William Funnell: ‘It’s more uncomplicated to fly horses to Dubai than shuttle them to France and again’

Best British showjumper and UAE chef d’equipe William Funnell discusses the new-look International locations Cups sequence, and additional border woes when transporting horses to Europe for elite game

Successful the hot four-star house International locations Cup with the UAE squad was once a super end result. They’re a skilled crew of riders, who have been able to qualifying for the Olympics earlier than I joined them, however they’ve been operating exhausting since. So it was once great to have constructed on all our groundwork and expectantly we will proceed to take action.

We had a pleasant combine of 2 younger riders and two extra skilled. Even though the contest was once not anything like going to the Olympics, there’s at all times much more power acting in entrance of your house crowd, so it was once great to peer them thrive – you by no means know the way folks will cope till they’re in that state of affairs.

The adaptation between my task and Di Lampard’s is that I’m chargeable for hanging the correct riders at the proper horses and I make a choice precisely what presentations they do – which is excellent, but in addition comes with a large number of duty!

For the new-format Olympics, you want horses which are cast and are going to complete their rounds, and we fielded 3 new horses purchased with that during thoughts. Even though they’d very good data, you by no means in point of fact know should you’ve made a fit till they’re within the ring with their new riders, so from their performances, we glance to have some excellent mixtures.

Longines League of International locations

The inaugural Longines League of International locations takes position right here within the UAE this weekend (8–11 February). It’s tricky with the International Cups in complete swing, and numerous riders in The usa, to tempt them to the UAE for one display, however there are some superb groups going.

Every nation is now allowed to ship best 4 riders, quite than 5, for each and every tournament within the sequence, so with 10 countries’ horses coming from far and wide the sector, I’ll be stunned if the unusual one doesn’t select up a knock or scrape and a few have initially a three-man crew. Even though each crew is going down to a few riders in spherical two below the recent structure anyway, that’s an enormous downside. Why are we flying horses far and wide the sector anyway, after we had such pretty presentations in Hickstead and Dublin in our calendar already?

It is going to be attention-grabbing to peer how the second one spherical performs out. You’ll’t duvet a foul spherical with all ratings counting, and only one small misfortune will take you from hero to 0. Does that make it extra thrilling? For some folks possibly.

The Olympics are rapid coming near, and only a few international locations are spoilt for horsepower. However isn’t it thrilling that John Whitaker on the age of 68 has a possible horse and is making plans his subsequent Olympics? It’s going to be attention-grabbing to apply, that’s evidently!

Border woes

Later this 12 months, now not best will we need to do the entire well being and vet tests when transporting horses abroad, we’re going to need to do the similar at the long ago as neatly. It already prices us just about an additional day to get any place at the Continent, so with the added expense of the ones laws at the long ago, the affect might be large.

With a bit of luck that additional call for at house shall be a large incentive for UK presentations to up their choices. We’ve got excellent sufficient presentations in the United Kingdom to stay generating younger horses right here, however the lengthy and the quick of it’s that it’s some distance more uncomplicated paperwork-wise to fly my horses out of Heathrow to Dubai than it’s to get them to France and again, and that may be a significant issue.

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• This unique column can be to be had to learn in Horse & Hound mag, on sale Thursday 8 February

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