News | South East Eventers League

As the pace hots up going towards The SEEL Charity Ball and Awards in aid of the Georgie Campbell Foundation and The KSS Air Ambulance on 14 November, at the High Rocks in Tunbridge Wells. We bring you a sneak preview of what is up for bidding for in the Silent Auction

First up, and probably the most sought after, kindly donated by Equine America is
A two person experience hospitality packages to London International horse show from Equine America
Phoenix Club guests will enjoy:

• A dedicated hostess meet-and-greet, with support throughout the day
• An allocated VIP Phoenix Club Arena seat within the International Arena
• Order drinks directly from your seat with a QR code, collection from the VIP platform
• Pre-book a table for lunch or dinner in the Phoenix Club Restaurant
• All-day access to the Phoenix Club garden and International Arena Collecting Ring Viewing Area
• Access to the London Arena VIP bar and viewing areas
• A complimentary official event souvenir programme
• Access to the VIP cloakroom

We will also be donating a 6-month supply of Coli-Uls-Gard Pellets, (worth over £400) to the winning bid. This product is part of Equine Americas Coli Shield Scheme which is a next-generation digestive support Scheme, developed by Vets and Nutritionists, designed for daily use and is trusted by the world’s top riders such as Gemma Stevens. If your horse qualifies for the Scheme, and then has to undergo emergency Colic surgery whilst on the Coli-Uls-Gard Pellets, Equine America will contribute up to 5k towards the surgery.

And another donation worth bidding on from Artemis Vets
A health check, foot balance x-rays and orthopaedic assessment at there clinic in Surrey

Finally a very popular lot in the past few years – Knockbridge Farm

Two night stay on Beautiful Sussex Farm for up to 4 people

Enjoy a relaxing break away on a beautiful, peaceful East Sussex Farm near Rye.

Knockbridge Parlour is a beautiful 2 bedroom cottage tucked away in an unspoilt East Sussex valley on a traditional sheep farm, in an area of outstanding natural beauty. This self catering cottage welcomes dogs, horses and children too…. Bring your horse and enjoy a beach ride on nearby Camber Sands or a dog walk on Pett Level or Winchelsea Beach. The village pub is a 10 minute walk away and there are many other lovely pubs and attractions within a short drive to Bodiam Castle, Battle Abbey, Rye, Hastings Old Town).

Available June-September 2026

Nigel Hacking nigelhacking@hotmail.com

Donated by Nigel Hacking & Rebecca Friend

Beccy’s Story so far..

I am really excited (and also slightly terrified!) to have been selected to ride in a 1 mile Charity Race on the flat at Newbury on 5th November in aid of The British Horse Society.

The BHS do amazing work for horses, their work includes welfare, education, road safety as well as making horses more accessible. I am really keen to support the ‘Changing Lives Through Horses’ programme which gives young people with additional needs a great place to grow and learn through horsey activities, more info can be found here… https://www.bhs.org.uk/go-riding-and-learn/changing-lives-through-horses/

I have been lucky enough to have been around horses all my life. I have competed in most disciplines on home produced horses, my first love is Eventing but I also enjoy Trail Hunting, Showing (inc. Side Saddle) as well as being on Inter Hunt Relay Teams. I have always enjoyed watching Racing and have ridden ex racehorses but until very recently I had never ridden in a race saddle!!

So this is a big challenge ….. I have started riding out which I am loving, all of a sudden my warmbloods feel rather slow!!! I have also started working with a Personal Trainer to ensure I’m fit enough to pass the Jockey Fitness Test at Newmarket in September ,which I passed.

I hope you enjoy following my journey and thank you for your support 😀

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

https://www.justgiving.com/page/rebecca-friend-1781383635059?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL

The THE AO-IT GROUP Annual Ball and Awards Ceremony will no doubt be another great night to remember celebrating another great years sport.

• Free glass of champagne and Canapés on arrival
• Entertainment from ”BOWMAN”
• Raffle in aid The Georgie Cambell Foundation and KSS Air Ambulance
• Silent Auction
• Celebrity Guest

The High Rocks has put a much lower limit on numbers this year, a secondary overflow is not available so tickets will be sold on a first come first saved basis, no payment, no tickets, no exceptions.

Tickets are available at £80 per head if purchased before 1st November, thereafter £85 per head or £780 for a table of ten (before 1st November) thereafter £820. Section winners will receive one free ticket irrespective of sections won.

