2011: A bumper year for British Equestrian Team GBR
Equestrian Team GBR is riding high after chalking up a record-breaking tally of medals across all the disciplines at this year’s European Championships.
Only Britain and Germany medalled in all four Olympic and Paralympic disciplines – eventing, showjumping, dressage and para-equestrian dressage - at their respective championships. With the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games just eight months away, this outstanding achievement could not have come at a better time.
World Class Performance Director Will Connell said: “It has been a very good year for equestrian sport and there is a very positive atmosphere in the British camp at the moment. We have to thank UK Sport for enabling us to provide our riders and their teams with the level of support they need to perform to the best of their ability on the world stage.”
Britain’s dressage team of Laura Bechtolsheimer, Charlotte Dujardin, Emile Faurie and Carl Hester started the ball rolling in magnificent style by toppling both The Netherlands and Germany from the top of the podium in Rotterdam. As well as team gold, Hester won two individual medals in the Grand Prix Special and Freestyle with the exciting championship debutant Uthopia, while Bechtolsheimer took individual bronze in the Grand Prix Special.
Britain’s eventers won team bronze in Luhmühlen against the odds. Having suffered the misfortune of losing individual Polly Stockton’s horse, Regulus, before the start of the competition due to unsoundness, Britain’s luck was further dashed when Mary King suffered an untimely cross-country fall from Imperial Cavalier. However rock solid performances from William Fox-Pitt, Piggy French and Nicola Wilson ensured that Britain still stayed in the hunt and brought home the bronze.
The all-male showjumping quartet of Ben Maher, Nick Skelton, John Whitaker and Guy Williams, fought tooth and nail in Madrid to secure Britain’s first team medal since Mannheim in 2007 - a team bronze. In a hard fought individual contest, Skelton conjured a magical performance from his ride, Carlo, to win bronze - the first individual medal for Britain since Michael Whitaker’s bronze in St Gallen in 1995.
At the para-equestrian dressage Championships in Moorsele, Belgium, Britain’s five-strong female squad not only bagged the team gold but claimed a further seven individual gold medals and three silvers. Natasha Baker, Deborah Criddle, Anne Dunham and Sophie Wells all scooped at least one gold medal each, while Emma Sheardown was beaten into silver by Dunham in both the Special and Freestyle classes.
Will Connell concluded: “Perhaps what is most exciting about this year’s senior European Championship performances is the emergence of young horses and up-and-coming riders who are competing successfully and winning medals alongside the experienced stalwarts. One of our key aims for the next eight months will be to ensure that our best riders and best horses are fit and healthy to compete in London 2012.”
It was not only the seniors who brought home medals galore; our Under 21s demonstrated that Britain has an exciting array of young talent when its Pony, Junior and Young Rider teams brought home a total of nine medals across the three main disciplines. Britain also enjoyed success out at the Vaulting European Championship in Le Mans, France, with Joanne Eccles defending her Senior Female European title and taking silver with sister Hannah in the Pas de Deux.
Good performances were also seen from Britain’s endurance riders with David Yeoman and Catriona Moon producing solid performances in Florac. Great Britain was represented in Driving at the European four-in-hand championships (Breda, Netherlands) and at both the World Championships for Pairs (Conty, France) and Combined Pony (Lipica, Slovenia), with strong results seen across the board.
The World Class Programme is generously supported by Lottery and Exchequer funding via UK Sport. The Programme incorporates both the Development and Performance Programmes and the Equine Pathway, and works closely with the three British Equestrian Federation Olympic Member Bodies, British Dressage, British Eventing and British Showjumping.
