Cleo Seizes Silver for GB at European Equestrian Championships

Year Eleven pupil, Cleo Whitbread, had the honour of competing for Great Britain at the European Equestrian Championships in Le Mans, where the GB team secured an impressive second place behind the hosts, France. Cleo’s family travelled out to support her, making it a truly memorable occasion.

Cleo thoroughly enjoyed the experience and was immensely proud to represent her country in a sport she is so passionate about. Despite this being only her seventh event with her horse, Night Fury, they delivered a strong performance and gained invaluable experience, particularly across a challenging European cross-country course which caused numerous eliminations and retirements.

Although Cleo competed as an individual within the six-strong GB squad and was therefore not part of the final team scoring, she still contributed to the squad’s overall success.

Cleo said: “It was a massive privilege to be selected to represent my country – especially as this is my first year riding Fury and competing at this level.  The cross country course was a very technical track, but Fury and I both love this phase.  The Europeans return to Le Mans in 2026 so the experience I gained this year will hopefully be of benefit if we’re successful in being selected again. The dream would definitely be to continue to move through the ranks of eventing and compete in a 5* event like Badminton or Burghley one day!”

Looking ahead, Cleo is eager to build on this achievement during the remaining events of the season, with the hope of securing a place in next year’s team and continuing her exciting Equestrian journey at the highest level. Well done to Cleo for competing at this level and to the family for travelling all that way to support her.