Preparations are already underway for the SEEL Ball on Saturday 14 November 2026. which this year will take at our ‘home’ venue at The High Rocks hotel, near Tunbridge Wells Kent. This year the chosen charity’s will be ‘The Georgie Cambell Foundation’ and The KSS Air Ambulance

Book Tickets Here: https://www.myridinglife.com/eventdetails.aspx?id=537936

The ever popular SEEL Arena Eventing season got going at Golden Cross on 10 October with the first batch of qualifying combinations sealing there starting spots in the finals that take place on 13 June at Lodge Farm
Entries were down due to clashing with Tweseldown BE but the venue was blessed with quality rather than quantity.
Full list of scheduled qualifiers as below.

Qualifying Venues & Dates 26-2027

GOLDEN CROSS
https://www.goldencrossec.com/events/
Sunday 1 November (incl BE Qualifiers)
Saturday 5 December (incl BE Qualifiers)
Saturday 16 January (incl BE Qualifiers)
Wednesday 17 February (incl BE Qualifiers)
Saturday 13 March (incl BE Qualifiers)

PYECOMBE
https://www.brendonpyecombe.co.uk/events.asp

Saturday 31 October (incl BE Qualifiers)
Saturday 14 November
Sunday 15 November
Saturday 28 November (incl BE Qualifiers)
Sunday 6 December
Sunday 20 December (incl BE Qualifiers)
Saturday 9 January
Saturday 23 January (incl BE Qualifiers)
Saturday 6 February
Saturday 13 February
Sunday 7 March
Saturday 27 March Championship Show (to be confirmed)

BREACH BARN (SMP EVENTS )

https://www.smp-events.co.uk/entries
Sunday 8 November
Saturday 5 December
Saturday 9 January
Saturday 7 February
Saturday 6 March

Further qualifying venues and dates TBC.

Harriet Birkby on CBH Clover Lining winning 100 Q at Golden Cross

SEEL was very privileged to be able to use Lodge Farm for the first for this years Championships, the ground was perfect ,the whole place looked a picture and a credit to Ellie and her team at Lodge Farm.

The new concept and venue worked really well, with both phases on excellent grass footing this year.

The day started with the 70cm Championships, and what a day it was for probably our youngest competitor of the day as 10year old Eloise Skinner aboard Ardlea Auther King bought home the win.

Eloise rode a measured round, showing maturity beyond her years to pip a previous winner Vicky Stephenson to the spoils. Jasmine Illsley took the third spot in a closely fought out section which boasted 25 starters, all of whom had qualified at show centres across the South East over the winter.

The 80cm Championships was also a very closely fought affair with the top 4 competitors from a field of 24 all finishing on zero penalties, the rules dictate that in the case of equality, the placings are determined by the quickest show jumping round. Simon Blake riding his own Kinheartus claimed the winner’s spoils which included £150 in prize money, stable plaque and two complimentary SEEL Ball tickets where the Arena Eventing trophies will be awarded on 14 November. Simon’s Show jumping round was 0.29 quicker than runner up Poppy Polding who rode a lovely round, wasting no time on Knightsbridge Bay. Poppy looks to be following in her mother’s footsteps in becoming an accomplished jockey . Sharon Kennedy and Amen Korner picked up the final podium place again finishing on zero penalties with another lovely round. Simon and Sharon are both members of Battle Riding Club team, which emerged the winning team in the BRC Combined Challenge which ran alongside the SEEL Finals.

Entries were disappointing for the 100cm Championships, this followed the same trend in all the qualifying competitions held throughout the winter.
Amy Tate and Grantstown Class Act deservedly won the class, being the only to finish on zero penalties, there round was timed to perfection and made it look easy. The 100cm track included some new fences which included an AB combination of rails to an arrowhead on six curving strides, and a new Holly hedge midway round the course.

Poppy Polding again just missed out by 4.8 penalties to again claim the runner up spot and missed out on her complimentary ball tickets she was apparently desperate to win.

Fiona Osbourne took the final podium spot on Fridaynight Du Vlist, a combination more often seen on the SJ circuit, again finishing on 4.8 penalties, but moved down the order by virtue of a slower Show Jumping time.

A massive shout out must go out to all the volunteers who gave up there time to make this such a user friendly event, The SEEL committee who stepped in to do various tasks from co ordinating prize giving’s to pole picking , helping work out scores and passport checks .

