ESNZ Jumping & Show Hunter

Thanks to The Back Rail for including NZ times in the Aachen timetable. Getting excited….

Here it is!
The timetable for Showjumping events at the upcoming Aachen 2026.
Start and finish times in Aachen, and then calculated for Australian Eastern, SA/NT, WA and even our neighbours across the ditch.
Print it out and stick it on the fridge.
(If you’re having trouble printing it, just message or email us [email protected] and we will send you a copy)

𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗢𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧 | 𝗘𝗦𝗡𝗭 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗘𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲
The Equestrian Sports New Zealand Board is pleased to announce the appointment of Emily Downes as Chief Executive, effective 7 October 2026.
Emily is an experienced senior executive and sporting system leader, bringing more than a decade of experience across high performance sport, athlete development, organisational leadership and stakeholder engagement.
She joins ESNZ from High Performance Sport New Zealand, where she is currently General Manager - Wellbeing and Leadership and a member of the senior leadership team. During her time there, Emily has worked closely with national sporting organisations and athlete representatives, helping to shape leadership, wellbeing and performance initiatives across the New Zealand sporting system.
ESNZ Board Chair Hannah Walton said Emily stood out through a comprehensive recruitment process for her strong strategic leadership, sporting sector experience, commercial capability and people-focused approach.
"Emily understands the complexity of leading within a national sporting system and has demonstrated an ability to build trusted relationships, navigate competing priorities and translate strategy into action. We are delighted that she has accepted the opportunity to lead ESNZ through its next phase."
Emily said she is honoured to be joining ESNZ and excited to work alongside the organisation and the wider equestrian community.
"Equestrian sport has a proud history in New Zealand, from community participation through to success on the international stage. I am looking forward to building strong relationships across the disciplines and working with the Board, staff and stakeholders to help shape a clear and sustainable future for the sport."
As mentioned above, Emily will commence as Chief Executive on 7 October 2026.
Until that time, current Chief Executive Julian Bowden will continue in the role, providing leadership and stability while supporting a seamless transition. The Board acknowledges Julian's ongoing commitment to ESNZ and thanks him for his continued leadership during this period.
Please join us in welcoming Emily to the ESNZ whānau and wishing her every success in her new role. See also website NEWS for more: https://www.nzequestrian.org.nz/news/

Dressage NZ
ESNZ Jumping & Show Hunter
ESNZ Eventing
ESNZ Endurance
ESNZ Para-Equestrian

The country's best equine athletes are gearing up for the FEI World Championships in Aachen Germany starting next week.

We caught up with Warrick Allan, Equestrian Sports NZ High Performance Operations Manager, to hear all about the team, the ones to watch, and the logistics of getting horses to the other side of the world.

LISTEN HERE 🎧 bit.ly/4pXVqD6

Thanks to Mainland Coachwork Limited.

𝑮𝑼𝑬𝑺𝑺 𝑾𝑯𝑶'𝑺 𝑩𝑨𝑪𝑲......𝑩𝑨𝑪𝑲 𝑨𝑮𝑨𝑰𝑵?!

We are so excited to announce that the 𝗪𝗮𝗶𝗸𝗮𝘁𝗼 𝗘𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗩𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗲 Star Spotters is returning for the 2026-27 season.

Star Spotters was launched in 2019; it is a grass-roots project with the objective to open doors for aspiring riders who may not otherwise have had the opportunity to join ESNZ.

Each of the 20 Area’s has two scholarships to award:
1 x Under 17 Years
1 x 17 Years and Over
Note - you must not have had any form of ESNZ membership in the past 10 Years to be eligible.

How to apply:
- Contact your Area Delegate: https://www.nzequestrian.org.nz/disciplines/jumping-show-hunter/contacts/
- Applications close 1st October 2026.

A huge THANK YOU goes out to Waikato Equine Veterinary Centre for their ongoing sponsorship.

Equestrian Sports NZ

A lovely write up about Luke and his journey with Gangster WW.

Luke Dee: “We've been very fortunate for the opportunities that have come our way” “Five years ago, we sat around the table and scribbled down our dreams on a piece of paper and what we were hoping to achieve,” Luke Dee tells WoSJ.

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑬𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝑻𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝑹𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔

All good things sadly come to an end, we farewell three remarkable people from their roles in our sport.....👀 read more 👀:
https://www.nzequestrian.org.nz/2026/07/the-end-of-three-remarkable-chapters/

Equestrian Sports NZ

𝑱𝒖𝒎𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑶𝒘𝒏𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑩𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒀𝒆𝒂𝒓

This year, ESNZ Jumping introduced two new awards to recognise Owners and Breeders, read more here:

https://www.nzequestrian.org.nz/2026/07/jumping-owner-and-breeder-of-the-year/

Equestrian Sports NZ
Mana Stables Show Jumping
LT Holst Sporthorses

𝐔𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐂𝐃 𝐒𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐬

New Course Designer Seminars have been added, please register at this link:

https://forms.gle/uEPPgLqpHhPtLRz7A

We also have a Jumping Course Design Booklet available. If you are not attending a seminar and would like a digital copy, please email: [email protected] - please note that everyone who registers to attend a seminar will receive one.

What a great result from Chantilly 4*.
Congratulations Luke Dee and Sophie Scott 🙌🏼🙌🏼

How well did NZ go in the opening 150 round of the 4* at Chantilly? Very well!! 2nd and 3rd!! 🇳🇿👏
Well done Sophie and Luke 💪

𝑷𝑶𝑵𝒀 - 𝑯𝑬𝑰𝑮𝑯𝑻 𝑪𝑬𝑹𝑻𝑰𝑭𝑰𝑪𝑨𝑻𝑬𝑺
**Edited for clarification - apologies**

Measuring days will be coming up over the next couple of months.
Don't risk losing any Series points and make sure your pony has a current height certificate for the coming season.

𝐑𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫: . To compete as a pony at ESNZ Competitions, the pony must measure 148cm or under. The Persons Responsible must be in the possession of an annual or life measurement certificate
issued by the Royal Agricultural Society for that pony and a copy
of that certificate must be lodged with ESNZ on the pony’s file to
complete the process. Once a pony reaches eight years of age,
provided that the current annual certificate is lodged with ESNZ,
no further annual certificates will be required to be lodged.

You can find contact information about upcoming measuring days here:
https://www.ras.org.nz/equestrian/measuring-height-certificates/

Or, contact your local A&P Society.

Any questions? Email: [email protected]

Equestrian Sports NZ