Zara and her eventing team are ready for the challenge at Barbury
An Eventful Life will be filming all competitors on cross country at Barbury International 2017 (except ERM) - find out more here
“The Eventers are ready and plan to put on a real show for visitors to Barbury and the Jump Jockeys should expect to see just a distant rear view of us!" says Zara Tindall
Former world and European Eventing champion Zara and leading Jump Jockey Bridget Andrews have today been announced as the respective team captains of the Eventers v Jump Jockeys JCB Champions Challenge. The unique horse race between the country’s top riders, will be held on Saturday 8th of July at the St. James’s Place Barbury International Horse Trials in aid of the Injured Jockeys Fund (IJF).
The race will feature two teams with an awesome line up of some of the best Jump Jockeys and Event Riders in the country, competing against each other over a specially designed course in Barbury’s main arena.
Zara Tindall to captain the Eventers
Zara took the Eventing World Championships in 2006 and went on to be voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year the following December. She was also part of the silver medal winning British Eventing team at the London 2012 Olympics. Zara captained the Eventers in the inaugural running of the JCB Champions Challenge in 2014, and joining her aiming to defend their 2016 JCB Champions Challenge crown are an impressive trio of Event riders:
Jonty Evans (IRE) – who represented Ireland at the 2016 Rio Olympics riding Cooley Rorkes Drift and delivered an excellent performance to finish 9th
Dan Jocelyn (NZL) - rode in the 2004 Athens Olympics and is a current member of the New Zealand High Performance Futures squad
Holly Woodhead (GBR) – notched up many successes at young rider level and went on to represent Great Britain at senior level in the 2015 European Eventing Championships at Blair Castle
Bridget Andrews – Team Captain the Jump Jockeys
A former Champion lady amateur rider, Bridget became a conditional jockey in 2015 and is now one of the country’s most successful female jump jockeys. Since joining the powerful stable of trainer Dan Skelton, Bridget is riding plenty of winners and is certainly one to watch for the future. Bridget is the first woman to captain the Jump Jockeys and completing her team are three multiple Cheltenham Festival winning riders;
Nico De Boinville - 2015 Cheltenham Gold Cup and 2016 Champion Chase winning jockey
Wayne Hutchinson - 2015 Hennessy Gold Cup and multiple Cheltenham Festival winner and stable jockey to Barbury based Alan King
Harry Skelton - Cheltenham Festival winning jockey and a rising start of the weighing room. Harry is the son of 2016 Olympic Show-jumping hero, Nick Skelton and stable jockey to his brother Dan.
The JCB Champions Challenge is on Saturday 8 July at the St. James’s Place Barbury International Horse Trials. The four-day Eventing and equestrian spectacle takes place from 6th to 9th of July.
