Rising star Rachel Proudley steals the show in Hickstead Grand Prix

schedule

08/09/2025

Rachel Proudley won the Breen Equestrian All England Grand Prix at Hickstead, riding Guess Du Mont (c) Boots and Hooves Photography

HICKSTEAD – One of Britain’s brightest young showjumping talents claimed victory in the Breen Equestrian All England Grand Prix, the feature class on the final day of the All England September Tour.

Yorkshire rider Rachel Proudley, 20, secured the £9,000 Grand Prix riding HK Horses’ nine-year-old grey mare Guess Du Mont.

“What an unbelievable performance she produced,” said Proudley. “We’ve already had a lot of fun with her, but this is her first Grand Prix win, so we’re excited to see what the future holds.”

From 60 starters, only nine jumped clear to reach the jump-off. Proudley, drawn second to go, set an early benchmark with a blistering round in 37.09sec, piling pressure on the remaining riders. Defending champion Jessica Burke looked set to retain her title with a quicker time of 36.28sec, but a late mistake at the penultimate Hickstead planks dropped her into fifth place.

“I knew it was going to be a fast jump-off, so I just had to go in there, be as quick as I could, and leave all the fences up,” explained Proudley, the reigning European Young Rider Champion. “My mare tried so hard. We’ve had a fantastic show here, and the young horses have been great too.”

More championship highlights

The Grand Prix was not the only highlight of the day, with several other classes producing memorable results.

Katie Bradburne, a former Pony European gold medallist, won the Stoner Jewellers All England 1.20m Open Championship with Westpoint Foreign Affair, owned by Sophie Johnstone. Last to go in a seven-horse jump-off, Katie shaved nearly two seconds off the time set by Sandra Low Mitchell and La-Di-Dah. “She’s my favourite to ride in the ring,” said Katie of the eight-year-old pony, who is now for sale as Katie has aged out of ponies.
Nicole Pavitt continued her strong run at Hickstead, taking the All England Novice Championship with Atlas 16. The homebred stallion claimed his first International Arena win, following in the footsteps of his dam Amaryllis, with whom Nicole enjoyed many successes at the same venue. “He’s also by the black stallion Goldstar, so it makes it extra special that I rode both his parents,” Nicole commented.
In the Spidge Photography 1.00m Open Championship, Jodannah Davis made it back-to-back victories with Christo Z, repeating her success from the previous week. Fourteen combinations qualified for the jump-off, but just five managed double clears, with Jodannah finishing 0.6sec ahead of Jessica Brady and Cromwell Du Banco.