The London International Horse Show at ExCeL

Great Britain’s Olympic individual champion, Ben Maher MBE, heads an illustrious list of international Show Jumping entries for the London International Horse Show 2021. The confirmed line-up will facilitate five days of world-class competition at ExCeL London from 16 – 20 December, adding to an already stellar schedule of competitive action and spectacular international displays.

Maher, currently ranked No. 8 in the world, will be seeking to crown an exceptional year with success at the London International, but will face stiff competition from the world’s best riders. His London 2012 Olympic gold medal-winning teammate Scott Brash MBE, also part of the GB team in Tokyo, will be hot on his heels, as the World No. 5 seeks to recapture the prestigious London International Horse Show Grand Prix title which he claimed in 2019.

Also representing Team GB in Tokyo were Harry Charles and Holly Smith, who will both head to ExCeL full of confidence following successful autumn campaigns, which included being part of the team to win the Challenge Cup at the FEI Nations CupTM Final in Barcelona. Their teammates that day, Emily Moffit and John Whitaker, always a crowd favourite, will also line-up in London.

Guy Williams and Laura Renwick, notorious for their speed against the clock, will be sure to have the home crowd on their feet throughout the five days of action, as will William Funnell who will be looking to recreate the form which lead him to victory at the 2019 Show. Young rider Jack Whitaker, son of multiple London International Horse Show winner, Michael, is also amongst the strong British contingent taking part.

Their international counterparts will be mounting a strong challenge, led by World No. 4, Switzerland’s Martin Fuchs, who will be looking to repeat his 2019 success, which saw him crowned champion of the London leg of the FEI Jumping World CupTM. Compatriot, Steve Guerdat, the current World No. 8, will be returning to the city where he was crowned individual Olympic champion in 2012, following an excellent year, which included being part of the Swiss 2021 European Championship gold medal-winning team alongside Fuchs.

The Irish riders, Denis Lynch, Shane Breen and Michael Duffy, will be ones to watch and will be hoping the luck of the Irish is with them in London. From Austria will be Max Kühner, who will look to go one better than his second-place finish in the FEI Jumping World CupTM at the 2019 Show, with Christian Ahlmann and Marcus Ehning from Germany bringing further quality to the distinguished line-up.

Belgium will be sending a strong team, including Niels Bruynseels, Gregory Wathelet and Pieter Devos, as will France, led by World No. 11 Kevin Staut. Compatriot, Mathieu Billot, fresh from an outstanding Puissance win at CSI4* Rouen last weekend, will be looking to make it a double when he takes on the famous Puissance wall on the opening night of The London International Horse Show.

A complete list of entries, also including Gier Gulliksen, who will be flying the flag for Norway, and World No. 13 Harrie Smolders representing the Netherlands, can be found here.

Simon Brooks-Ward, Show Director, said: “We are very much looking forward to welcoming some of the world’s best show jumpers to our new home at ExCeL London. The facilities at the venue are second-to-none, setting the scene for an outstanding five days of competition and we can’t wait for it to get going.”

Media accreditation is now open, and applications close on Monday 6 December. To apply, please click here.

Ben Maher MBE and his Olympic gold medal-winning partner, Explosion W, have been confirmed to be part of the celebratory parade hosted by The London International Horse Show, taking place from 16-20 December 2021. The parade, which will take place during the afternoon performance on Friday 17 December, will feature many of Great Britain’s Olympic and Paralympic equestrian heroes, providing fans with an opportunity to celebrate their exceptional performances in Tokyo. Maher and Explosion W will also be making an appearance as part of the evening performance on Saturday 18 December.

Maher, who won individual Show Jumping gold, will be joined by members of the team gold medal-winning Eventing team, who claimed the first British Eventing Olympic title since 1972; Oliver Townend, Laura Collett and Tom McEwen. McEwen went on to claim the individual silver medal following a foot-perfect performance in all three disciplines.

British Eventing enjoyed a particularly fruitful year, with a dominant performance at the FEI European Championships, which saw the team of Nicola Wilson, Piggy March, Kitty King and Ros Canter pick up team gold, with Wilson and March claiming individual gold and silver medals respectively. The bronze medal went to Sarah Bullimore, competing as an individual, and all five athletes will be honoured as part of the parade.
From Dressage, Charlotte Dujardin OBE, Carl Hester MBE and Charlotte Fry, who claimed an Olympic team bronze medal, with Dujardin picking up an individual bronze, will also be present to celebrate their achievements in front of a crowd, something that was not possible in Tokyo. The trio went on to claim a team silver medal at the FEI European Championships in September, alongside Gareth Hughes, who will also be recognised at London’s ExCeL.
Maher, Fry and Dujardin, who is now Britain’s joint most decorated female Olympian, have also confirmed their participation in the Show’s competitive action, giving fans a chance to experience their world-class abilities first-hand.

