London, England – December 15, 2023 – Five-star jumping made an exciting return to the London International Horse Show CSI 5*-W and three British riders stole the spotlight on the opening day, Guy Williams (GBR), Matthew Sampson (GBR) and Ben Maher (GBR), winning the €30,000 LeMieux Puissance CSI 5*-W, The €26,200 Christmas Pudding Speed Stakes CSI 5*-W, and The Champagne-Taittinger Ivy Stakes CSI 5*-W respectively.
The opening CSI5* Show Jumping class of the 2023 Show was The €26,200 Christmas Pudding Stakes CSI 5*-W, featuring many of the world’s best riders. Setting the early pace was Austria’s Max Kühner (AUT), jumping the first clear in a time of 57.69 seconds.
Great Britain’s Robert Whitaker (GBR) showed the time was beatable, shaving over three seconds off Kühner’s time, but had four faults at the last. Germany’s Marcus Ehning (GBR) – who has competed at the London International Horse Show every year since he won a gold medal at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games – produced a smooth clear, but the time was not enough to challenge the lead.
It was not until the final third of the competition that the leaderboard changed. Duarte Seabra (POR) and Fernhill Balou Beau the first to take over the lead, however the Portuguese rider’s position was short lived, with Ireland’s Conor Swail (IRL) and Casturano making all the turns required to move to the top of the leaderboard. Crowd favourite John Whitaker (GBR) looked to put Swail’s lead in jeopardy, but collected four faults on the course, pushing him out of the placings.
French former World No. 1, Kevin Staut (FRA), put on an excellent performance as the penultimate to go, but his time was only good enough for eventual fourth place. The last to go, Matthew Sampson (GBR) – the London Grand Prix winner from the 2022 Show – set off with MGH Candy Girl meaning business from the first fence and had the crowd on their feet as he took the victory for Great Britain with a scintillating clear round in a time of 52.43 seconds.
The 33-year-old, who spends much of his year in Canada, said “It is really nice to kick off a week like this. She is a fantastic horse – she is so careful and she was knocking on the door for a win like that. She jumped at the Horse of the Year Show with Gemma Stevens, who produced her, so it is a joint victory for us all. She has never jumped in an environment like this with all the crowds, so I am delighted. There is no crowd in the world that compares to the one at London International Horse Show. We work hard all year to get to the show, so to achieve a win in front of such a vibrant crowd is truly amazing.”
Final Results – €26,200 The Christmas Pudding Stakes CSI 5*-W
1) Matthew Sampson (GBR) & MGH Candy Girl – 0 – 52.43
2) Conor Swail (IRL) & Casturano – 0 – 54.06
3) Duarte Seabra (POR) & Fernhill Balou Beau – 0 – 55.60
Source: Press Release from Niki McEwen / Revolution World for the London International Horse Show
Photo: © London International Horse Show / Peter Nixon
Categories: CSI 5*-W, English, Jumper News Great Britain
