Teams announced for popular charity challenge at 2018 Olympia Show
Crowds are expected to pack the grandstands at Olympia Horse Show next month to see racing legends including Sir Anthony ‘AP’ McCoy switch disciplines for one night only as they compete in a thrilling charity challenge.
The highly-anticipated Markel Champions Challenge will this year take the form of a ‘Battle of the Sexes’, as the girls take on the boys in aid of the Injured Jockeys Fund on Friday, December 21.
This is the fourth year of the Markel Champions Challenge at Olympia and it has quickly become a highlight of the week, featuring as part of Olympia’s ‘Race Night’.
Retired multi-champion National Hunt jockey, Sir Anthony ‘AP’ McCoy, will captain the ‘McCoy’s Boys’ team, which comprises some of racing’s top names: current champion jump jockey Richard Johnson, Harry Skelton, Jim Crowley – winner of the flat jockeys’ championship in 2016 – and three-time champion flat jockey, Ryan Moore.
Pitched against them will be the racing world’s ‘Girl Power’ – a team of leading female jockeys captained by Bridget Andrews, who recorded her first Cheltenham Festival winner in 2018.
With a long list of achievements under their belts, both captains have the credentials to lead their teams and claim the Markel Champions Challenge title.
McCoy, who is competing at Olympia for the third year, said: “The Markel Champions Challenge is such a crowd pleaser and we all love it. I thought I would ‘ retire’ after last year’s win but my kids had other ideas so I’ll be back to beat the girls and claim another win.”
Juliet Redfern, managing director of Markel’s equine and livestock division, added: “Markel is delighted to be continuing its support of this fabulous event, which gets more compet- itive every year. Having a “Girls v Boys” theme this year puts a new twist on things, and I’ll of course be rooting for the girls! Combining such a popular event in support of a thoroughly worthwhile charity in the Injured Jockey’s Fund – it doesn’t get any better.”
‘Race Night’ at Olympia, the UK’s largest indoor show taking place in the capital from December 17-23, will involve an evening of race-themed entertainment. With a full line-up still to be announced, spectators can expect appearances from Bob Champion, whose charity, The Bob Champion Cancer Trust, is supported by the Osborne Refrigerators Shetland Pony Grand National, in which crowds can cheer on the young jockeys and their Shetlands over a mini Grand National course.
Lisa Hancock, chief executive of the Injured Jockeys Fund, said: “Olympia is becoming one of the highlights of the jockeys’ year, as they have so much fun. We can’t thank Markel enough for its continued support of the work we do, and we’re looking forward to being part of ‘Race Night’ again.”