The British Equestrian Federation (BEF) announced 34 athletes who have been selected for the UK Sport National Lottery funded World Class Podium Potential Programme for 2016-2018. Eight dressage riders and seven para dressage riders have been selected.
The athletes are picked from the three Olympic sports - dressage, eventing and showjumping and the Paralympic sport of para-equestrian dressage.
Acting equestrian Performance Director Sarah Armstrong comments; “It was fantastic to see such a great depth of talent coming forward through the selection trials this summer, and I would like to congratulate all those selected on to the 2016 cohort. The performance pathway for our athletes, both equine and human, is vital to ensure the continued success of our sport in Great Britain and on the international stage.
“The continuing evolution of the Programme, which will see more tailored coaching, and a greater emphasis on sports science introduced throughout the next Olympic cycle, is designed to ensure that through Podium Potential we are helping to develop medal winners of the future.”
The dressage squad includes Hayley Watson-Greaves, a member of this year's Olympic Ambition Programme. Whilst the para-dressage squad includes Paralympic Inspiration Programme member Natasha Adkinson plus Anna-Mae Cole, Charlotte Cundall, Suzanna Hext and Amanda Shirtcliffe who were on the BEF’s Excel Talent Programme, part of the rider talent pathway.
2016-2018 squads:
Dressage
- Rebecca Edwards, Berkshire
- Alex Hardwick, Hertfordshire
- Sarah Millis, West Sussex
- Sonnar Murray-Brown, Gloucestershire
- Joanna Thurman-Baker, Oxfordshire
- Samantha Thurman-Baker, Oxfordshire
- Ryan Todd, West Yorkshire
- Hayley Watson-Greaves, Gloucestershire
Para-Dressage
- Natasha Adkinson, Lincolnshire
- Anna-Mae Cole, Devon
- Charlotte Cundall, East Yorkshire
- Suzanna Hext, Gloucestershire
- Izzy Palmer, West Yorkshire
- Amanda Shirtcliffe, Buckinghamshire
- Susanna Wade, Lincolnshire
Through the World Class Podium Potential Programme, athletes will receive support through world-class coaching, human and equine sports science and medicine, nutrition and sports psychology, as part of an established training pathway.
Podium Potential underpins the World Class Podium squad; from the 2014 intake, three athletes have progressed to the Podium squads. The equestrian World Class Programme relies on funding from UK Sport through National Lottery and the Exchequer, and athletes’ places on the Programme are dependent on the continuation of funding.
Photo © Astrid Appels
Related Links
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Riders Selected for British World Class Development Programme 2013-2015