in Ukraine might seem far for all of us, it affects every one of us,” said Bram Van Hulle, marketing manager for the auction. “On a global scale we want to show the equestrian community is a great family that takes high value in taking our social responsibility.”

A total of 43 items will be auctioned. Aside from WEF riders there is a chance to learn from Dutch female showjumper, Sanne Thijssen, or Belgium’s number one Jérome Guery, as well as Britain’s John Whitaker. In addition, Belgium’s Gregory Wathelet’s Olympic saddle pad is up for grabs as well as a St Tropez Pirates polo shirt signed by Daniel Deusser.

A lesson with US rider and WEF competitor, Jessica Springsteen, gained traction early and as of the time of writing, the bid is €315 – all items start at €50.

Breeding is also included in the auction with a straw of Quel Homme de Hus also piquing interest in the opening stages of the event.

Earlier this season German dressage rider Frederic Wandres, sported a Ukrainian flag on the back of his jacket and donated his winnings at the Adequan Global Dressage Festival to support Ukraine, with the hope that others would follow suit. “I had hoped they would after the Derby,” he said. “Maybe others have, but I don’t know about them.”

The auction closes on 31 March 1.30pm EST and can be found online at https://equbreeding.auction/auction/

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Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

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

Donald and Cara Cheska train ponies for the Winter Equestrian Festival hunter ring – an American way of showing that is foreign to the UK. But across the pond is where many of their past success stories have come from. Pouring through the classifieds in Horse & Hound has found many a pony that would fit the mold to show in the pony hunter classes in Florida and beyond.

“In our sport, they have to move like the show ponies, but jump like a ‘hunter’,” said Cara. Eighteen years ago, the Cheskas were pioneers in looking across the pond for said ponies, and it was a time when shipping to the USA was considerably cheaper.

“We still import ponies but 18 or so years ago, we used to buy them based on the postage stamp picture in Horse & Hound,” said Cara. “They had photos of them moving like this,” she said, stretching her arms out straight and scissoring them back and forth.

The majority of ponies were bought purely with a leap of faith based on the small classified photo. “Most of them we would call the number on the ad up and work out a deal,” said Cara. “And the ponies would come right away. It was very easy to get them here.”

A few were tried out at horse shows in Scotland and Ireland. “We got known as the crazy Americans with the measuring stick,” she said. “Because they had to measure to our standards – to be top of the line 12.2hh, 13.2hh or 14.2hh. In between is hard because then their stride doesn’t usually match what we have to do here.”

They also needed to jump. “I would ask people if I could jump their ponies and they would look at me like I had four heads,” Cara said.

At the time pony breeding in the USA was popular and the Cheska’s decision to import was unusual. But shipping a horse to the USA cost $5,000 and the Cheskas would pay somewhere between £2,00o and £3,000 for a pony. By the time they had trained them for the show worlds of the Winter Equestrian Festival and the like, the asking price could be between $40,000 to $50,000.

Many of the ponies they imported blazed a trail of ribbons across the showgrounds. All of them had the word ‘home’ in their name. Home Court from Edinburgh and Home At Last from Dublin were two of the top imports.

Cara and Donald still look in Europe for prospects – Welsh section B being one of the preferred breeds. “Now because of the internet and cellphones, it’s so much faster [to review the ponies],” Cara said. “But now it’s $12,000 to get them here. It’s still profitable, but the ponies are for children so the small ones have to be so far along, in order to make a profit on them. There are no chances to be taken anymore.”

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Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

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

From the outset, Britain’s Matt Sampson and Curraghgraigue Obos Flight looked like they were on a mission as they took the first fence of the jump-off at the Winter Equestrian Festival with conviction. In the largest class of the day, 89 competitors vied for the $37,000 grand prix qualifier CSI2*. Matt landed victory by thirteen-hundredths of a second, much to the delight and whistles of onlookers in the ring-side International Club. 

“He is the type of horse that wants to win as much as I do,” said Matt. “He has had great rounds the rest of the season in some of the bigger five-star events, but today’s two-star was equally as difficult. Where I think the course suited us best was his smaller stride allowed us to be quick down several of the lines that other riders may have had to steady for.”

Course designer Germany’s Olaf Petersen Jr. put together a test with a tight time allowed that whittled down the entries, with 12 riders incurring time faults, and another 13 out of the running with a single rail.

“Today’s course was very difficult – you could tell that when you walked it,” said Matt. “But with the amount of entries that there were, the course designer had a lot of decisions to make. To me, it definitely rode more like a two-star grand prix than a qualifier.”

Matt and the 10-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding Curraghgraigue Obos Flight (Obos Quality 004 x Errigal Flight) have been a partnership for three years and competed successfully up to the five-star level. They have been shadowing victory at the Winter Equestrian Festival all season. 

“With maybe just an unlucky rail keeping us from the top, he has had great rounds the rest of the season in some of the bigger five-star events,” said Matt. “But today’s two-star was equally as difficult.” 

USA’s Caelinn Leahy and Coldplay 31 clocked in at 38.75 seconds just shy of Matt’s winning round of 38.62.

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Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

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

The rider horse combination of Egypt’s Nayel Nassar and El Conde jumped fluidly to victory in today’s FEI $37,000 CSI4* 1.45 metre class at the Winter Equestrian Festival looking as if they were a seasoned partnership. In reality they have been together for just one month.

