British trio lead the world in eventing rankings list

Britain’s strength in depth at the highest levels of eventing has been demonstrated by the news that British riders hold the top three spots on the FEI eventing world rankings.

Oliver Townend enters his second month at the head of the rankings list with 554 points, with Gemma Tattersall rising from fourth to second.

Ros Canter has also climbed two places, from fifth to third, following a string of strong international results including third place at Badminton.

Brits make up half of the top 10 in the rankings, which run from June 1 2017 until 31 May 2018.

Sarah Bullimore is in fifth, with Izzy Taylor jumping up five places from 13th last month to seventh.

Gemma tweeted that she was “chuffed” to be ranked second in the world and the British Equestrian Federation congratulated the Brits who have made the top 10.

New Zealand’s Tim Price is the highest-ranked non-Brit, on 416 FEI points, with Germany’s Michael Jung dropping from second to sixth.

With the exception of Oliver — who is 92 points clear of the rest of the field — the top rankings are fairly close, with 14 points separating third to sixth.

Boyd Martin’s three international wins in one weekend, at Allentown in New Jersey on 9 May, have given the US rider’s total a boost — taking him from 17th to eighth in the world.

Australia’s Andrew Cooper is in ninth and US rider Lynn Symansky is in 10th.

There are two further Brits in the top 20 — Tom McEwen is lying in 14th place and Piggy French in 16th.

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This week’s edition (31 May) is a training special, including a look at the world’s top trainers and whether you should have multiple coaches. Also check out our summer clothing guide, interview with showjumper and recent winner of the Hamburg Derby, Matt Sampson and feature on health problems in miniature horses

Lucy Elder

H&H senior news writer

Lucy is an experienced news journalist, reporter and presenter. Since joining the Horse & Hound team in 2015, Lucy has reported from major global sporting events including the Tokyo Paralympic Games and multiple European Championships, as well as Badminton, Burghley and London, to name a few. She has covered current affairs and sports news across the full spectrum of equestrian disciplines and racing, as well as human and equine welfare, industry news and court cases.