Speller clinches British double
Katie Speller took the British Showjumping Championships by storm, claiming the Winter 1.35m and Winter 5-year-old Championship titles.
Katie, based at the All England Jumping course, Hickstead, made the four-hour journey to the Arena UK Show Centre in Grantham, Lincolnshire, alongside her international showjumper boss Shane Breen – and beat him in the feature class.
She won the top-billed Winter 1.35m final with Cindy Z in a strong jump-off. Twenty-eight competitors faced a 13-fence course but 15 posted initial clears to access the jump-off. Katie secured victory by just 0.39 seconds.
Katie got the ride on the Breen Equestrian’s nine-yearold Cindy six weeks beforehand, but they have quickly established a rapport.
“She’s a nice, easy horse but I’m still getting to know her. She can be a little grumpy sometimes, but I just give her a scratch and she’s loving and chilled. In the ring, her energy rises and she’s ready to attack the course,” said Katie.
Katie proved unbeatable in a 19-horse jump-off to decide the Winter 5-year-old title, claiming a win by 1.28 seconds with Team Z7’s Z7 Pink Panther despite teaming up with the stallion just a few days earlier.
“I only realised I was bringing him to the show five days before we travelled, my colleague Atiya Bussey has been riding him. He has quite a cheeky attitude, but he’s got the talent to make it to the top,” said Katie.
The journey from Sussex wasn’t all plain sailing. “We pulled into a truck stop with two lorries but didn’t realise it was a dead-end. It took a bit of to-ing and fro-ing!”