Speaking from his yard, where he welcomed representatives from The London International Horse Show as he prepares to compete at the Show, Maher said: “The London International Horse Show is still one of the events I look forward to most each year. It has such a unique feel about it and I really enjoy the Christmas atmosphere. When I was a young kid, I remember we managed to get tickets and I was so excited to see some of the best Show Jumpers in action and all the different things that are on offer there, so it is really special now I get to compete there.”

Team GB’s Paralympic stars will also be in attendance, led by Sir Lee Pearson CBE, who secured his 14th Paralympic gold medal in Tokyo, with a trio of golds aboard his inexperienced ten-year-old, Breezer. Pearson will be joined by teammates Natasha Baker MBE, who collected her sixth Olympic gold at this summer’s Games, in addition to two silvers, and Sophie Wells who picked-up the fourth gold of her career, as well as Georgia Wilson, who won two bronze medals on her Olympic debut.

Show Director, Simon Brooks-Ward, said: “It will be a privilege to be able to pay tribute to these talented athletes for their outstanding performances in Tokyo. The parade will allow fans to show their appreciation for what was achieved in Tokyo, and we look forward to giving them a hero’s welcome.”

Organisers of The London International Horse Show have today confirmed that Charlotte Dujardin, Britain’s joint most decorated female Olympian, will have the ride on her Olympic partner Gio to headline a fantastic line-up of Dressage stars at the Show, which runs from 16 – 20 December 2021. Dujardin, currently ranked as No. 3 in the world, will be taking part in the Show’s opening event, the FEI World Cup™ Dressage Grand Prix, which will take place on the morning of Thursday 16 December, and the FEI Dressage World Cup™ Freestyle to Music, which is part of the evening performance on Friday 17 December.

Dujardin will take centre stage aboard her Tokyo Olympic partner, Gio, and will be looking to retain her title in both competitions following her double victory in 2019. The combination, who claimed individual and team bronze medals in Tokyo – and in doing so took Dujardin’s tally of medals to six - will be firm favourites to reign victorious when they are reunited in December.

They will be joined by her Olympic teammate Lottie Fry, aboard her own and van Olst Horses’ Dark Legend. The 25-year-old, who is based in the Netherlands, has had a successful 2021 campaign with a string of impressive top-level Grand Prix results, including individual bronze and team silver at the European Championships, and Olympic team bronze.

Another member of that silver medal-winning European Championship team, Gareth Hughes, will be joining Fry and Dujardin at ExCeL London. Hughes, who won the Grand Prix at the British National Championships, will be looking to retain that form as he heads to The London International Horse Show.

Olympian, Richard Davison, strengthens the British contingent taking part at the Show. Riding Bubblingh, the horse that he rode to victory in the Grand Prix Freestyle to Music in the CDI3* at Hartpury earlier this year, Davison will be sure to put in a competitive challenge. He will be joined by Fiona Bigwood, riding Hawtins Delicato, the horse which was runner-up in both competitions at The London International Horse Show in 2019, when ridden by Carl Hester. Compatriot Lara Butler will also be hoping to bring her recent form to the Show with Kristjan, having won both the Grand Prix and Grand Prix Special at the CDI3* at Keysoe last month.

Challenging the British hopefuls will be Nanna Skodborg Merrald from Denmark, part of the Tokyo Olympic team which were pipped to fourth place by Great Britain, and Singapore’s Caroline Chew. Sweden’s Antonia Ramel and Frederic Wandres from Germany complete the strong line-up.

Here's the full line up:   LIHS CDI-W Master List 201121.

World’s Best Carriage Drivers Head to London

The afternoon of Friday 17 December will mark the return of the FEI Driving World Cup™ to London, featuring the world’s leading Carriage Drivers. 2019 London International Horse Show winner, and former World No. 1, Boyd Exell (AUS) will return to the Show fresh from victory in the FEI Driving World Cup™ at Lyon. The five-time World Four-in-Hand champion and nine-time FEI World Cup^TM Driving Champion will take on Ijsbrand Chardon, a multiple World Champion and the current World No. 2, who will be looking to improve on his third-place position at the 2019 Show. The Dutchman will be full of confidence following success at the FEI World Cup^TM qualifier in Aachen.

Koos De Ronde’s second place finish split Exell and Chardon at the 2019 Show, and the Dutch World No. 3 will return to London looking to go one step further. Another who is sure to bring some excitement to the action is home favourite, Dan Naprous, who is famed for his stunt Driving and always has the crowd on the edge of their seats.

