Young Horse Stars Set to Shine at Hickstead
From 13 to 16 August, the renowned Hickstead showground will host the Al Shira’aa British Young Horse Championships, one of the UK’s premier events dedicated to young show jumping horses. With more than £80,000 in prize money and bonuses on offer, many of the country’s leading combinations will compete for the national titles.
The event also serves as the British qualifying competition for the FEI World Breeding Championship for Young Horses in Lanaken, Belgium, where the world’s most promising young horses will compete. National championship finals will be held for four-, five-, six- and seven-year-old horses.
British breeding will also be in the spotlight, with British Showjumping awarding special prizes to the breeders of the top five British-bred horses in each final, alongside additional bonuses for horses that remain faultless throughout the entire competition.
Alongside the young horse championships, the programme will feature open classes for older horses, culminating in the 1.30m and 1.40m Grands Prix, both staged on Hickstead’s all-weather arenas.
Among the riders expected to compete are several standout performers from last month’s Agria Royal International Horse Show. They include Robert Whitaker, winner of the Al Shira’aa King George V Gold Cup, Gemma Stevens, victorious in the Ashby Underwriting Eventers’ Challenge, and Holly Smith, who claimed the JCL Insurance Brokers Queen Elizabeth II Cup.
The entry list also features a host of prominent British riders, including Laura Renwick, Harriet Biddick, William Funnell, Guy Williams, Amy Inglis, William Fletcher, Robert Murphy, William Rekert, Rachel Proudley and Nicole Pavitt, as well as leading Irish show jumpers Shane Breen and David Simpson.
Admission and parking will be free throughout the event, giving spectators the opportunity to watch first-hand a championship that has become a showcase for the future stars of international show jumping.
Source: Al Shira’aa British Young Horse Championships press release.
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