Team Great Britain has announced the following four combinations as the Show Jumping Squad for the Rio Olympics in August:
Ben Maher MBE, age 33, based Hertfordshire, with Jane Forbes Clark and his own Tic Tac
Nick Skelton OBE, age 58, based Warwickshire, with Beverley Widdowson’s Big Star
John Whitaker MBE, age 60, based West Yorkshire, with Team Harmony Management Co Ltd’s Ornellaia
Michael Whitaker, age 56, based Nottinghamshire, with Beverley Widdowson’s Cassionato
The traveling reserve is Jessica Mendoza, age 20, hometown Wiltshire, with Sarah Mendoza’s Spirit T
Each member of the all-male squad has been named to an Olympic team in the past, and the collection of them is a formidable powerhouse of experience, with literally hundreds of world cup finals, European and World championships, and 5* Grand Prixs between them. You can watch the live announcement from Team Great Britain below from Eventer Kitty King’s barn in Wiltshire, England.
The Dressage and Eventing teams were named as well, and you can learn more about the full British Equestrian team at our sister site, Eventing Nation. Reserves will be taken from the nominated entry list if required. You can follow all the team and individual athlete announcements using their hashtag, #bringonthegreat.
Congratulations to team Great Britain, and best of luck at the Rio Olympics!
[TEAM GB NAME 12 EQUESTRIAN ATHLETES TO COMPETE AT RIO 2016]
Go Jumping.
Jenni Autry contributed to this report.