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Michael and William Whitaker selected to represent Great Britain at the European Championships

Wednesday, 09 August 2017
Sport

Photo (c) Jenny Abrahamsson.
Michael Whitaker with Viking. Photo (c) Jenny Abrahamsson.

The British Equestrian Federation has announced the athletes who will compete at the FEI Longines European Championships in Gothenburg. 

The British Showjumping selectors have selected two individual athletes to contest this year’s championships. The athletes selected are:

Michael Whitaker with Viking

William Whitaker with Utamaro D’Ecaussines

Gordon Burton, Equestrian Performance Director, says; “Our selectors have chosen to send two individuals to the FEI Longines European Championships and focus our team activity on the Nations Cup series, to best achieve our goals for both 2017 and WEG 2018. This decision has been made taking into account both available equine talent and our longer term performance objectives."

“The selectors went through a robust process, based on performance data and discussions with athletes and owners from the nominated entries list. The selectors concluded that in this transitional period for showjumping, it is in the best longer-term interests of our less experienced equine athletes to take what we know is an unusual approach. Equine form is dynamic and we want to balance our championship and Nations Cup team delivery to best effect, while managing the exciting equine talent we have for the future.”   

Di Lampard, World Class Performance Manager for showjumping says; “This has not been an easy decision and we would be kidding ourselves to say that we have been satisfied with our Nations Cup team performances this year. Like many sports, showjumping has changed massively in the past two years and we need to balance the individual objectives of riders alongside those of our national championship campaigns, especially in the first year of an Olympic cycle, which is always more of a transitional period. We’re starting to see some new and exciting combinations, alongside the more established riders who continue to support GB’s international campaign, which will give us greater strength and depth in the build-up to Tokyo.”

 


Source: britishshowjumping.co.uk // Picture © Jenny Abrahamsson



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