Great Britain’s Guy Williams demonstrated exactly why he has earned a reputation as one of the
sport’s quickest riders, producing a superb round to win Friday’s CSI4* 1.50m LR Speed
Competition, sponsored by Rolls-Royce Sunningdale, and secure victory in the final qualifier for
Saturday’s prestigious Al Shira’aa Grand Prix.

A total of 49 combinations representing seven nations tackled course designer Rafael Suarez’s
15 effort track, all aiming to qualify for Saturday’s CSI4* 1.55m Longines Ranking Al Shira’aa
Grand Prix, and compete for their share of the impressive 106,000 Euro prize fund made
possible through the continued support of Al Shira’aa.

Multi-Olympian Laura Kraut was the first rider to produce a clear round, guiding Carquilara PS
home in 66.63 seconds with a confident and composed performance. Britain’s William Fletcher
soon followed with another faultless effort aboard Shelton DD in 74.98 seconds.
British Olympic team gold medallist Harry Charles looked set to challenge the leaderboard but
was denied by a rail at the final fence with Bandit.

The lead then changed hands courtesy of the United Arab Emirates’s Omar Abdul Aziz Al
Marzooqi, who continued his excellent run of form aboard Al Shira’aa Farms Chacco Bay. Fresh
from victory in the Al Shira’aa CSIO3* of Lisbon, the pair stopped the clock in an impressive
66.15 seconds to move into first place.

Further clear rounds came from Angelie von Essen and Twinwin (71.10), Belgium’s Frederic
Vernaet with Orak d’Hamwyck T&L (71.67), yesterday’s qualifier winner Holly Smith and Sing Z
(68.88), Sterling Malnik aboard Calgary Tame (73.20), and Lauren Caroline with Casgo du Rouet
PS (70.75).

However, none could match the pace of Williams. Riding the talented 11 year old mare BH
Gringos Legacy, owned by James Adam Riley, the experienced Brit made full use of his mare’s
natural speed to stop the clock in 63.84 seconds and top the leaderboard from a total of nine
clear rounds.

Speaking after his win, Williams explained how watching several of the early combinations
helped shape his plan.

“I just watched a few go. I had a good draw. I watched Harry go and he was very quick compared
to the others. I just saw if I’d done the numbers, my horse moves fast, then I should be alright to
catch the leader.”

Despite her competitive nature in the ring, Williams revealed BH Gringos Legacy is remarkably
straightforward at home.

“She’s easy to deal with. My wife hacks her out and she lives out in the field most of the time.”
Reflecting on Rafael Suarez’s course, Williams said it required riders to stay fully committed
throughout.

“You have to ride the round like you’re going to jump clear, and if you’re going to win you’re not
worried about knocking the jumps down — you’re worried about being quick and jumping clear,
so you don’t want any other thoughts in your head.”

Looking ahead to Saturday’s Al Shira’aa LR 1.55m Grand Prix, Williams expects another closely
contested class.

“It’ll be very close. There are some top-class combinations qualified and anything can happen.
The main aim is just to jump a clear and get into the jump off.”

CSIYH1* 6-Year-Old Two Phase Special (1.20m), sponsored by Natural Flake Wood Shavings
Ireland’s Sven Joseph Hadley and the exciting six year old mare, Chipmunk BC Z, claimed
victory in Friday’s CSIYH1* 6 Year Old Two Phase Special after producing the quickest of 38
double clear rounds.

A total of 62 combinations from three nations contested the class, with Hadley stopping the
clock in 24.41 seconds to take the honours.

Owned by Hibernian Sport Horses, Chipmunck BC Z was purchased as a three year old before
beginning her education in Hadley’s yard. She also competed at last year’s Al Shira’aa
Bolesworth International as a five year old, with that experience proving valuable as she has
continued to progress.

“This was the first class she’s ever won because we’ve never really asked her to compete
against the clock before,” said Hadley. “Today she answered every question, so it’s really
exciting looking ahead to Sunday’s final.”

Hadley admitted that drawing later in the class worked to his advantage.
“I was lucky with the draw because I knew roughly what I had to do to claim the win. She’s a very
careful mare, and when you’re riding horses like that it makes your life easy.”

Great Britain’s Christopher Smith finished second aboard Chickatina JI Z, while Kerry Harris
completed the podium in third with Paradiso.

The result gives Hadley and Chipmunck BC Z plenty of confidence heading into Sunday’s
CSIYH1* 6-Year-Old Final, where they will look to build on an impressive performance against a
strong field of emerging young horses.

Full results from today’s competition are available on Equipe.

Action continues tomorrow as we build towards the CSI4* 1.55m Longines Ranking Al Shira’aa
Grand Prix, promising another day of world class international sport.

The 2026 Bolesworth Elite Auction takes place this evening from 20:15, with livestream
available via ClipMyHorse.TV