Big guns come out for the Open

Britain’s top twelve riders have been invited to compete at the British Open Show Jumping Championships (6-9th April). The prestigious competition offers the biggest single prize in British show jumping and has a prize pot of over £150,000.

The 2005 British Open Champion Robert Smith will be joined by Nick Skelton, who finished third in the Al Maktoum Memorial Challenge. The Whitaker family is well represented with invitations sent to four members of the dynasty. Michael Whitaker, the highest ranked of the family and his brother John, the British Open Puissance winner in 2004, will be joined by John’s son, Robert, the British Open Champion in 2003 and the golden girl of British show jumping, Ellen. Ben Maher, winner of the 2005 Hickstead Derby, and Tim Stockdale have also received invitations and William Funnell, Mark Armstrong, Guy Williams and Tim Gredley complete the 12-strong line-up.

In addition to the above named riders, the line-up will consist of another two British riders who will have qualified at Addington Manor Equestrian Centre at the end of March. With the other half of the field consisting of some of the very best foreign riders on the International circuit, every class at the British Open is certain to be fiercely competitive.

The British Open is a unique format with a championship class every day including the Saturday afternoon final qualifying round after which a ‘cut’ will be made allowing only the top twenty riders to contest the British Open Final on Sunday afternoon.

A wide range of additional show jumping classes will be held over the four days including the International Accumulator on Friday and the nail-biting British Open Puissance on Saturday evening. There are also two classes for the top twenty under-23 year-old riders in the country supported by the BEF’s World Start and Potential programme.

For more information and online booking please visit www.britishopenshowjumping.com or call the Box Office (tel: 0114 256 5656). Groups of 12 or more are entitled to a discount via the Groups Box Office, (tel: 0114 256 0440).

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