McCoy and Blackmore in opposition in aid of Injured Jockeys Fund

Sir Anthony McCoy and Rachael Blackmore will lead the teams in the Markel Jockeys Jumping event at the London International Horse Show on Monday.

The competition, which which sees a female and a male team tackle a course of show jumps against the clock, is run in aid of the Injured Jockeys Fund and is in its sixth year.

Blackmore will be joined by jump jockey Bridget Andrews, Joanna Mason, Hayley Turner and Saffie Osborne – a former European gold medallist in eventing at pony level.

McCoy’s squad includes Brian Hughes, Jim Crowley, James Doyle and Harry Skelton – son of Olympic goal medal-winning showjumper Nick.

Nick Skelton is one of the coaches for the event, alongside world class riders Pippa and William Funnell, who compete in eventing and show jumping respectively.

The female team came out on top when the competition last took place, but McCoy is hoping his team fare better this time around now the event is back on the calendar.

He said: “At one of our previous appearances in the Markel Jockeys Jumping at the London International Horse Show, Olympic gold medallist Nick Skelton resorted to using a cable tie to fix the bridle on Harry’s horse, so let’s hope we are a bit more professional this time around!

“At our last appearance in 2019 we were beaten by the girls, so we’ll be putting that right this year. In all seriousness though, it’s for a great cause in the Injured Jockeys Fund – and we all love taking part.”