If you were folllowing H&C's Twitter commentary last night, you'll know that the penultimate classes at Olympia, the London International Horse Show, continued to thrill the crowd, who turned out in their droves despite the bad weather and travel chaos. As always, Olympia provides a strong draw for horse fans with some spectators travelling for hours to enjoy watching their heroes in action.

Martin Collins Eraser Stakes

The Martin Collins Eraser Stakes at Olympia, the London International Horse Show, may have been the penultimate class of the week, but it still drew in the big names which made for a breathtaking class. 

Ellen wins with class

Ellen Whitaker proved that despite her tender age, she has what it takes to compete with the best, romping home with a time of 46.47 seconds to win the class in style. Ever the crowd pleaser, Ellen rode a foot perfect round. Hot on her heels was Laura Renwick, who, with a time of 46.87 didn’t quite do enough to beat Ellen. 

In third was the Netherlands Eric Van Der Vleuten, pushing Guy Williams down to fifth and Ben Maher to seventh.

Fast rounds

The class was fast paced, causing many riders to have the last fence down, including the Whitaker brothers.  Both overrode to the last, causing them to over check at the fence and resulting in them both rolling a pole.  As always the crowd were delighted to see so many Brits compete, but even more delighted with a Whitaker win.

The Kingsland Olympia Grand Prix

The final class at Olympia after a week of stiff competition and nail biting moments proved to be just as exciting. All the top names were entered, and with the likes of John Whitaker and Tim Stockdale looking for their first ever win in the Grand Prix at Olympia, the competition was fierce.

Five in four clears

The course builders were holding their breath after the first five horses produced four clear rounds, but the riders’ luck did not hold and the poles soon started to fall.  Peter Charles, a previous winner back in 1993, started the poles rolling and then it seemed few could keep them up until Tim Stockdale entered the ring.  Tim showed us why he is still one of the best in the world with an expert clear, cheered on by his mate Geoff Billington over the speakers.

Ellen goes wrong

The unthinkable happened to Ellen Whitaker, who took a wrong turn and jumped the wrong course.  Clearly devastated by her mistake she left the ring with her head in her hands clearly furious and upset with herself. Her devastation was not helped by the cameras zooming in on her father looking anything but pleased.

The jump off

Ten riders out of 37 made it in to the jump off and put the crowd on the edge of their seats. The Brits held their own with Laura Renwick producing a spectacular round with only four faults on an eight-year-old that H&C is sure will be one to watch out for in the future. Tim Stockdale again went clear, sending the roof off the building, but it was not enough. Penelope Leprevost had set an early and seemingly impossible time to beat of 33.50 seconds. Last to go was France’s Simon Delestre, who hurtled round at breakneck speed to take second away from at 34.09.

A French first and second

The crowd were charmed by the beautiful Penelope and charismatic Simon Delestre.  Penelope told H&C: “This is my first clear at Olympia. I would have been happy with a double clear so I am pleased with my win.”

Simon Delestre also took time to talk to H&C and after the amazing week he has had, it is no surprise he mentioned how much he loved the show: “It is a fantastic show with a fantastic atmosphere and the crowd love their own riders.”