British Showjumping National Championships – Wednesday 7th August Roundup

British Showjumping National Championships – Wednesday 7th August Roundup

Another day of top-class equestrian sport is finished at the British Showjumping National Championships, where the best of the best come to claim their titles. Today saw almost 600 combinations vie for those coveted wins.

The Sytner Land Rover Coventry Championship Arena 1 saw the Nupafeed Supplements Senior Discovery Championship crowned Stephanie Gunn and Quickstep I as our 2024 Champions.

Affectionately known as Jenny, the homebred 6-year-old mare was broken and produced by Stephanie herself.

‘She’s by my stallion that unfortunately died a couple of years ago, so she’s quite a special mare’ said Stephanie.

‘I was really pleased with our round today, we gave it everything and she really tried for the whole thing.’
With 18 out of 55 combinations moving to the jump-off, we asked Stephanie what her game plan was ‘Leave it all out there!’ It goes without saying, that she certainly did just that.

The National 1.25m Championship proved a challenging course, but of the 72 horse and rider combinations, Gemma Hallett and Sue Jarman‘s Billy Jive claimed the win with a double clear and a jump-off of 31.26 seconds a clear two seconds ahead of second spot.

‘It’s always fast with her! She’s so careful and trustworthy…I can always trust her. Initially, there was only one clear before I went in…as soon as you let the handbrake off, she’s good to go. I’m so chuffed with her, the only thing she hasn’t won at this level is a National Championship, BlueChip and Welsh Masters, and she’s done the triple this year!’

While competition in the Unibed Championship Arena 2 was fierce, the coveted Horse of the Year Show International Wild Card Qualifier Incorporating The Sytner Land Rover Coventry National Speed Horse Final (Table C) title went to Ronnie Lee Jones and Kaleche. The combination produced a 64.75 second round to narrowly beat out Gemma Ellison on Helsinki VDL, who nipped at their heels on 65.23 seconds.

‘She was early to go and did quite a few nice smooth turns, she’s won here before in the Big Star Championship, so she knows her way around. I’ve had her from a three-year-old, she’s won every national championship title, and this is another one we wanted to win.’

We asked Ronnie what he sees in the future for Kaleche. ‘She’s been a great partner for me and hopefully we can keep on stepping up together. We’d love to do the International series at HOYS, and hopefully another Nations Cup before the end of the year.’

Over in Arena 3, the National Para Equestrian Championship saw three riders crowned in each of the three grades.

Taking the win in the Grade III, Rachel Davis and ex-dressage mare, Benate (also known as Ruby) stormed the course.

‘We had a bad morning and I made a mistake in the 1.00m Open, which was meant to be my practice run to give us confidence…I came in here not very optimistic and rode forward on every fence, and it paid off! We’ve come a long way.’

Grade II winners Laura Goodall and Intenable Du Forgeron produced a lovely round following her first ride on La Daisy, who had an unfortunate miss at the second-to-last fence.

Commenting on her game plan, Laura said ‘Stand up, and not to forget the 11th fence! She’s owned by Susan Gill, she’s done quite a bit. She’s a Grade B, and she’s a lovely girl.’

Sarah Steel and Topwood Teddy rode to victory in the Grade I, and what started as a lockdown project has turned into Sarah’s champion ride in 2024.

‘I couldn’t have asked him to do anything better, he gives his whole every time I ask. He’s adapted himself very well because I have to ride slightly differently, because of my disability. He does a lot of voice commands, he’s just awesome.’