Jumping squad
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Scott Brash
- Age: 39
- Based in: Horsham, West Sussex, originally from Peebles, Scotland
- FEI World Ranking: 12
Born in Peebles, Scott grew up riding ponies and started showjumping with The Pony Club at the age of 10. He made his senior championship debut at the World Equestrian Games in 2010 riding Intertoy Z. That was the same year that Scott took the ride on Hello Sanctos. The pair were on the team that won historic team gold at the London 2012 Olympic Games, then team gold and individual bronze in the European Championships 2013. Scott finished third in the FEI World Cup Final in 2014 with Ursual XII.
He contested his second World Equestrian Games with Hello Sanctos in 2014, and took team bronze with Hello M'Lady at the FEI European Championship in 2019. He received his second Olympic call-up for the delayed Tokyo 2020 Games, riding Hello Jefferson, where they qualified for the individual final.
In 2022, Scott was part of the team that took a historic team bronze medal at the FEI World Championship in Herning, Denmark. He finished the year on a high with a win at the London International Horse Show leg of the FEI World Cup series with Jefferson.
Again partnering Hello Jefferson, Scott was selected for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games alongside his Tokyo 2020 teammates, Harry Charles and Ben Maher. The pair secured team gold, replicating the feat that Scott and Ben achieved alongside Harry's father, Peter Charles, at London 2012.
Scott has won the London leg of the Global Champions Tour an impressive three times, and he remains the only rider to win the Rolex Grand Slam of Showjumping.
Previous senior championship appearances
- Paris 2024 Olympic Games (team gold)
- FEI Jumping World Championship 2022 (team bronze)
- Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games
- FEI Jumping European Championship 2019 (team bronze)
- FEI World Equestrian Games 2014
- FEI Jumping European Championship 2013 (team gold, individual bronze)
- London 2012 Olympic Games (team gold)
- FEI World Equestrian Games 2010
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Ben Maher
- Age: 42
- Based in: Bishops Stortford, Hertfordshire
- World Ranking: 2
Ben started riding at the age of eight, competing on the local showjumping circuit and joining The Pony Club. He went on to represent Great Britain on Pony, Junior and Young Rider teams, which saw him take team gold at the Young Rider European Championships in 2004. He was the first British showjumper to be ranked world number one in 2013 and was awarded an MBE in the New Year’s Honours List in 2013.
Ben made his Olympic debut riding Roulette at Beijing 2008, then was part of the gold medal-winning team with Tripple X III at London 2012. He rode at Rio 2016 with Tic Tac, before winning the coveted individual gold at Tokyo 2020 with Explosion W. His most recent Olympic call-up came for Paris 2024, where the British team secured team gold, adding a third gold Games medal to Ben's collection.
Alongside his Olympic appearances, Ben has ridden at six FEI Jumping European Championships – he’s won one team gold medal, two team bronzes and two individual silvers. With such a long and successful career, it’s surprising that his first FEI Jumping World Championship appearance only came in 2022, when he and Faltic HB helped Britain to a historic team bronze medal.
Ben is a familiar face on Nations Cup teams and the Longines League of Nations.
Just weeks after his win in Tokyo, Ben married his partner and fellow showjumper Sophie. They now share three-year-old Cooper, who's already showing his parents' love of horses, and a baby daughter named Quinn.
Previous senior championship appearances
- Paris 2024 Olympic Games (team gold)
- FEI Jumping European Championship 2023
- FEI Jumping World Championship (team bronze)
- Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games (individual gold)
- FEI Jumping European Championship 2019 (team bronze)
- Rio 2016 Olympic Games
- FEI Jumping European Championship 2015
- FEI Jumping European Championship 2013 (team gold, individual silver)
- London 2012 Olympic Games (team gold)
- FEI Jumping European Championship 2011 (team bronze)
- FEI Jumping European Championship 2009
- Beijing 2008 Olympic Games
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Jessica mendoza
- Age: 29
- Based in: Wellington Florida and originally from Horsham, West Sussex
- World Ranking: 95
Jess started riding horses from a very young age and enjoyed great success on the youth circuit, much of which she chronicled in her monthly column for Pony Magazine. She represented Great Britain on four occasions at the FEI Pony Jumping European Championships (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012) with Tixylix, picking up two team golds and an individual bronze, and twice at the FEI Junior Jumping European Championship (2013, 2014) with Spirit T, taking team gold and individual bronze in 2014.