“El Conde is actually a very new horse for us, he’s been with us for about a month,” said Nayel. “It feels like I’ve known him a lot longer. He just kind of really suits my ride and I think we had an understanding pretty early on in the partnership.”

Currently, Nayel rides as part of the Evergate Stables team, and the plan was to use the class as preparation for Saturday’s FEI CSI4* series final classic 1m 50, which will be the last Saturday Night Lights of the WEF 2022 season.

“I have to say this was a bit of an unexpected win,” said Nayel who went early with a time of 57.84, not quite matched by Belgium’s Abdel Said, second on 58.03, and the ever-competitive Laura Kraut riding Calgary Time late in the line up of 58 competitors, to claim third with a round in 58.55.

“We were using this as a bit of prep,” said Nayel. “He’s got such a good engine as long as you just kind of turn him on and leave him there he generally doesn’t waste much time. We didn’t expect to win this class, but it’s always nice to grab one on the way. This was his first class of the week, just to get his legs wet and get him going. He jumped a couple of bigger classes last week so it’s nice to come back down and let him have some fun. Hopefully, he’ll jump on Saturday in the 1m 50.”

While the partnership looked in synch in the ring today, Nayel got lucky before the class, discovering a quirk of El Conde’s in the warm-up ring that he had not known before.

“Today I got on a bit late and I was a bit rushed and he seemed to prefer that,” Nayel said of the 11-year-old bay gelding, Belgian Sporthorse. “He has a lot of character and he tends to build and build in the warm-up ring. Today he never really got a chance to get his adrenaline boiling. We’re still figuring out what routine works best for him, but so far we’re getting along just fine.”

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Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

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

USA’s Isabella Russekoff, 22, and Suave Pony LLC’s Balou’s Fly High were victorious on the opening day of week 11 of the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) in the $10,000 1.45m CSI4*, which served as the qualifier for the “Saturday Night Lights” feature, the $150,000 1.50m series final classic CSI4*.

“In the ring, he likes to take me to all the jumps, so I was confident that given this course, we would be able to leave out strides where maybe others could not,” said Isabella of the 15-year-old Oldenburg stallion, who is by Balou du Rouet out of a mare by Grandeur. “For example, the last line was a normal five-stride line, but I know with him and how much he loves to go for it at the end of the course, I could choose to do four.”

At home, in the barn, it’s all about him. “He has a huge personality. He gets really emotional, so we have to keep him really separated from everyone else,” Isabella said. “When he’s having a good day, it’s a little easier, but when he’s having a bad day, we just kind of let him be and try to be really nice to him.

“We base our schedule with every other horse at the barn around him, because he has such a big personality. Since he can get so worked up, we don’t try too hard to mess with him at home, because he’s usually always amazing in the ring.”

Isabella and Balou’s Fly High have been partnered for seven years during which time she has climbed from 1.20m low junior jumper division all the way through the CSI2* grand prix level. During WEF week eight, they finished third in the $25,000 under-25 series semi-final.

“Every win with him is really special,” said Isabella, “because he tries so hard for me every single time he goes in. It’s awesome when I can also reward him by doing my part to go fast and put in a good round.”

Ireland’s Conor Swail and Team Philippaerts’s Theo 160 sped to a second-place finish in 32.26 seconds. Just three one-hundredths of a second behind them was Germany’s Richard Vogel and Dakota de L’Ardrais, owned by Coleridge Equestrian BV.

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Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

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

Palm Beach International Equestrian Center – home to the Winter Equestrian Festival (WEF) – is about to be renamed.

“We know it will take some getting used to, but we are very excited to reveal our new venue name this weekend,” said Michael Stone, President of Equestrian Sport Productions, with the announcement scheduled ahead of the 7.30pm start time for the $140,000 1.50m Series Final Classic CSI4* at the showground’s Saturday Night Lights event.

“The Palm Beach International Equestrian Center [PBIEC] is a storied facility, but the name is quite a mouthful and we have found it can be confusing to non-equestrians, who expect the facility to be located on Palm Beach Island,” Michael said.

The village of Wellington, where PBIEC is located, is some 17 miles inland from the island of Palm Beach.

Wellington’s claim to equestrian fame started in 1977 when polo pioneer Bill Ylvisaker bought 2000 acres of what was essentially wild and untamed marsh on the edge of the Florida Everglades and turned it into the internationally-renowned Palm Beach Polo and Country Club. High goal polo paved the way for Wellington to become an epicenter of winter equestrian activity, giving rise to both the Global Dressage Festival and the Winter Equestrian Festival.

“Now that the property has grown in popularity and is well-known, we are pleased to enter our next chapter with our new owners, Global Equestrian Group,” said Michael. “One of our first steps to advance the venue is to change our name to something that we feel is more modern and will open the facility to additional ventures.”

Global Equestrian Group acquired PBIEC in July of last year. Their first move was to conduct a survey in August to give them feedback from both riders and spectators. “We drew up a huge list of things we want to change, and we started prioritizing what is most important and working on it,” Global Equestrian Group CEO Andreas Helgstrand, said as WEF got underway in January.

“Currently, we are working on a five-year plan on the development of the whole facility. We cannot change everything in six months, not even in 18 months. We want to enhance WEF and maintain our position as the main event in this sport. Our ambition is to make it the world’s leading and most attractive venue.”

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Subscribe to Horse & Hound magazine today – and enjoy unlimited website access all year round

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

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