There have been so many incredible moments from the sport of showjumping in 2025. With so many epic achievements, it’s fair to say we enter 2026 in a hugely positive place. From global successes to jaw-dropping high jump records and the horses who stole our hearts, here are just some of my highlights in a showjumping review of the year 2025.
My showjumping highlights from 2025
1. Pressure? What pressure? A resurgent British team
During one glorious, feel-good week in July, British showjumpers could do little wrong and we basked in their reflective joy throughout the European Showjumping Championships. With the British team taking the lead on day one, the nation held a collective breath as the drama unfolded.
Against the odds, the fab four of Scott Brash (Hello Folie), Ben Maher (Dallas Vegas Batilly), Donald Whitaker (Millfield Colette) and Matt Sampson (Medoc De Toxandria) emerged with the team silver medal, the culmination of weeks of hard work and an incredible team spirit. But the medals didn’t stop there.
Proving once again that pressure is for tyres, ice-cool Scott doubled up with a second silver medal and four British riders finished in the top 11. The resurgence of the British team continued with a first ever success in the Longines League of Nations Final and a historic success in the BMO Nations Cup of Spruce Meadows. With the world championships at Aachen just around the corner, this feels like the beginning of a golden era in the sport.
John Whitaker and Equine America Unick Du Francport soar into the runner-up spot in the CSI5* showjumping at the 2025 Royal Windsor Horse Show. Credit: Elli Birch/Boots And Hooves
2. Showjumping GOAT turns 70
In what other sport, would we be celebrating one of the world’s leading athletes turning 70? Well the great and good of the equestrian world came out in force to pay tribute to the legendary John Whitaker as he celebrated his milestone birthday in August.
“He’s a man of few words, but when he says something listen because he always hits the nail on the head,” said his great friend Geoff Billington. “He may look like a 90-year-old when he walks but as soon as he’s on a horse he looks like his 23-year-old self again.”
Nick Skelton added: “He and I grew up riding together, jumped on countless teams together and he’s been a very great friend for many years. He’s so consistent, he never gives up and he deserves his status as a true legend of the sport.”
3. Who needs reins anyway?
It’s fair to say the European Showjumping Championships aren’t usually fodder for viral web content but even my non-horsey friends were talking about THAT heart-stopping moment when Scott Brash lost a rein on the turn to the triple combination during a crucial round for the team.
Displaying every ounce of trademark cool that has helped him win two Olympic gold medals, Scott and the ever-obliging Hello Folie kept their focus and the mare, who is feisty and forward and no easy ride, casually popped the towering fences like they were little more than cross-poles.
I had to watch the footage back several times to see where Scott deftly recaptured his rein – it’s utterly seamless. And what a horse! The modest Scotsman revealed he “felt like an amateur” but the rest of us were in awe and that, of course, is why he’s one of the best in the world.
Rachel Proudley and Easy Boy De Laubry Z, pictured at Dublin in 2025.
4. Is there anything Rachel Proudley can’t do?
This year will certainly be one 20-year-old Rachel Proudley won’t forget in a hurry. Among her extraordinary list of achievements, the talented youngster won gold at the European young rider championships and became the first female rider in 61 years to win the puissance at Dublin Horse Show, adding a host of other high jump successes under her belt.
“Be more Rachel” is our new year’s resolution.
5. A record-breaking six bar
One of the most poignant and jaw-dropping successes of the year came when 25-year-old Joe Stockdale and It’s Confidential cleared a record-breaking 2.13m (more than 6ft 11in) to share the spoils in the six-bar competition at Spruce Meadows, Canada.
This was Joe’s first visit to the Calgary venue since watching his late father Tim Stockdale and Fresh Direct K2 win the class in 2011. Joe provided us with an epic night that none of us will forget.
Robert Whitaker wins the Hickstead Derby. Credit: Elli Birch/Bootsandhooves
6. A fourth Whitaker adds his name to the Boomerang trophy
The Whitaker family and Hickstead go hand in hand, so it was fitting that the family should prove so successful at the venue this year with Robert Whitaker triumphant in both the King George V Gold Cup and the Hickstead Derby, while his cousin James landed the Queen’s Cup. Robert becoming the fourth member of his family to lift the world famous Boomerang trophy was truly special.
7. We all fell in love with a horse called Ping Pong
Coloured horses are relatively rare in the top level of the sport, which makes Gerit Nieberg’s brilliant partner, the 10-year-old Ping Pong Van De Lentamel (Emerald x Toulon) stand out from the crowd.
But he’s been causing a stir with his winning performances too, with this exceptional jumper also displaying a lightning turn of hoof as he’s stepped up to five-star level this year, including jumping double clear in the Rolex grand prix at Aachen and winning the Longines Global Champions Tour of Riesenbeck grand prix.
“He’s such a cool horse,” says Gerit, and we all agree.
Anya Dewey Clarke en route to winning the second leg of her HOYS double. Credit: Peter Nixon
8. A brilliant 10-year-old rider we’re in awe of
There are few better sights in the sport than the smallest showjumping ponies and their fearless jockeys flying round the ring and the recently turned 11-year-old Anya Dewey Clarke is one of our favourites with a string of titles to her name.
