It’s been a huge weekend of sport for our top equestrians, with good results in eventing and showjumping in the United States, Germany and Poland.
Tim Price and Monica Spencer finished fourth and seventh respectively in the CCI5*-L at the Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event, Jesse Campbell and Samantha Lissington took three crowns between them at 4* and 3* level at the Strzegom Spring Open II in Poland, and showjumper Luke Dee and Gangster WW rode to third place in the CSI3* 1.55m Grand Prix in Hagen.
📸 Shannon Brinkman Photography
Defender Kentucky Three-Day Event
The roller coaster of eventing was to the fore in Kentucky where Tim Price and Vitali bagged their first clear 5* showjumping round, to finish fourth in the CCI5*-L, with Monica Spencer and Artist relinquishing their overnight lead to finish seventh. “Max tried his little heart out all week for me, he’s a legend,” said Monica. “It may not have been the fairytale ending today, but it’s still my fairytale.”
The Kiwis were one and two at the end of the dressage, with a personal best 22.3 from Monica and Artist, and Tim and Vitali on 22.6. Monica and Artist added nothing in the cross country, to hold on to their lead, while 9.2 time for Tim and Vitali would prove costly and popped them back to fifth.
“Vitali is just a bit measured with his speed (on the cross country) which was a frustration but I would never have guessed that he would lose a competition like this on a Saturday, not a Sunday,” said Tim. It was real heart-in-your mouth stuff
this morning for the showjumping where just eight of the 23 combinations managed to come home clear and inside time.
Tim’s clear jumping round – with a smidgen of time – saw he and Vitali move up the ranks to fourth on 33 penalty points. “It has been quite a challenge to try and put the discomfort to one side,” said Tim who placed 16th aboard Global Quest. They scored 29.8 in the dressage but had a pin and time in the cross country to drop down in the rankings.
“It was a shame with Global Quest that he had the early pin (in the cross country) which took the steam out of our round really which meant doing a couple of options and a bit of risk adverse riding was what I opted for later in the track.” The combination finished on 62.8 in 16th place.
But overall, Tim was very pleased with his team. “It was a fantastic finish for both of them – they both jumped really well today. I am happy to be finished and be able to rest and recover a bit before Badminton. It’s been a great competition – it was a shame not to win. It was very much my plan to have two in the top 10 – we didn’t quite achieve that but it leaves a nice taste in your mouth when you finish the competition well.”
He was full of praise for Monica. “I take my hat off to her – she did really well,” he said. “It is such a shame she couldn’t quite pull it off. I know that feeling very well – I have done it many times. It will serve her well in the future. She is remarkable.”
He said the event had been brilliant. “The way the yanks put it all on is second to none. It is pretty impressive,” said Tim. “All the owners had an amazing time and it has just been a great week – other than having a broken collar bone!”
The 5* was won by Will Coleman (USA) aboard Diabolo on 28.1 penalty points, with Caroline Pamukcu (USA) and HSH Blake second on 28.6, and David Doel (GBR) aboard Galileo Nieuwmoed third on 30.8.
Tokyo Olympian Uma O’Neill was also competing in Kentucky in the CSI5* jumping aboard Luigi d’Eclipse. They had two rails and time penalties in the MLSJ5* Grand Prix.
📸 Leszek Wojcik/Stregom Spring Open II
Strzegom Spring Open II
Jesse Campbell and Samantha Lissington claimed three crowns between them at the Strzegom Spring Open II in Poland overnight.
Tokyo Olympian Jesse Campbell rode Speedwell to victory in the CCI4*-L, finishing on 27.1 penalty points, with Nicolas Touzaint (FRA) aboard Diabolo Menthe second on 30, Karim Florent Laghouag (FRA) on Dream De Vieve third on 32, and Samantha aboard Lucas Stone fourth on 32.5.
The CCI4*-S went to Samantha aboard Delarado on their dressage score of 30.2, ahead of Julia Kerajewski (GER) aboard Tullabeg Platinum on 31.5 and Malin Hansen-Hotopp (GER) with Carlitos Quidditch K third on 31.9.
The CCI3*-L also went the way of Samantha, this time on New York on 32.9, with Lara de Liedekerke-Meier (GER) and Call Me Senorita second on 33 and Annika Anderson (DEN) with Apollo Creed third on 35.7.
The event attracted nearly 320 combinations, including Olympic medallists, from 25 nations for four days of exciting competition
Horses & Dreams Jumping in Hagen
Luke Dee and Gangster WW placed third in the CSI3* 1.55m Grand Prix in Hagen, Germany. Fifty combinations started the class, with 12 coming back for the jump-off where Luke and Gangster were double clear in 42.21 seconds. The class was won by Stefan Engbers (GER) on Baju NRW in 41.41, with Andre Thieme (GER) on DSP Chakaria second in 41.75. The top five were double clear.
CLICK THE FOLLOWING FOR FULL RESULTS
CSI5* Jumping Grand Prix at Kentucky
CCI5*-L Eventing at Kentucky
Strzegom Eventing Spring Open II in Poland
CSI3* Jumping Grand Prix at Hagen
By Diana Dobson – HP Media Liaison
27th April 2026