|
Britain’s top
ten show jumpers have been invited to jump at one of the world’s most
popular horse shows and the UK’s favourite Christmas venue, Olympia
International Show Jumping Championships, London 18th-22nd December 2003.
The No. 1 family in British show jumping, the Whitakers, will make up over
30% of the British field with Michael, John and Robert Whitaker all
securing invitations. Britain’s official No.1, Robert Smith is on the
invitation list along with Andrew Davies, Nick Skelton, Will Funnell, Paul
Barker and
Keith Shore.
Together with representatives from nearly every European country, as well
as the USA and Brazil, they have been invited to compete in front of the
70,000 strong audience in a selection of ten exciting jumping classes,
over the five days of the show. The most prestigious and lucrative class
is the UK’s
only World Cup Qualifier, which this year takes place on Sunday, 21st
December. The show offers the biggest prize fund of all the European World
Cup Qualifying shows (£234,000) and will be televised by the BBC and
Eurosport.
Olympia
combines world-class show jumping and edge-of-the-seat family
entertainment with a fabulous diversity of shopping in the new, two-tier Olympia
Shopping Village. The only indoor horse show to be held in London, Olympia
has two performances each day. Each performance includes displays from the
circus, dressage to music, dog agility, The King’s Troop, Royal Horse
Artillery’s Musical Drive, The Flying Frogs – three incredible leaping
French men and the Shetland Pony Grand National.
This year, for the first time in its 32-year history, Olympia has also
added an extra night to the show, on Wednesday 17th December. The
organisers have created an evening dedicated to Dressage, to celebrate the
sport’s medal-winning year and the enormous popularity that dressage now
enjoys. |