And finally, a big thank you to Lodge Farm for hosting this years Finals, all being well we will be back in 2027 and our title sponsor The A&O-IT Group.

A&O-IT GROUP SEEL ARENA EVENTING CHAMPIONSHIPS 2026

80CM
1ST ARDLEA AUTHER KING-ELOUISE SKINNER
2ND COLONEL BRANDON-VICKY STEPHNSON
3RD LASPENS CHINA GIRL-JASMINE ILLSLEY

90CM
1ST KINHEARTUS-SIMON BLAKE
2ND KNIGHTSBRIDGE BAY-POPPY POLDING
3RD AMEN CORNER-SHARON KENNEDY

100CM
1ST GRANTSTOWN CLASS ACT-AMY TATE
2ND KNIGHTSBRIDGE BAY-POPPY POLDING
3RD FRIDAY NIGHT DU VLIST-FIONA OSBOURNE

The AO IT Group South East Eventers League 2026

SEEL are very pleased to announce that we have secured a new title sponsor for the 2026 season.
The new title sponsor is the AO IT Group, the league will carry their name for 2026, which also includes title for The Arena Eventing Championships at Lodge Farm on 14 June and the Leading Horse and Rider ranking.

The sponsorship has been arranged through there company chairman; Rod Moore who felt it was a privilege to put something back into the sport that his family so enjoy.

A&O IT Group can rapidly remove all your IT services and cyber security headaches.
With the benefit of over 60 years’ heritage, we provide the best possible solutions, technologies and transformations to give you the freedom to focus on your core business.

A one-stop IT shop, we support businesses of any size, in any industry, locally, regionally and globally with our scalable solutions. Better still, our commitment to customer service makes us the right choice for you, as well as your business.

Please click on the link to visit their website to learn more about how they operate, they will be able to find solutions on security and hacking which is becoming more prevalent in this day and age.
https://www.aoitgroup.com

This new also coincides along with the news that NT Sport Horses have agreed to sponsor the Under 21 rankings for 2026.
Benefit from Nick Turners wealth of international expertise and leadership, from competing at Badminton to Team Manager for the Irish Eventing team at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Focussing on the unique needs of each horse and rider pair, Nick’s holistic, tailored approach balances classical principles with modern techniques, underscoring the importance of ethical horsemanship and mutual respect.

Nick has regular training sessions in the SEEL region and online booking can be found on his website.
https://www.ntsporthorses.com

New venue announced for this year’s finals.

Lodge farm in Matfield, Kent will host this years SEEL Arena Eventing Championship on 14 June 26. The Finals will be run on grass this year, with 9/10 show jumping fences, followed immediately by the Cross Country section which will finish in the water complex. This popular venue in Kent which boasts incredible ground, even in June also hosts the BRC combined challenge and ‘The Lodge Farm Eventers Challenge’ which will run alongside.
To qualify, combinations must finish in the top ten at the numerous qualifying SEEL Arena Eventing at 80/80 or 100 classes.

Lists of qualified combinations can be found on the SEEL site and updated on a regular basis when results are received from the venues.
Fence sponsorship and Title sponsorship is still available for the finals.

A new Whatsapp group has been set up as a new form of communication with SEEL members to keep you informed of goings on in the SEEL region, We will use this group to send reminders about upcoming BE Horse Trials in the South East, training discounts, ballot dates, clinics etc. Please tick the box on registration page to be added If you would like to be in the group.

https://chat.whatsapp.com/IaYWveDBDS8KsgoBsVWTsV

SEEL have teamed up with top International trainer Nick Turner FBHS,to bring SEEL Members reduced prices for his clinics in the SEEL region. £10 discount will be offered to all 2026 members.

You must be registered to be open to discounted rates on offer and must be booked online.

23rd Feb Crockstead SJ

24th Feb Littleton Manor SJ & XC

18th Mar Littleton SJ

19th Mar Tweseldown XC

25th Mar Crockstead SJ

More dates may be added in the future.

https://www.ntsporthorses.com

to book in

We are also planning on having a couple of clinics offering discounted rates with Jesse Campbell at his base in Lingfield. SEEL Members will receive a £10 discount !!…..Watch this space or Whatsapp group.

SEEL is still seeking new sponsors for the 2026 season going forward.

