Ben Hobday and Mulrys Error make British team debut with a trip to the USA
Ben Hobday has received his first British Nations Cup call-up and will ride on the team at the US leg of the eventing FEI Nations Cup at The Plains, Virginia (8-9 July).
Ben will partner Sallie Ryle’s popular 15-year-old gelding Mulrys Error, with whom he recently finished 27th in the CCI3* at Bramham. The pair also jumped a double clear at Badminton last year and finished 29th at Burghley in 2014.
Two other riders also make their British team debuts at The Plains — Matthew Heath, who will ride his own and Hazel Livesey’s One Of A Kind II, and James Sommerville with Talent, owned by James and his mother Jennifer.
Nicky Roncoroni and Watts Burn, who helped the Brits to second in the Nations Cup at Tattersalls, Ireland, last month, complete the squad. Watts Burn belongs to Lorna McWilliam and the rider’s mother Janey.
American-based Brit Justine Dutton is the reserve with Jak My Style.
This is the second year the USA has hosted a leg of the Nations Cup at The Plains. Britain finished third of the three teams competing last year, represented by Jodie Amos (Wise Crack, third), Ben Way (Willows Tipster, 26th), Justine Dutton (Huck Finn, 36th) and Ros Canter (Zenshera, eliminated for a fall across country). The USA won, with Canada second.
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Britain currently holds first place in the 2017 Nations Cup overall standings, after finishing second at all three competitions so far (Strzegom, Houghton and Tattersalls). The next fixture on the calendar is Wiener Neustadt in Austria (30 June-2 July), followed by The Plains, Aachen in Germany (19-23 July), Haras du Pin (10-13 August), Waregem in Belgium (22-24 September) and Boekelo in the Netherlands (5-8 October).
The British Nations Cup teams are supported by the National Lottery-funded equestrian World Class Programme, a portfolio within the British Equestrian Federation.
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Pippa is a true eventing geek and has been H&H’s eventing editor since 2005. She has first-hand experience of competing up to British Eventing intermediate and international CCI2*-L level, and has worked in the industry on a top event yard. Pippa enjoys nothing more than immersing herself in the sport at the highest level, reporting from the five-stars and international championships, including the Olympics.