Britain joins SJ super league

A strong performance in Athens has ensured Britain a place in the Samsung Super League

The British Nations Cup show jumping team has fulfilled team manager Derek Ricketts’s ambition by reaching next year’s new Samsung Super League after finishing third in Athens.

The team consisted of Di Lampard (Abbervail Dream) (pictured), Keith Shore (It’s Magic Max), Robert Smith (Marius Claudius) and Jamie Wingrave (Spring Master).

The super league, which begins in La Baule, France, next May, is open to the top eight teams in this year’s series and Britain, who finished seventh overall, will join Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, Sweden, Holland and Ireland in the series.

Failure to qualify for the super league would have left British riders forced to compete at lesser international competitions and struggling for team experience for major championships.

The other shows included in the league are Rome, St Gallen, Aachen, Hickstead, Dublin, Rotterdam and Barcelona.

When he returned from Athens, Derek spent two days in consultation with the BEF’s World Class Performance director Matt Straker.

They will now approach the British Olympic Association to try to secure show jumping’s chance to qualify for the Athens Olympics at next year’s European Championships.

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