Riders selected for the 2013-2015 World Class Development Programme have been announced today by the British Equestrian Federation.
Funded by UK Sport, the Development Programme works with talented riders to maximise their potential and deliver success on the international stage.
The selected riders cover the three Olympic sports of dressage, eventing and showjumping and the Paralympic sport of para-equestrian dressage. They are as follows:
Dressage
Hannah Biggs, Dorset
Nikki Crisp, Buckinghamshire
Maria Eilberg, Worcestershire
Alex Hardwick, Hertfordshire
Bobby Hayler, Essex
Gabrielle Lucas, Essex
Olivia Oakeley, Hampshire
Anne-Marie Perry, County Durham
Zoe Sleigh, Worcestershire
Amy Stovold, West Sussex
Samantha Thurman-Baker, Oxfordshire
Ryan Todd, West Yorkshire
Eventing
Charlotte Agnew, Oxfordshire
Jodie Amos, Warwickshire
Laura Collett, Wiltshire
Georgie Davies, Hertfordshire
David Doel, Wiltshire
Millie Dumas, Somerset
Talia Laghzaoui, Oxfordshire
Emily Llewellyn, Surrey
Tom McEwen, Wiltshire
Harry Meade, Wiltshire
Willa Newton, Leicestershire
Alice Sandberg, Oxfordshire
Showjumping
Pippa Allen, County Durham
Chloe Aston, Hertfordshire
Joe Clayton, West Yorkshire
Simon Crippen, Buckinghamshire
Jessie Drea, West Sussex
Sam Hutton, Surrey
Jessica Mendoza, Wiltshire
Dan Neilson, Essex
Abigail Newbery, Hampshire
Spencer Roe, Lincolnshire
Jake Saywell, Nottinghamshire
Louise Saywell, Nottinghamshire
George Whitaker, West Yorkshire
William Whitaker, West Yorkshire
Tim Wilkes, Oxfordshire
Para-equestrian dressage
Natasha Adkinson, South Yorkshire
Katherine Cooksley, Berkshire
Ashleigh Jones, West Midlands
Ruth MacCarthy, West Midlands
Annastasia Neale, Staffordshire
Erin Orford, Buckinghamshire
Natalie Povey, North Wales
Alex Sutton, Wiltshire
Nicky Thompson, Surrey
Georgia Wilson, Conwy
“After such a fantastic 2012 which saw our equestrian athletes perform magnificently in London at the Olympic and Paralympic Games, it is great to start 2013 with the announcement of the Development Programme which identifies our most talented up and coming athletes,” commented Equestrian World Class Performance Director, Will Connell.
“The strength in depth across all four disciplines made the selection process very difficult. It is therefore beholden on both those athletes that have been re-selected and those that are new to the Programme to make the most of the help and expertise available to them.”
“It’s an exciting time for our sport and to see such a wealth of young talent during the selection process is testament to the success of the World Class Programme, the Sport England funded Excel Programme and the member bodies’ programmes to date and should give us great confidence to build for the future.”
Committed to supporting riders from a young age right through to elite athletes performing on the world stage, the BEF has in place a proven talent identification system which starts with its England Excel Talent Programme. Indeed, six of the Development Programme riders have progressed from this scheme while two have also moved up to the World Class Performance Programme, which continues to support the riders at the top of the pathway, including the medalists from London.
Lead Co-ordinator for Excel, David Hamer commented; "For a rider to make it through to the final selection of the World Class Programme is an achievement in itself. To have had seventeen riders from the Sport England funded BEF Excel Talent Programme make it through to the final round of selection and six riders selected, demonstrates that the support and development opportunities being offered are having an impact on the up and coming talented younger riders in the Olympic and Paralympic equestrian disciplines".
All riders on the Development Programme will have access to the same World Class benefits including; mentoring, coaching, human and equine sports science and medicine (fitness / nutrition / equine management / farriery advice etc).
Performance is continuously assessed and riders are formerly reviewed every six months. Targets and objectives are also set, as is funding to assist with achieving these agreed aims. Selection is on a two yearly basis but this does not mean that a rider cannot be taken onto or removed from the Programme during the two year cycle.
The World Class Development Programme underpins World Class Performance and, together with the Equine Pathway, they comprise the Equestrian World Class Programme, incorporating the three Olympic sports of dressage, eventing, showjumping and the Paralympic sport of para-equestrian dressage.
The aim of the Programme is to be a sustainable system that can deliver more medals on the international stage now and in the future. The Programme has been funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, through Exchequer and National Lottery funds, via UK Sport since 1998.