William Rekert won the SEIB 6 Year Old Championship at the Al Shira'aa British Young Horse Championships (c) Boots and Hooves Photography 

17.08.2026

At last year’s Al Shira’aa British Young Horse Championships William Rekert and Corinio Z won the Al Shira’aa British 5 Year Old Championship title - and this year the pair continued their reign of dominance with a win in the SEIB 6 Year Old Championship for the Big Star Trophy.

Eleven combinations made it through to the jump-off, with William and Corinio Z shaving just a fraction off the jump-off time set by Christopher Smith and Chickatina JL Z (40.59sec), crossing the finish in 40.45sec.

Corinio Z (Columbus Z) is owned by Kyle Williams, and was originally intended for eventing before switching disciplines. “We’ve had him for about a year and a half now, after he was sent to me by good friends of mine – we really liked him, so we kept him, and he’s not stopped winning since,” said William. “He’s a really super little horse, always trying and really careful.”

William has had this target in mind for this horse for some time. “It's been our aim for a couple of months now. He won the Five Year Olds here last year, and he's been super again this year, having won a Six-year-old class at the Derby Meeting and a six-year-old final in Spain,” adds William, who has also qualified the horse for the Newcomers Final at HOYS.

Runners-up Christopher Smith and Chickatina JL claimed the Big Star Bonus, while Keith Shore and Riaux D'emeraud claimed the British Breeders Prize as well as taking a share of the Double Clear Bonus with Robert Murphy and Portage.

A total of 53 starters came forward for the Al Shira'aa British 5 Year Old Championship, with 26 combinations going through to the second round where placings were decided on proximity to the optimum time. Despite being drawn first to go, Joel Higham judged his round to perfection, finishing just 0.05 over the optimum time on Nick Conlon’s Conthino F Z (Conthargos).

“My aim was just to jump a clear round, and see where my time ended up. I think it was easier in the end to go first, as then I had no one to compare rounds with,” said Joel.  

Eight riders shared the Double Clear Bonus, with runner-up Thomas Pritchard (Double M Calistas Girl) and third-placed Lottie Tutt (Billy Dakota) sharing the British Breeders Prize.

Jude Burgess took the top spot in the Breen Equestrian British 7 Year Old Championship with the talented mare Galwaybay Esmerelda. Drawn fifth to go out of the seven combinations in the jump-off, Jude produced a quick time of 37.30sec to take the lead, more than 1.5sec in front of runner-up Lottie Tutt, who claimed the British Breeders prize bonus with Billy Davos.

Galwaybay Esmerelda, a daughter of Emerald, is owned by Rebecca Burgess and Lauren Stone.

“She’s been really consistent all year, knocking on the door, so I thought she had a good chance here, and it all came off on the day,” said Jude. “I wasn't on for the clear round bonus, so the plan was just to go for it and try to do the time, and it was one of those rounds where every turn came off, and I got a great shot everywhere I wanted to.”

The last two riders to go, Holly Smith (Orovito) and Lucy Townley (Billy On My Mind) couldn’t match Jude’s time, but they were able to secure the bonus prizemoney for jumping double clear throughout the qualifiers.

A total of 38 combinations came forward for the British 4 Year Old Championship, which is judged on both style and performance. Horses that jumped clear in the first round progressed on to a second, non-timed round where expert judges Paul Crago and Keith Doyle assessed them for their jumping technique, natural ability, future potential, and rideability.

With a double clear and an impressive score of 36, the title went to Danielle Ryder and Excape. Raunaq Anand and Watch Me VD Roddam took second, with Angie Thompson and Whacker Blue AJ in third. Fifteen combinations shared the double clear bonus, with eight sharing the British-bred bonus.

Danielle bred Excape (Escape Z x Harley) before selling him to owner Qyn Bartly Forsythe. “To be able to win this championship with Escape Z and then win it again with his offspring is more than we could ever ask for. He jumped fabulously, and the aim was just to jump clear round to give him confidence, and go home ready for next year.”

Judge Keith Doyle described the standard as excellent. “We really were torn with the top six or seven, it was really close,” he said. “The winner stood out for its overall rideability, presence and jump. It actually looked almost a year old than the other horses, it was so advanced.”

Paul Crago agreed, saying the winner was a ‘standout’. “This horse was exceptional in terms of its attitude, and rideability,” he added.

Eighteen-year-old Izabella Rogers and her mother Nicola’s Diagolda PS took the honours in the Cheval Liberté UK 1.30m Open Grand Prix, proving to be the fastest out of the 22 combinations in the jump-off. It was extremely close at the business end of the leaderboard, with Izabella finishing just 0.18sec ahead of runner-up Lottie Tutt and Billy Dynamite, and less than a second dividing the top five.

“I'm super happy with my horse. I haven't really had her out since January, as I've just completed my A levels, but I thought I'd bring her here just to get back into the swing of things. I didn't really have an expectation going in, I just wanted a really clean, confident round, and she exceeded all my expectations,” said Izabella.

The show drew to a close with the 1.40m Grand Prix, which attracted entries from many top riders. Since much of the focus of this show is on young equine stars of the sport, it was apt that the top two placings went to two of the most influential people in British Breeding, both riding up-and-coming eight-year-old horses.

Eleven combinations made it through to the jump-off, and it was Ireland’s Shane Breen and Breen Equestrian’s CSF Thomascourt Zena who produced the fastest time (34.94sec) to take the title, just 0.52sec ahead of William Funnell and Billy Tutu.

“She's been stepping up over the last couple of weeks, so I was quietly confident about today,” said Shane, who is based at Hickstead Place. “I thought Ben Townley and his team built a super course, and then in the jump-off, I wanted to give the others enough to do to try and beat me, and hopefully put them into risk position of having a fence, and it worked out in my favour.”

CSF Thomascourt Zena is a daughter of VDL Zirocco Blue, and was bred in Ireland. “She's always been a standout young horse," added Shane. "She’s now done two 1.50m classes, which she's taken all in her stride. I'm really looking forward to next year with her, and I think she's going to be a real key player in my team.”

For full results click here.