Strong team of Brits aiming for Nations Cup treble

It’s been 28 years since Great Britain last won three Nations Cup of Great Britain titles in a row – and next Friday (25 July) they’re in with a chance of completing another hat-trick.

British Showjumping has announced the quintet of riders selected for the Agria Nations Cup at Hickstead, with two of last year’s winning team riders back in action for this year’s event.

They include triple Olympic gold medallist Ben Maher, the current world number two, who has been selected with the talented Enjeu De Grisien. The 11-year-old is owned by Charlotte Rossetter and Pamela Wright, and Ben rode him to finish second in last year’s King George V Gold Cup. Also returning to the team are Robert Whitaker and Caroline and Stephen Blatchford’s Vermento. Robert has had an extraordinary run of success at Hickstead of late, with wins in the 2023 King George V Gold Cup and the 2024 Agria Nations Cup with Vermento, and last month’s Al Shira’aa Derby with Gentlemen VH Veldhof.

Returning to the British squad for the first time since 2016 is the US-based Jessica Mendoza, who is currently representing Great Britain at the FEI European Championships in Spain. She has been selected for the Hickstead squad with her own 10-year-old Summerhouse.

Two riders on the squad will be making their Hickstead Nations Cup debut. They include Georgia Tame, who is the stable jockey for Breen Equestrian. She has been selected with BE Golden Lynx, with whom she helped Britain to third place in last month’s Aachen Nations Cup. The other Hickstead debutant is Adrian Whiteway, who rides the 12-year old Chacco Volo, who is owned by Deborah Cox.

Britain’s chef d’equipe Di Lampard will announce the final team of four riders after the Nations Cup draw, which takes place on Thursday 24 July.

“Excitement is definitely building ahead of this year’s Agria Nations Cup of Great Britain, when the home nation will be hoping for a third consecutive win,” says Hickstead Director Lizzie Bunn. “We hope lots of showjumping fans will come down to the showground on Friday 25 July to cheer on the Brits – we’ll be handing out union flags before the class, so hopefully the stands will be a sea of red, white and blue.”

But the Brits will face a strong contingent of international riders, with seven other nations sending teams to Hickstead to compete for the Edward, Prince of Wales Trophy. Some of the top names in action including Germany’s Marcus Ehning and Rene Dittmer, Ireland’s Cian O’Connor and Jordan Coyle, the Netherlands’ Sanne Thijssen, and France’s Penelope Leprevost.

Link to full list of international entries (as of 18 July)