Donald Whitaker and Millfield Colette, pictured helping Great Britain into the silver medal-winning position at the European Showjumping Championships, as well as finishing 10th individually.
All roads lead to Barcelona, Spain, this week (2-5 October) for the Longines League of Nations (LLN) final where Great Britain’s showjumpers are among the nine countries who have qualified for Sunday’s two-round decider.
So who will be lining up for this year’s event?
The LLN Final in Barcelona: runners and riders
Great Britain’s chef d’equipe Di Lampard has selected a star-studded dream team for Sunday’s LLN Final in Barcelona. They arrive at the Real Club de Polo de Barcelona off the back of a glorious victory in the final leg of the LLN qualifiers in St Tropez-Gassin, as well as a historic victory in the BMO Nations Cup at Spruce Meadows.
“We’ve had a really good season, but we’ve got better and better,” says Di.
They will be joined by Donald Whitaker, who played a key role in helping Great Britain win team silver at the European Championships in La Coruna, Spain this summer. The final squad member is relative five-star team newcomer Adrian Whiteway, who was part of the polished winning team in St Tropez-Gassin recently on his LLN debut.
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Adrian brings Deborah Cox’s hugely consistent 12-year-old stallion Chacco Volo. While Adrian joked after helping the British team secure victory at the LLN in St Tropez that “Time-faults are our forte, if you like – we’re pretty good at getting them!”, they are equally proficient at clear rounds and that’s what counts in these top tier team competitions.
Harry Charles returns to the team fold with his father Peter’s and Stall Zet’s Sherlock, The 12-year-old was last seen jumping double clear for a third place finish in the CSI5* Rolex grand prix at the Stephex Masters at the end of August.
Completing the quintet of British riders is world number two Ben Maher, who also has a choice of two horses in Barcelona, with Enjeu De Grisien or Point Break.
Who are Britain’s rivals?
The other teams to have qualified for Sunday’s LLN Final in Barcelona from the four global legs in Abu Dhabi, Ocala, Rotterdam and St Tropez are Team USA, hosts Spain, the Netherlands, Italy, Ireland, Germany, France and the newly crowned European champions Belgium. Germany returns to the Spanish city as title-holders, having lifted the inaugural trophy in dramatic style in 2024.
Ireland’s chef d’equipe Michael Blake has selected Neal Fearon, Billy Twomey, Bertram Allen, Mikey Pender and Sean Monaghan for the Spanish event this week.
The four-day CSIO Barcelona kicks off on Thursday 2 October, with the 1.60m grand prix taking place on Friday evening (3 October). Horse & Hound will be on hand to bring you all the latest news with the full report appearing in the 9 October issue of the magazine.
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Jennifer is passionate at showjumping and her role as H&H’s showjumping editor has taken her around the world reporting from shows and interviewing riders, connections and those involved behind the scenes. Since joining H&H from BBC Sport in 2005, she has written on every subject across the equestrian sphere — from turnout rugs to stable management — and has interviewed gold medallists, world champions and winners galore. She also has first-hand experience of working in the equestrian industry as a riding instructor and yard manager.