In 2014, Jess won her first CSI5* competition while competing at the London leg of the Global Championship Tour, which also happened to be her first competition at the level. Shortly afterwards, she started to be selected for senior teams – with Spirit T, she competed at the FEI Jumping Nations Cup Final in 2015 and 2016, picking up team silver on both occasions alongside second place finishes.
Jess' first senior championship team call-up came in 2015, when she and Spirit T joined the British team in Aachen for the FEI Jumping European Championship, where the team ultimately finished fifth. The following year, she become the youngest person to be selected for a British Olympic showjumping team in 40 years when she was named as travelling reserve for Rio 2016 at the age of 20.
In recent years, Jess has been a familiar face on British Nations Cup teams. She rode I-Cap CL Z at the FEI World Cup Final in Riyadh in 2024, where they finished 12th.
Jess is currently based at Triple M Farms in Wellington, Florida. She recently became engaged to her partner, fellow showjumper Nick Dello Joio. Out of the saddle, Jess is a keen artist – a hobby that she's nurtured since school.
Previous senior championship appearances
- Rio 2016 Olympic Games (travelling reserve)
- FEI Jumping European Championship 2015
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matthew sampson
- Age: 34
- Based in: Sheffield, South Yorkshire
- World Ranking: 58
Matt comes from a horsey family, with his parents owning an equestrian centre near Sheffield. Having ridden since he was a baby, he left school at the age of 12 and was home-schooled, which gave him more time to ride. He knew from a very early age that showjumping was what he wanted to do as a career and had success on the youth circuit, representing Great Britain at Pony, Junior and Young Rider level consistently between 2006 and 2010 and picking up two team gold medals (2006 and 2008).
At the age of 16, he based himself with Duncan Inglis for two and a half years, before moving to work for Henk Nooren in the Netherlands. Two years later, he returned to his native Yorkshire to start his own yard.
Matt has ridden consistently at CSI5* level for a number of years. His first win at the level came at his happy hunting ground of Spruce Meadows, Calgary, with Ebolensky in 2022. That same year, the pair won the London Grand Prix at the London International Horse Show, after being the only pair to go clear in the jump-off.
Matt took on the ride of Medoc de Toxandria, previously ridden by Tim Gredley, at the start of this year. Since then, they've represented Great Britain on two occasions – the FEI Jumping Nations Cup at St Gallen in May and the Rotterdam leg of the Longines League of Nations in June – which has earned them Matt's first senior championship call-up.
Together with his partner, Candian showjumper Kara Chad, Matt runs Maplepark Farms – the business, which focuses on breeding and producing top sports horses, is based on both sides of the Atlantic. He goes into this championship on a high, having recently won the Spruce Meadows CSI5* Grand Prix with the grey stallion Daniel.
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Donald Whitaker
- Age: 32
- Based in: Dagobertshausen, Germany and originally from Barnsley, South Yorkshire
- World Ranking: 84
Originally from Barnsley in Yorkshire, Donald is a member of the famous Whitaker showjumping dynasty – his father is Stephen, brother to John and Michael. Like the rest of the family, he starting riding as a child and has been competing – and winning – in showjumping classes for as long as he can remember. Early successes came at the Horse of the Year Show, including in the puissance class. In 2018, Donald took silver at the Young Horse World Championships in Lanaken, Belgium with the mare Chilli.
Donald's first CSIO5* Nations Cup appearance was in Abu Dhabi in 2022, where he jumped an impressive double clear with Di Caprio to held Britain finished third. The following year, Donald made his senior championship debut, when he and Di Caprio were selected to represent Great Britian as indiviudals at the FEI Jumping European Championship in Milano.
Since then, Donald has been a familiar face on Nations Cup teams and has contested two legs of the annual Longines League of Nations (Abu Dhabi in 2024 and Rotterdam in 2025). He and Millfield Colette come into this championship fresh from a third-place finish in the Rotterdam CSI5* Grand Prix, having already helped the British team to third place in the Longines League of Nations.
Currently, Donald is based at Hofgut Dagobertshausen equestrian centre in Germany, which is the family home of his partner, German showjumper Nicola Pohl.
Previous senior championship appearances
- FEI Jumping European Championship 2023