A mid-season update from our sponsored riders
Life has been whizzing by lately and we can hardly believe we're already halfway through the competition season. It feels like only yesterday we were catching up with our sponsored riders to hear about their plans for 2026 and now they're already ticking off goals, stepping horses up the levels and clocking up some fantastic results. For this month’s blog we’re taking a look at what they've been up to over the last few months.
Melissa Chapman
As anyone who follows Mel on social media will know, being as busy as possible and riding a LOT of horses are definitely her things! Between lessons, clinics, coaching and competitions she's been as busy as ever and enjoying plenty of success along the way. A very successful day came at West Park Equestrian on the 10th of June where Mel recorded six scores over 70% from six tests, collected four wins and two second places and completed three regional qualifications. All in a day's work for Mel and her superstars at Team Chapman Equestrian!
Mel was also back at Bramham Horse Trials for the fourth year running to deliver her amazing dressage demonstration. The demo to music drew a big crowd and proved again just how much riders and members of the public enjoy learning from Mel's fun and open approach to dressage.
Lucinda Atkinson
It's been an exciting season so far for Lucinda and her talented string of horses. One of the highlights came at Bramham Horse Trials where four-year-old Donanyika, owned by Ann Earle, and known as Derek at home, secured his qualification for the Burghley Young Event Horse Championships. Derek is by Donthargos and Lucinda bred him herself out of her Advanced event mare, My Anika. Having known him from day one, qualifying at Bramham was a very special moment - and make sure you keep an eye out for an update in September when Burghley rolls around.
More recently, Lucinda enjoyed a brilliant weekend at the South of Scotland Horse Trials. PRF Made in England (Lily), owned by Amanda Rowe, Jane Crossley and Lucinda, finished second in the Intermediate after a lovely dressage test and a fantastic cross-country round. Lark De Triomphe (Bear), owned by Jane Pybus, was tackling her first Intermediate track and jumped brilliantly, added just a couple of time penalties and finished sixth. A fantastic result for a mare with a very exciting future ahead of her. In the BE100, Pauline Fletcher's PRF Sing Hallelujah (Hal) produced an impressive double clear to finish third, building on a really strong first season out eventing.
Sara Bowe
Sara and her top ride Rinwood MJ (Max) reached a huge milestone this season when they headed to Bramham to contest their first ever CCI4*-L. That’s a first 4* long not just for the horse but for Sara too, and they both rose to the occasion.
They produced a personal best dressage score before heading out across Bramham's demanding cross-country track, where Max looked to be enjoying himself rather a lot! The pair picked up a frangible pin at the first part of the coffin before finishing with just a single rail in the showjumping to come 22nd. We know Sara was thrilled and they both have a really positive experience and plenty to build on. When they flashed past us in style at the Roundhouse fence, we were very impressed indeed!
Holly Richardson
Holly has had a strong first half of her season, with some super results and an enviable string of horses to bring on. There were a lot of eyes on Holly and the lovely grey gelding Ballyneety Silver Service - AKA Butler - at Badminton, largely due to their fantastic 5* debut at Burghley in 2025. Holly and Butler rose to the occasion again and went clear cross-country inside the time - something that lots of more experienced combinations didn’t manage.
At Belsay, Holly scored an impressive one-two in the Novice section aboard Ballymolloy Roscoe and TBH Count to Ten, showing she’s got some talented young horses to develop over the second half of the season.
Jemima Stratton
Jemima's season has included some really encouraging performances, including an incredible day at Aston-le-Walls where she completed four double clears and secured two top ten finishes. That's the sort of consistency every event rider dreams of, and we’re so proud to have Jemima on our team.
At Bramham Horse Trials, Jemima and Global Exotic (Joey) stepped out in the CCI4*-S after the horse’s return from injury. The pair produced a lovely dressage test and a smart clear round in the showjumping phase. Jemima decided to retire out on the cross-country course when Joey wasn't feeling quite his usual enthusiastic self, a decision we really respect, and they will be back to compete another day - and it was still great to see them back out competing at this level.
We're looking forward to following all our sponsored riders through the second half of the season and seeing what they can achieve next. Good luck to all of them for the months ahead and, as always, thank you to everyone who supports them along the way!