BS Announces Nations Cup Youth and Pony Squads
British Showjumping (BS) have announced the riders who will represent Great Britain (GBR) in this year’s Pony and Youth Nations Cup in Opglabbeek, Belgium.
The Nations Cup competition is set to run between 4th-7th April 2019, at Sentower Park. The Youth squads are set to appear first, competing in the Children and Young Rider Grand Prix on 4th April, whilst the Pony squad will take on their Grand Prix the following day. The Youth squads are then set to perform in the Children and Young Rider Nations Cup on 6th April, with the Pony Squad competing in the Pony Nations Cup on the 7th April.
Accompanying and supporting the teams throughout the competition will be Chef d’Equipe’s, Tony Newbery and Clare Whitaker. Newbery takes on the supporting role after winning numerous Nations Cup titles and being a member of the British Olympic Squad in 1984. Whitaker adds to the wealth of knowledge, previously managing European Championship teams and supporting the Whitaker showjumping dynasty.
Team GBR are taking four teams to the Nations Cup this years. Squads include; the Children Squad, the Junior Squad, the Young Rider Squad, and the Pony Squad. Rider’s taking part will be as young as 12 years old, the eldest rider being the mere age of 21.
Some up-and-coming names are set to make appearance in the squads. Namely, Oliver Tuff, who followed in the footsteps of Nick Skelton and John Whitaker to become the youngest ever winner of the EquiTop Myoplast Senior Foxhunter Championship at the Horse of The Year Show (HOYS) in 2018. Tuff will be joined on the Junior Squad by Ben Clark, Allana Clutterbuck, Lily Freeman-Attwood, Matilda Lanni, and Antonio Platt.
In the Young Rider Squad, Joseph Fernyhough will be making an appearance, after he delivered a Junior Grand Prix win in Austria last year. He will be competing alongside Graham Babes, Taisie de Gruchy, Alex Gill, Jodie Hall-Mcateer, and Emily Ward.
The Children Squad will be comprised of Charlotte Bowman, Jasmin Clark, Madeline Coakley, Alena Hughes, Chloe Lemieux, and Eleanor Simpson. Team GBR’s Pony Squad will be Jodie Burchmore-Eames, Shaunie Grieg, Madison Heath, Megan Li, Claudia Moore, and Holly Truelove.
The showjumping series is set to be nail-biting for both competitors and spectators, alike. The title is one of the oldest and most prestigious within the sport, with teams from across the globe attending with the goal of winning the coveted Nations Cup title. Once the show is underway results and a livestream will be available from sentowerpark.com.