Dries Degrieck (BEL), buoyed by a successful World Cup^TM at Lyon, Mareike Harm, part of the German team at the FEI World Equestrian Games^TM in 2018 and Jérôme Voutaz from Switzerland, complete the line-up.

The London International Horse Show is proud to announce Richard House Children’s Hospice as its official charity for the 2021 edition of the event, which will be held from 16-20 December.

Based in East London, within close proximity to the Show’s 2021 venue, ExCeL London, Richard House Children’s Hospice, provides palliative care to children with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions. The partnership with the London International Horse Show will provide significant financial and material benefits to the Hospice, including revenue from ticket sales, with 50p from each ticket sold for the Thursday afternoon performance going directly to the charity, as well as a provision of tickets throughout the Show to enable Richard House Trust’s staff, children, and parents to enjoy the Christmas equestrian extravaganza. For those children who are unable to attend, action from the charity performance on Thursday afternoon will be live steamed to the Hospice so they can enjoy the action, and Father Christmas will be taking time out from his busy schedule at the Show to visit the Hospice and provide some additional festive cheer.

Opened in 2000, Richard House was London’s first children’s hospice and not only provides residential services and treatment to children and young people to improve their quality of life, but also offers support to their families through counselling, therapy, bereavement support and much more. Today the Hospice supports more than 300 families across London.

To launch the partnership, regular London International Horse Show attendee and Instagram sensation, Teddy the Shetland, made a special appearance at the Hospice to meet the children.

Speaking at the event, a parent, whose son benefits from the services provided by Richard House, said: “Richard House came to Alexander’s hospital discharge meeting and it just made me feel so much better because when you think of hospice, you think end of life, but it’s not just about the end. I love the fact that everyone here is like, ‘you do you, you do it at your pace’. They are all so lovely with him. I can be a mum again, not a carer.”

Kathryn Elvin, Head of Corporate Engagements and Partnerships, added: “We are delighted to be chosen as the official charity of the London International Horse Show this year. It means so much to us when organisations, especially who are new to the area, choose to support the Richard House Children's Hospice. To have the support of the London International Horse Show this December is a fantastic way of our families seeing how much the local community cares and wants to give back to them. We are thrilled to have Teddy with us today and be able to give a new experience to our children and families.”

London International Horse Show Director, Simon Brooks-Ward, said: “We are so pleased to be supporting such a fantastic and worthy charity this year. The work done by Richard House Children’s Hospice is just amazing, improving the quality of life of children and young people at their time of need. When moving to our new East London venue, we wanted to use our platform as an international sporting event to support and contribute to the local community, and we hope this partnership will do just that. We particularly look forward to welcoming the children and their families to the Show in December.”

The highly anticipated 2021 edition of the London International Horse Show will feature five days of world-class equestrian action with the traditional Christmas feel. As the only UK Show to host all three FEI World Cup competitions in Dressage, Show Jumping and Driving, the Show is the pinnacle of the equestrian calendar, attracting many of the world’s best horse and rider combinations from around the globe. The Show will also feature a range of exciting performances and displays, including the Shetland Pony Grand National, The Kennel Club Dog Agility, the Musical Ride of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment, and the sensational Santi Serra.

More information about The London International Horse Show, including how to buy tickets and donate to Richard House Children’s Hospice, can be found here.

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Organisers of The London International Horse Show, taking place from 16 – 20 December 2021 at ExCeL London, are delighted to announce that world-renowned equestrian performer, Santi Serra, will bring a new, never seen before in London, performance to the spectacular schedule of equestrian action across the five-day Show.

Born in Spain, Serra, who has a natural affinity with animals, is famed for his thrilling performances as he communicates to his beloved horses and dogs through mind and body. This year Santi Serra brings a brand-new act to the Show, which will feature four Arabian horses and a dog. Serra’s performance enhances an already impressive line-up of entertainment and displays set to feature at the 2021 Show, including the Musical Ride of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment.

Show Director Simon Brooks‐Ward said: “We are thrilled that Santi Serra is going to be with us at the London International Horse Show. His performances are incredible, and the crowds are always in awe of how he communicates and interacts with his animals.”

Serra spoke of his delight upon returning to the Show: “I am so excited to be returning to the London International Horse Show. The atmosphere at the Show is electrifying and I am thrilled to be able to showcase my incredible animals in this new performance to the amazing crowds.”

In addition to the display acts, spectators will be treated to world-class competitive action, including FEI World CupTM competitions in three disciplines; Dressage, Driving and Show Jumping. The traditional crowd favourites, The Puissance and The London Grand Prix will also take their place at ExCeL London, featuring the world’s best show jumping horse and rider combinations, with the next generation of riders set to star in The Mini Stakes and The U25 British Championship.