Army

Individual Army equestrian performances shine despite two disqualifications

29th May 2026 at 10:44am

It was a chance for competitors to book their place in December's forces final

The British Army have staged their annual equestrian championships at Pickering Grange Equestrian Centre in Leicestershire.

With day one spent on dressage and showjumping classes ranging from novice to 1.10m jumps and qualification for the London International Horse show, day two was over to the Loriner's Inter Services championship.

Major Fran Sykes, the Operations Manager for Army Equitation, says the Worshipful Company of Lorniners-sponsored event is a great way to get Army riders and horses into all the disciplines involved, which includes dressage, showjumping and arena eventing.

The RAF had already won the dressage section of this year's Loriner's at their championships held in Lincolnshire in April, so this was all about arena eventing, where precision is needed to avoid knocking fences down in showjumping and stamina on the country course, all rolled into one run where time penalties also come into play.

With the Navy unable to bring a full team, eight riders and horses from the Army and RAF battled it out on what was, for them, a brand-new course.

The RAF took the team prize, with the Army suffering two disqualifications, but their riders did achieve two of the top three individual placings. The RAF's Wing Commander Sara Boon was third on Tango with 81.5 penalty points and Lieutenant Colonel Kirstie Deakin-Main came second on Spye Fairie Tale with 64.75 penalties.

The winner was Rifleman Lucy Wisher riding Valdoctro with an outstanding score of just 29.75 penalties

The Navy and UKAF Championships are still to take place later this year with jump final places still up for grabs for that all-important Forces Jump final at the London International Horse show at Christmas.