The British Showjumping Spring Championships are underway as we speculate who will become the 2025 champions
Friday 21 March 2025
The British Showjumping Spring Championships is now in its third year at the popular venue of Arena UK in Grantham, Lincolnshire, and the competition is hot as riders chase glory in the championship classes.
Riders have qualified throughout the indoor season on the British Showjumping Winter Classic series, and several have shown their form in the first three days of last-minute qualifiers at this event. So who will be crowned the new British Showjumping Spring champions of 2025?
Paul Barker was the first recipient of the Lesley McNaught Memorial Trophy – in memory of the Olympic medallist who sadly died in late 2023 – when winning the Winter 1.35m title on his consistent home-bred stallion Green Grass. The competition is even hotter this year, with several international and British team riders in the final, including Olympic medallist Michael Whitaker, his son Jack Whitaker and the speedy Guy Williams in the mix. Helen Tredwell won the first of the final Winter 1.35m qualifiers with the home-bred 12-year-old Luidam daughter Luikan while JP Sheffield was also in winning form on the Arezzo VDL eight-year-old Mydonatus K but had to share the honours with Louise Lovegrove on Chef of Flanders Fields Z when they dead-heated on time. The final will be a must-watch competition!
Emily Morris is bang on form with a victory double in the Winter Six-year-old qualifiers on the consistent Searlait ML. The Escape Z daughter flew into the lead in the first Six-year-old qualifier, edging ahead of their 43 rivals by 0.20 seconds and topping the other with 0.74 seconds to spare.
Johnathan Dixon is another hitting form at these championships and notched up a double in the Seven-year-old qualifiers with D’Avicii JL Z (Dominator 2000 Z x Caretino), easily outpacing any challenger with over one second in hand on day one and recording a 2.06 second advantage in the second qualifier. Speed merchant Joe Trunkfield, Tokyo 2020 Olympian Holly Smith and David Coombs were also top three contenders who will have an eye on the top spot in the Final.
Holly, who has Nike Van Het Singraven and Sing Z in the Seven-year-old, also contends the Winter Grade C Final with TJ Hall Ltd’s Sing Z after winning the first qualifier with more that two and half seconds to spare. Holly had to settle for second in Friday’s Winter Grade C qualifier with No Limit D, giving her a second ride in the Final as Thomas Pritchard, a former Winter Five-year-old and Six-year-old champion, Raced to the top on the Caretino Gold 10-year-old Calcourt Hero by 0.94 seconds.
Jessica Cunnington seized a narrow victory in the first of the Five-year-old qualifiers, beating 36 others to claim the win by 0.17 seconds on Cuby S Z (Cicero Z x Corland) as several impressive five-year-olds graced the arena. Julie Greig claimed the second of the qualifiers on the tri-coloured Kingsley Blue (Handel’s What Now x Comander) with second-placed Charli Dawson (Enzo Ferrari) and Izzy Bradley’s consistent Retrievability, third here and second the previous day, also chasing the championship honours.
Courtney Crawford on the 11-year-old Ardenica battled it out for the first of the NAF Five Star Winter Silver Direct Qualifier top spot against Anna Strawson’s Kameron Van Het Lindehof, the former stopping the clock with 0.81 seconds in hand for victory. Ceri Chapman outpaced her 48 rivals in the second equivalent in a hot contest, edging ahead by the tiny margin of 0.03 seconds over Emma Sargeant with the Whisper In The Wind nine-year-old mare Whisper’s Love.
Jodi Randall fired a warning shot across the bows in the NAF Five Star Winter Bronze Direct Qualifier with the top two places on the 13-year-old Heralda and the eight-year-old Miss Mara, 1.20 second separating the two. Emily Morris, already a contender in the Winter Six-year-old with Searlait ML, will contend a second Final on this consistent mare with third place here.
Rosie Smith landed the Winter Children on Horses title in 2024 with the top two places on Azolette and the powerful stallion Fruselli – a ride she shares with her mother Holly and her Children’s European Team Gold Medallist later that year. Fellow Team Gold medallist Honey Bowes showed early form here as she dominated the first of the Winter Children on Horses Direct Qualifier with three of the top five places. She won on the nine-year-old mare Lagrandessa W with 0.90 seconds over second-placed Maisy Riley on Indiana D’Arifagne, slotted the six-year-old NFS Tiloubet into third and picked up fifth aboard her European ride, the Luidam nine-year-old Javas El Cid.
The scene is set and the final preparations are taking place as the first of the Championship titles are scheduled for the weekend. Let the battle begin!
Image: Suzanne Jones
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