She’s accomplished beyond her years and hugely versatile too, as displayed by her Horse Of The Year Show double when she and the brilliant 17-year-old Jim whizzed to glory in the 128cm championship just hours after tasting glory in the 143cm working hunter pony of the year aboard Tullibards Silver Mine. There was no stopping her either, as she completed the full set of 128cm showjumping titles with victory at the London International, too.
“It’s the most incredible feeling I could ever had,” said Anya. Watch out Scott Brash, she’s coming for you!
9. Scott’s meteoric return to the top
This time last year, Scott Brash wasn’t even ranked in the top 50 in the world, having experienced an uncharacteristic dip in fortunes with five-star successes proving frustratingly elusive. But the victories started early in 2025 and never stopped, spearheaded by his superb victory in the richest showjumping prize in history on a momentous day at Spruce Meadows riding the utterly brilliant Hello Jefferson.
That was Scott at his brilliant best.
He finished the year with a dazzling performance riding Hello Chadora Lady to win the Rolex Top 10 Final in Geneva and we’ve been thrilled to see him soaring back up the world rankings as a result. The 40-year-old is now the number two showjumper in the world behind Kent Farrington. It can only be a matter of time before the hugely popular British showjumper rules the world once again.
10. A highly unusual grand prix result
We all know the showjumping formula – jump clear, jump-off, winner decided. But this year’s grand prix at the Dublin Horse Show proved anything but formulaic. As rider after rider in the first round accumulated faults, we began to wonder, “Will anyone actually jump a clear round?”
Well, you can always rely on USA rider Laura Kraut to show the world how it should be done and she and the brilliant Bisquetta, the penultimate pair to tackle Alan Wade’s track, showed why at the age of 60 she remains the greatest female rider in the world by clearing every single fence in perfect harmony.
When the final competitor, Trevor Breen and Highland President, rolled an oxer, it was all over and Laura was crowned the highly unusual victor. Laura Kraut, we salute you.
11. Harry Charles fills the tabloids
The British tabloids latched on to the “wedding of the year” as our very own Paris 2024 Olympic gold medallist Harry Charles married fellow showjumper Eve Jobs in the Cotswolds this summer. International news stories and column inches galore were devoted to the pair as a media frenzy surrounded their behind-closed-doors nuptials, attended by plenty of big names from the equestrian world.
Hopefully it was a relief for the newlyweds when normal service resumed at their next show and they were grilled by equestrian journalists about stride patterns and meaty oxers rather than A-list guest lists and floral arrangements.
Richard Vogel and United Touch S win gold at the European Showjumping Championships. Credit: Peter Nixon
12. The mega stallion with the ‘biggest stride in the world’
My jaw dropped the first time I saw huge-striding stallion United Touch S in action and his gold medal-winning performance under German rider Richard Vogel at the European Showjumping Championships displayed all his wonderful traits in the best light. The pair triumphed on a score of 0.01, having not touched a fence all week.
“I think everyone knew United Touch before, but now everyone saw how amazing he is,” said Richard, who has taught the stallion to use his body, adapt and adjust, not only to leave strides out, which he finds easy, but also to take on shorter distances. Another heroic horse we’d love to have in our stable.
13. The movie we’d all been waiting for
Forget Netflix and the countless other streaming channels, thousands of us were tempted back to the cinema this year for the release of the long-awaited film charting all-time-great Nick Skelton’s incredible life and career – Big Star: The Nick Skelton Movie. It proved a global hit and we’re now anxiously awaiting for some follow-up films on the likes of John and Michael Whitaker – surely another box office smash.
Trevor Breen and Kannoon Blue win The Astore & Sons 1.35m Open Championship. Credit Elli Birch/Bootsandhooves
14. A new star is born
Finally, we celebrate brilliant breeding. I’ve been a huge fan of Trevor Breen’s home-bred multi-winning Highland President for a long time, so my ears pricked up when I heard about Trevor’s next rising star, Kannoon Blue. The pair achieved the pinnacle at this year’s Horse of the Year Show, winning the leading showjumper of the year grand prix – no mean feat for a nine-year-old home-bred horse and a rider who just 17 months earlier had fractured his neck and back in a bad fall at Hamburg.
“Kannoon Blue is a phenomenal horse,” said Trevor. “This guy is really coming of age this year.”
What a year it was in the showjumping world. With 2026 just around the corner, we’re chomping at the bit to see how these stories continue to unfold. Watch this space.
What were your favourite moments in the 2025 showjumping season? Write to hhletters@futurenet.com for a chance to be published in Horse & Hound – please include your full address (town and county will be published).
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You may also be interested in:
Graham Fletcher calls for a ‘new British-Irish championship’ to give riders in both countries ‘a much-needed boost’
‘You say jump, he says how high’: why everyone is talking about this young British-bred horse, produced by Geoff Billington
‘This means the world’: British riders celebrate a glorious League of Nations-grand prix double
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