Eight leading nations heading to Hickstead

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The Directors of Hickstead are pleased to announce the eight countries invited to compete in this year’s Agria Nations Cup of Great Britain on Friday 24 July, the feature class of the Agria Royal International Horse Show.

Host nation Great Britain will face competition from several leading European showjumping nations including Belgium, France, Germany and Ireland. Canada will field a team at Hickstead for the first time in 44 years, while Brazil will make a welcome return after last taking part in 2024.

Completing the line-up of eight teams will be the United Arab Emirates, who made their Hickstead team debut last summer. The team from the UAE produced strong performances throughout last year’s show, in particular in the final Grand Prix, the Al Shira’aa King George V Gold Cup, with Omar Abdul Aziz Al Marzooqi finishing second and Abdullah Mohammed Al Marri finishing sixth.

“It’s set to be an exciting year with the British team hoping to regain the Edward, Prince of Wales Trophy after winning it in 2023 and 2024 then finishing runners-up to Germany last summer,” said Hickstead Director Lizzie Bunn.

Hickstead could well form a prep run for some teams heading to Aachen for the FEI World Showjumping Championships in August.

“Aachen takes place just over two weeks after Hickstead, but both showgrounds feature large open grass arenas, and would suit a similar type of horse, so you might end up with some horses having their last run at Hickstead ahead of the Championships,” added Lizzie. “Other riders may have several top horses to choose from, and a strong performance in the Hickstead Nations Cup would be a confidence boost for any team heading to the Championships.”

The Agria Royal International Horse Show takes place from 21-26 July, and tickets are on sale now.