This is an ideal opportunity to gain coverage on a yearly basis rather than a one off. It would suit either a national or a south east based company, whether you be a feed or bedding supplier, equine transport, estate agent, fencing , or clothes supplier.

https://south-east-eventers-league.co.uk/sponsorship-opportunities/

Home to over 400 ewes who have their lambs in April, our busiest time of year. The farm is also home to many horses, from competition horses to those in retirement and some young horses yet to start their ridden careers. Of course, there are also dogs including a couple of collies who we couldn’t do without, especially when moving the sheep around the farm. Plus there is the obligatory farm cat or two plus Colin the cockerel and his hens.
Over 2000 bales of haylage are produced each year for feeding to horses and sheep. Our diversification projects, so important in today’s changing economy, include a Cricket Bat Tree plantation & the development of the old dairy milking parlour into a holiday cottage.
The remoteness and beauty of Knockbridge Farm lends itself perfectly as a wedding or party venue and is also the ideal place for the budding artist, photographer or film producer. The perfect place to explore the great outdoors from, with direct access onto several footpaths, including the 1066 Country Walk, a bridleway and a 30 minute saunter to Pett Level beach. Plenty of lanes to cycle around, including Pub stops and not far to cycle to Rye.
The owners, Nigel and Beccy live on site and all horses are checked at least twice daily by knowledgeable people, who have a lifetime of experience caring for all types of horses. We can also catch and hold your horse for the vet or Farrier, change rugs and feed if required. Haylage is fed to our grass liveries during the winter month when required and lovely large barns, bedded down with straw are available when the weather / ground is bad.
We are near completion of a new stable yard including tack rooms and horse wash bay, we will soon be installing a horse solarium, these stables are being offered for part & full livery; ideal for competition horses and hunters. Knockbridge also specialises in retirement livery.
There is good hacking around the farm (weather permitting) including jumps and the farm is located on a bridleway, the local roads are quiet and offer good hill work.

Home

Well, that was a night to remember for all the good reasons.

We were down on numbers but still had an attendance of 250 guests, including the majority of prize winners, and our most loyal and treasured sponsors.
The High Rocks again produced an amazing venue and food and their staff offered an exemplary service.

Bowman had the Great Hall rocking to their great live music following the awards and raffle.

The great news is that we managed to raise an amazing amount for The ‘Georgie Campbell Foundation’ through the silent auction and raffle which totalled £6879.35 !! A massive thank you to all our donors of raffle prizes and silent auction lots.

The list could go on for ‘Thanks’.. we are grateful to you all, without you SEEL would not of survived for 30 years.

The venue for the Ball and Awards is already booked for 14 November 2026, pencil it in your diary.

Finally, a big well done to all our rankings winners, all really well deserved.

Ball Photos: https://www.julianportch.com/-/galleries/parties-events-proms/the-seel-ball-2025

Registrations will open for the 2026 season in mid January and is free to register, please encourage and remind everyone to get involved for next year. The committee have also agreed to include Hertfordshire and Greater London into the SEEL region.

New venue announced for this year’s finals.

Lodge farm in Matfield, Kent will host this years SEEL Arena Eventing Championship on 14 June 26. The Finals will be run on grass this year, with 9/10 show jumping fences, followed immediately by the Cross Country section which will finish in the water complex. This popular venue in Kent which boasts incredible ground, even in June also hosts the BRC combined challenge and ‘The Lodge Farm Eventers Challenge’ which will run alongside.
To qualify, combinations must finish in the top ten at the numerous qualifying SEEL Arena Eventing at 80/80 or 100 classes.

Lists of qualified combinations can be found on the SEEL site and updated on a regular basis when results are received from the venues.
Fence sponsorship and Title sponsorship is still available for the finals.

