LUMMEN TEAM SELECTED

World Class Performance Squad member David McPherson from Maidstone in Kent will make his thirteenth British Team appearance. David, a member of the British Bronze medal winning squad at the 2007 European Championships will ride Double Dutch, a twelve year-old bay gelding owned by Janet Mourkogiannis, Red Dawn a twelve year-old brown gelding and Maxim Trijol a seven year-old bay gelding.

Fellow World Class Performance Squad member Duncan Inglis from Haywards Heath, West Sussex will compete with his own British bred chestnut mare, Sunkist and Pit’s Daughter, an eight year-old chestnut mare owned by Alistair Hippisley-Gatherum. Duncan will make his fifth appearance on a British Nations Cup Team.

Evolution Squad member Guy Williams from Canterbury in Kent will ride David Walker’s twelve year-old chestnut gelding, Skip Two Ramiro, Mark Williams’ eleven year-old bay mare Una II and Pybalia, an eleven year-old bay mare owned by Lynne Humphries. This will be Guy’s sixth British Team appearance.

Twenty-two year old Ellen Whitaker from Barnsley South Yorkshire will make her sixteenth British Team appearance. Ellen who was also a member of the British Bronze medal winning squad at the 2007 European Championships will ride Ocolado, a twelve year-old chestnut gelding which is jointly owned by Dawn Makin and Ellen’s father, Steven Whitaker. Ellen will also compete with CS Online, an eleven year-old chestnut stallion owned by George Harding and Ashdale Futuro, a thirteen year-old bay gelding owned by Dave Quigley. Ellen is also a member of the World Class Performance Squad.

The Team will be led by Chef d’Equipe James Fisher from Sonning in Berkshire.

‘Team Champion’ will be sporting the branding of their new title sponsors for the first time in the Belgian Nations Cup. With a reputation built upon safety, Champion has a tremendous British heritage and the brand has been a driving force in the design and development of protective riding hats for nearly three decades. Champions’ sponsorship of the Evolution Squad and British Nations Cup Team is the result of the brands’ deep-seated belief in the importance of continual development, dedication and professionalism, together with a desire to offer British equestrian talent every possible opportunity to reach the very top of competitive show jumping.

The Performance Squad is one of three squads identified as part of the British Show Jumping Association and World Class Performance Development Plan. The Plan is designed to assist riders to maximise the performance of their horses, and most importantly, to improve results at International level. The Performance Squad is made up of horse/rider combinations that are most likely to form the Samsung Super League and Senior Championship Teams during this season. It is funded through the BSJA and UK Sport. The Squad is managed by Derek Ricketts.

The Evolution Squad is aimed at identifying combinations of riders with promising horses at 4* level or those that are developing towards that level. Its focus is on better managing the transition to Samsung Super League and Championship Level. The Squad is being funded through new investment by the BSJA, with support from World Class. It is managed by Derek Ricketts, supported by Mike Florence and Corinne Bracken. The aim is to work with riders and owners to better manage their competition planning and development in order to ensure the horse/rider combination maximise their potential.

The British Show Jumping Teams continue to be strongly supported by the UK Sport lottery funded BEF World Class programme.

The Belgian Nations Cup takes place on Friday 2nd May and news and results can be followed at www.csiolummen.be.