David Harland and Murchacko Quatro Take the Devon County Show International Stairway Victory

The International Stairway series got underway on Friday 22 May at the prestigious Devon County Show, where 23 rider combinations came forward to contest Paul Connor’s testing track in the opening leg of this year’s county show series. 

With riders all vying for valuable league points, competition proved fierce from the outset, and only seven combinations managed to secure those all-important clear rounds to progress into the jump-off. 

Leading the way was David Harland aboard Nicola Wood’s Murchacko Quatro, who delivered a superb double clear in an unbeatable time of 43.39 seconds to take the win and secure maximum points in the opening International Stairway qualifier. 

Hot on his heels was Mark Edwards riding Flying Tinker II, who also produced a stylish clear round in the jump-off to stop the clock in 44.15 seconds for second place, while Sammie Coffin and Cornet of Follyfoot completed the podium with another impressive clear in a time of 45.66 seconds. 

“I have produced Brady from a four year old to the current level he is at now, he’s had the same owner, Nicola Wood and myself as the rider the whole time. It has very much been our goal, and we would love to get him to Nations Cup Teams. With that as the plan we wanted to get him out jumping the county shows and the Stairway series so it would put us on the map jumping double clears in 1.50m classes. 

“At home Brady is very good, Nicola is able to ride him as well, she can easily come and have a trot on him when he’s at home, he’s very much a hands on horse for his owner. Brady is nine now and jumped his first Stairway as an eight year old last year and just had a fence down, so we have been quietly confident that he would do quite well this year. The plan with Brady is to continue with the county show circuit and jump the Stairways this summer. 

“The class was fantastic with seven clear rounds, which at county show level is perfect, a good jump off but not with too many in it. The only thing was that I really didn’t expect to win when I had Mark Edwards following me in the jump off on two horses! I thought the chances of me getting the win were very, very slim, but we manged to hold on, he had two chances to beat me, but he didn’t on either of them! In the class we were both in the day before, Mark was in the lead but I had half an eye on the Stairway the next day so we didn’t push it as fast as we could, Mark finished up first, second and third and we were forth! So, I was relieved when we managed to fend him off on Friday!” David said. 

The International Stairway takes place across a number of county shows throughout the season, with winning combinations accruing league points that count towards the Final at the British Showjumping National Championships in August at Stoneleigh Park. 

The series culminates in a high-profile championship where not only is the National Champion crowned, but three coveted Horse of the Year Show International Wild Cards are also up for grabs, adding even more excitement and prestige to the competition. 

The International Stairway Series is supported by the British Showjumping Business Partnership, which includes ClipMyHorse.TV, Charles Owen, HorseQuest, Equine Bio Genie and Zebra Products, to whom everyone at British Showjumping is extremely grateful. 

Find the full International Stairway league here: https://www.britishshowjumping.co.uk/rankings/lists/International-Stairway-Series. 

Devon County – Friday, 22 May 2026 
British Showjumping Business Partnership International Stairway Series 

1st – David Harland & Murchacko Quatro – 0/0 43.39 

2nd – Mark Edwards & Flying Tinker II – 0/0 44.15 

3rd – Sammie Coffin & Cornet of Follyfoot – 0/0 45.66 

4th – Ryan Page & BP Skybound – 0/0 49.41 

5th – Mark Edwards & Tinkers Touch – 0/4 44.51 

6th – Sian Edwards & Magnum Force II – 0/4 47.39 

7th – Hayley Webster & Cachento – 0/12 47.67 

NB: Qualifications will be updated pending official grading of results. 

Image: Jaysphoto