SEEL AE QUALIFIERS 25/26
SEEL FINALS AT LODGE FARM…14 JUNE

GOLDEN CROSS
https://www.goldencrossec.com/enter-on-line

Saturday 18th October
Saturday 1st November
Monday 29th December
Saturday 10th January
Friday 20th February
Saturday 7th March

PETLEY
https://www.petleywoodequestrian.co.uk

2 November ((Battle RC Area Q)
16 November (RMPC)
13 December
28 December
4 January
1 February

COOMBELANDS
https://www.coombelandsequestrian.com/events

8 November
6 December
2026 dates TBC

BREACH BARN (SMP EVENTS )
https://www.smp-events.co.uk/event-calendar

4 October
1 November
7 December
17 January
21 February
28 March
4 April

PYECOMBE
https://www.brendonpyecombe.co.uk/events.asp

26 October
15/16 November
7/21 December
4/17 January
7/28 February
15/29 March

Sam secures the’ Double’

Sam Sweeney aboard Warren Marshalls ‘Foody Classic Dawn’ took the honours at a sun-soaked Petley Wood to secure the 100 Arena Eventing title. The same combination won last years BE 100 SEEL rankings. Sam won the class by the narrowest of margins, beating herself on ‘Brittania Royale ‘ by 0.1 of a penalty. Simon Blake and Jolly Quality took the final podium spot.

The 24 fence championship course which asked the right number of questions with 29 jumping efforts rode really well with lots of inside lines which suited the classes which oozed a high standard from start to finish.

The 80 Championship class went the way of Megan Verhagan on the coloured gelding Beechwood Boy who rode a faultless round, making the course look easy with a well judged round just 0.32 inside the optimum time. Podium spots went to runner up Tristan Mante, who earlier in the day won the 70 junior class and the ever consistent Dinah Smith on Culmore JJ who defied the veterans age posting the fastest time of the whole day.

The 90 Championship title went the way of Jessica Moreton and Hey Mickey, who secured there qualifying spot earlier in the year at Petley. The combination again rode a lovely round from an early draw which didn’t look that quick but made use of all the correct lines and made it all look to easy. Amy Tate took the runners up spot just 2 pens behind with prolific Arena Eventing winner this year Fiona Patty taking third place and her place on the podium.

All the Championship winners, alongside their generous prize money win two complimentary tickets to the SEEL Ball and awards on 22 November in Tunbridge Wells where they will pick up their trophies.

A big thank you must go to Jake Tarrant from Eqivation who sponsored this years championships as part of their final year of title sponsorship.

FOOTNOTE:
Unfortunately, the SEEL Committee are seriously looking at the viability of running these Championships in 2026. Entries for the finals have decreased year after year and without a title sponsor in place for 2026 and the committee feel all efforts and finances are better spent on keeping the SEEL running past its 30 year existence.

The committee would like to take this opportunity to welcome you all to the New SEEL website which coincides with our 30th Anniversary. The old site was fifteen years old and although functional was past its sell by date! We hope you all find the new site now user friendly and easier to navigate.
Registrations are now due for the 2025 season and can easily be done on the registration page, please remember results cannot be back dated under any circumstances.
We are continuing with our support in 2025 for ‘The Georgie Campbell Foundation’ by means of donating £1 for every combination registered this year. This years Ball and awards is on the 22 November in Tunbridge Wells will again support the foundation with a raffle and silent auction which raised nearly £8000.00 last year. Any donations of prizes or silent auction lots will be very welcome.
We do have a couple of rankings available for sponsorship this year, please get in touch if you feel you might like to get involved. A big thank you to our returning sponsors loyalty.
Finally, we must thank Equine Affairs and their website development team for the new site which we hope you visit regularly for all SEEL news and updated rankings when the season starts at Tweseldown.

SEEL Committee

BOOK YOUR BALL TICKETS HERE

We would like to thank everyone who made last Saturdays SEEL Ball such a success. We are very fortunate to have so many loyal sponsors who return year after year to support Eventing in the South East.

This year we decided to support the ‘Georgie Campbell Foundation’ as really close to our hearts, and always in our minds.

We can now publicly announce that the raffle and silent auction raised an amazing £7725 for the foundation, this doubles our previous record ! This could not of been achieved without the overwhelming number of raffle prizes offered, we thank everyone who donated. Also a big well done to our ranking winners, well deserved all round.

We were very privileged to award a new trophy this year, ‘The Georgie Campbell Memorial trophy’ which goes to the top U18 SEEL member won this year by Emily Hamilton, who received the award from Georgie’s parents Ian and Debbie.

We do it all again next year, pencil in 22 November in your diary where again we will do it for the foundation. The official photos are now available on the link below, Julian will donate 50% of takings to the foundation, take a look and order your now www.julianportch.com

If you didn’t manage to get your Coco and Jane Loves bracelets on the night or want to crack on with Christmas shopping for a great cause, go to www.cocoandjaneloves.com