Keep up to date with the latest showjumping news from Olympia, the London International Horse Show with our twitter timeline of highlights below. Our reporters will be tweeting the results from the showjumping classes across the next five days of action (18-22 December).
Who’s competing at Olympia
Seven of the top 10 showjumpers in the Longines FEI World Rankings are in action at Olympia, including World number one, Scott Brash.
Scott is joined by a strong British line up including four members of the Whitaker dynasty: Michael, John, Robert and William. The youngest, William arrives at Olympia on the back of a brilliant win of the Longines FEI World Cup class in Stuttgart last month. The UK’stop lady rider Laura Renwick returns to defend her H&M Leading Rider title, which she scooped in 2013 and last year’s Olympia grand prix winner, Ben Maher brings a strong team of horses, including his puissance specialist Noctambule Courcelle. Tim Gredley, Spencer Roe, and Guy Williams complete the British line-up.
The home team will face fierce competitions from some of the biggest international names in the sport, including a strong team of German riders. This includes Ludger Beerbaum, Daniel Deusser and Marcus Ehning who are three, four and five in the world rankings respectively. Three-time FEI World Cup final winner Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum also competes for Germany.
Dutch riders Maikel van der Vleuten and Jur Vrieling, who helped their country win gold at the World Equestrian Games earlier this year, are both on the confirmed list. Regular Olympia visitor Pénélope Leprevost (FRA) will be in action and is joined by her French teammates, Kevin Staut and Patrice Delaveau, who won team silver in Normandy. New kid on the block, 19-year-old Bertram Allen (IRL) will compete with the mare that propelled him into the limelight at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games this year, Molly Malone V.
Last year’s Olympia puissance winner Luca Moneta (ITA) will return to the capital to defend his crown, but will face strong competition from puissance specialists, Jean-Christophe De Grande and Karline De Brabander, both from Belgium and Irish raiders, David Simpson and Liam O’Meara. British rider Joe Clayton, who shared puissance victory at the Horse of the Year Show in October with David Simpson, also lines up for the nail-biting high jump competition.
