Team GBR

British Equestrian Vaulting (BEV) has today selected the team and individual vaulters who will compete as Team GBR at the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games to be held in the USA.

The World Equestrian Games, held in Lexington, Kentucky, will include the Olympic disciplines of dressage, eventing, show jumping and para-equestrian dressage, along with the non-Olympic disciplines of driving, endurance, reining and vaulting – for the British team this potentially means taking more than 50 horses in total.

The squad, made up of 11 vaulters; three individual females, one individual male and seven team members, will attend the Games which run from the 25th September to the 10th October.

Individual – female competitors

Joanne Eccles (20) from Tillicoultry
Lucy Philips (19) from Solihull
Hannah Eccles (18) from Tillicoultry

Individual male competitor

Ross Foreman (22) from Duns

Senior vaulting team

Emma Runge (22) Buckinghamshire
Sarah Reid (19) Worcestershire
Sara Shortland (16) Derbyshire
Steph Hunter (16) Lincolnshire
Lydia Barham (15) Northamptonshire
Paige Brown (12) Hampshire
Megan Bignell (11) Warwickshire

The Olympic and Paralympic teams are supported by lottery funding via UK Sport, but the non-Olympic sports do not receive funding of any kind. Funding in excess of £60,000 is needed to support the vaulting squad alone to allow them to compete for their country in Kentucky next year.

An online auction – http://auction.equestrianteamgbr.co.uk/ – has been set up to help raise funds to send the British team to the World Equestrian Games in 2010.  All proceeds from this auction will go towards sending the team to the Games and supporting them in their quest to compete and win on the World stage. Top level UK vaulting coaches will also be working together to create as much opportunity as possible to allow these vaulters to succeed. Look out for further fundraising opportunities at www.equestrianteamgbr.co.uk.

“I am delighted that we are able to announce the British vaulting squad for Kentucky,” said Lucy Bell, BEV Chef d’Equipe.  “The squad has been very strong throughout 2009 making a real impact on the international circuit. It is a particularly significant and exciting time in British vaulting following our first ever Championship Gold medal for Joanne Eccles this year. We have selected early for 2010, partly to give as much time as we can for preparation for the vaulters and their horses, but also to allow as much time as possible to raise the funds.”

John Eccles, father and coach to Joanne and her sister Hannah, said: “I am extremely proud of both girls. They have already been developing their new freestyles for this prestigious event and the hard work has already started with a new fitness programme to ensure that they are on top form.”

Julie Newell, senior coach and lunger of the selected team, who are the current British Champions, added: “I am delighted for the girls; they have all been working very hard for the past two years to be selected as Team GBR for Kentucky. They are a relatively young team and I am extremely proud of their achievements. We are excited about the challenge ahead of us.”

Visit www.equestrianteamgbr.co.uk for key Team GBR news and updates.