The British team were victorious in the Agria Nations Cup of Great Britain on Friday, July 26th 2024 at Hickstead, for the second year in a row. Making the win even more special is this year’s competition was the first to run as a standalone Nations Cup, following the end of Hickstead leg in the former FEI series.
Last year (2023) saw the team end a 13-year drought when they claimed the long awaited win on home turf, and on Friday, they did it for a second time in decisive style. GBR finished on a team total of four faults with The Netherlands in the runner-up spot and Ireland third.
At the halfway stage, first-drawn Great Britain was the only team to still have a clean sheet, with pathfinder Ben Maher (Exit Remo), Tim Gredley (Medoc De Toxandria) and anchorman John Whitaker (Equine America Unick Du Francport) all producing superb clears. Robert Whitaker and Vermento were the drop score, with just the planks after the water falling for the reigning King George V Gold Cup champions.
Having been drawn first to go in round one, the Brits were the last to go in round two. When penultimate Dutch combination Lars Kersten (Funky Fred Marienshof Z) produced a clear round, the pressure was on John Whitaker. A clear round would deliver the win for the Brits, and one fence down meant a jump-off for honours.
But John, 68, has been on more than 180 Nations Cup teams in his remarkable career, and if there’s anyone who can deal with a bit of pressure, it’s him.
“I actually think I ride better under pressure,” said John. “When I have to do it and the pressure is on, it brings out the best in me. Luckily my horse was in good form today. The first round was a little bit hairy towards the end but we managed to leave the jumps up, but the second round I was very happy with the way he jumped.”
“I actually think I ride better under pressure,”
John Whitaker
His team mate Ben Maher was delighted to get another Hickstead Nations Cup win under his belt, after winning it for the first time 12 months earlier. “I’m just very proud and happy to be here on the team this week,” said Ben, who heads to Paris next for the Olympic Games. “Thank you to Agria – the history behind this competition means a lot to the sport, and without the sponsorship that we have today then it wouldn’t be possible so thank you very much.”
For Tim Gredley, competition felt ‘even better this year’. “When I was doing working hunter classes I remember getting an autograph from John Whitaker – so to be sat next to him jumping on a team with him is surreal. It’s great on so many different levels,” he said.
Robert Whitaker was last on a winning British team at Hickstead in 2004, and it was the first time he’d been on a victorious team on home turf at alongside his father John. “It is great to be on the team with my dad as well, and to win it is fantastic,” he said. When asked if he’d had a couple of fences down just to put a bit more pressure on his Dad, he joked: “I was just testing how good he really was!”
It was another standout result for British chef d’equipe, Di Lampard. “Absolutely amazing,” was how she described the win. “To retain the trophy is fabulous, and what a way to go off to Paris,” she added.
Edward Bunn, Executive Director of Hickstead, gave thanks to the title sponsors for their invaluable support. “On behalf of the Bunn family and Hickstead, we want to thank Agria. After the disappointment last year when we came out of the series, we’ve put on a great show with the help of Agria, and the Nations Cup was even better this year.”
Other competition
Two British riders had their first five-star victories on Friday when they shared the win in the Equine Giveaways Royal International Stakes. Both Mark Edwards (Royale Tale) and James Smith (Juno Rose 23) crossed the line at the same time of 63.78sec to share the top spot.
Welshman Mark established the quarry in this speed class when he blasted into a 6sec lead on his father Martyn’s nine-year-old mare Royale Tale. Another 17 riders jumped, with none managing to get within 5sec of his time, before James Smith on Thomas Carruthers’ chestnut mare Juno Rose 23 gave him a run for his money. Despite his stirrup leather slipping off the bar three from home, James was able to stop the clock at the exact same hundredth of a second.
Earlier in the day, prolific Hickstead winner Nicole Lockhead Anderson added another International Arena win to her roster with victory in the Breen Equestrian CSIYH1* 2nd Qualifier, riding the eight-year-old Mecoblue PS. She just pipped Lucy Townley on Lizzie Bunn’s Billy Be Boss.
“He’s a very fast horse naturally, so I just kind of stayed in a good rhythm. He’s definitely a horse for the future, and he’ll jump the final on Sunday so hopefully he can do the same again!” said Nicole.
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Suzanne Ashton, Founder of Everything Horse (Est, 2012), has a BA Hons in Marketing Management and a Diploma in Equine Science. Suzanne has ridden and owned horses all her life and has twelve years of experience in marketing, writing, design, SEO, and website creation.