Samantha Wiseman and As His Lordship Lead the Way at South View GFS Saddles Newcomers Second Round

The GFS Saddles Senior Newcomers Championship Second Round at South View Equestrian Centre attracted a strong field of 74 rider combinations at the weekend, all aiming to secure qualification for the next stage of this prestigious championship series. 

Course designer Neil Foster set a technical and competitive track which proved influential throughout the class. Riders needed to maintain accuracy and composure over the opening rounds, with only 19 combinations managing to produce those all-important double clears to secure their place in the jump-off. 

With the competition incredibly tight against the clock, it was Samantha Wiseman riding her own As His Lordship who emerged victorious. The pair delivered a fast and faultless jump-off round, stopping the clock in 36.05 seconds to claim the top spot. 

Second place went to Iwan Carpenter aboard Merllyns Special Illusion, who pushed the pace with another superb clear round to finish just behind the leaders in 36.26 seconds. 

Completing the top three was Carmen Edwards riding Liquorice Allsorts OS, adding another stylish clear to cross the line in 36.39 seconds. 

“My Mum and I own Phil between us, we got him from Ireland in the January, he turned five, I started at British Novice and worked up with him.  We jumped a Newcomers second round last year but had two poles so it's great to come back and qualify this year. We jumped the first GFS Newcomers second round at Stainsby two weeks ago, but didn’t qualify, but were third the day after in the Redpost Foxhunter second round, then he was fourth this weekend so we keep just missing out on that one, but my other horse was second and qualified, so we had a really good weekend.  Phil has a huge personality although he’s quite small; he can really test us on the ground, makes us look like we don’t know what to do with horses, but he’s good fun. When he goes into the ring, he puts his heart into everything. He’s amazing! We keep him sweet and don’t put too much pressure on him, so he really tries his hardest for me. 

“I am based with my coach for six weeks for training, and it’s easier to travel to the shows and try and qualify for HOYS. We are based in North East Aberdeenshire, so we would usually be nine hours from South View. We are hoping to jump more qualifiers, including HOYS Grade C and Talent Seekers, and try to qualify for those as well. We are going to do some county shows and he’s qualified for two classes at the Royal Highland Show.  We will see how it goes. 

“The courses were nice, in the jump off there was a turn inside to the second fence which was quite a difficult turn so we decided to go around but keep moving, then there was a related distance on six, Phil is tiny but he covers the ground so I went on five and in the last distance we look a stride but I trust him and that’s where our partnership works. I’m not really experienced around the big tracks but I knew I had to be fast with nineteen in the jump off, but I didn’t expect to be that fast. Phil is pretty quick through the air.” Samantha said.  

Attention will now turn towards the Masters at the British Showjumping National Championships in August, ahead of the highly anticipated final at the Horse of the Year Show in October, where qualified combinations will battle it out for championship honours. 

GFS Saddles Senior Senior Newcomers Championship Second Round 

South View Equestrian Centre, Friday 8 May 2026 

1st – Samantha Wiseman & As His Lordship – 0/0/0 36.05 

2nd – Iwan Carpenter & Meryllyns Special Illusion – 0/0/0 36.26 

3rd – Carmen Edwards & Liquorice Allsorts OS – 0/0/0 36.39 

NB Results pending official grading  

Image: Phil Hillier Landscapes & Horses