There’s a stellar list of entries for the international five-star Show Jumping at this year’s event, including 7 of the top 10 ranked riders in the world. We’ll be welcoming the reigning World and Olympic Champions as well as 7 former world No. 1’s.
Great Britain’s Harry Charles, winner of both the Longines FEI Jumping World CupTM Qualifier and the London Grand Prix at last year’s Show, will be returning to defend his titles and leads a strong British contingent in London. Charles, whose form continued into 2022, finishing fourth in his first ever FEI Jumping World CupTM Final and claiming a team bronze medal at the World Championships in Herning, reached a career high ranking of world No. 11 in October.
Olympic champion, Ben Maher, another former London Grand Prix winner, will be hot on the heels of his World Championship teammate as he also looks to reclaim the prestigious title. Maher, currently ranked No. 6 in the world, will be joined at ExCeL London by the two remaining members of that bronze medal-winning World Championship team, Scott Brash and Joe Stockdale.
Home favourite John Whitaker, who lit up the Main Arena at ExCeL London in 2021 with an impressive run of results, including a win and finishing third in the Longines FEI Jumping World CupTM Qualifier, will be returning to the scene at the age of 67 to prove that age is only a number. At the other end of the spectrum will be young rider, Jodie Hall-McAteer, winner of the Under-25 Championship at The London International Horse Show in 2019 and 2021, who will be making her debut in the five-star competitions at the Show. Hall-McAteer has made a successful step up to the senior ranks in 2022, representing Great Britain on numerous occasions, including at the Nations CupTM Final in October. Jack Whitaker is another young rider excelling at the senior level, and he will be hoping to build on his debut win at the Show last year.
Matthew Sampson, who has been taking the North American circuit by storm this year, with multiple five-star wins under his belt, joins the British competitors looking to make their mark on home soil, along with Guy Williams and Holly Smith, who have both experienced success at the Show in previous years.
At the forefront of the international contingent looking to spoil the British party will be double World Champion Henrik von Eckermann, who was also part of the Swedish team who took Olympic gold in Tokyo. The world No. 1 was a recent winner of the Longines FEI Jumping World CupTM Qualifier in Verona, so will be hoping to accrue further points in London, to assure his place at the Final in Omaha in April. Joining von Eckermann will be his World Championship and Olympic gold medal-winning teammate, Peder Fredricson, who also took individual silver in Tokyo.
Switzerland will be represented by Steve Guerdat, who will be returning to the city in which he claimed his individual Olympic gold medal in 2012, alongside his 2022 World Championship teammate Edouard Schmitz. Dutch rider, Maikel van der Vleuten, an individual bronze medallist at both the Tokyo Olympics last year and this summer’s World Championships, adds further quality to the field of competitors.
Germany’s Daniel Deusser, winner of last week’s Grand Prix in Prague, knows what it takes to be victorious in London, having won the Grand Prix at the Show in 2016. Another to have tasted success at previous editions of The London International Horse Show is Italy’s Lorenzo de Luca, who will be looking to come out on top once again.
France have a strong representation, including two riders inside the world’s top 10, Julien Epaillard (3) and Kevin Staut (10), as well as 2016 Olympic team gold medalist, Roger Yves Bost. Representing Ireland will be Conor Swail, the current world No. 5 and recent winner of the Longines FEI Jumping World CupTM Qualifier in Washington. He will be joined by compatriots Trevor Breen and Denis Lynch.
Norway’s Geir Gulliksen, a London International Horse Show regular, will join the likes of Marlon Modolo Zanotelli from Brazil, Marcus Ehning from Germany and Austria’s Max Kühner in adding further international flair to the top-class field.
A full list of entries can be found here.
