Equestrian at Eastbourne College
Our vision for the equestrian teams at Eastbourne College and St Andrew’s Prep is simple: for our riders to train, compete, and enjoy the sport together in a supportive and inspiring environment.
We are fortunate to work with Sam Champnney-Warrener, an exceptionally experienced instructor based at her private yard just 20 minutes from the College. Sam offers expert tuition and guidance to our pupils, drawing on her extensive qualifications as a BHS Stage 5 Performance Coach in Complete Horsemanship (formerly BHSI), a British Eventing Accredited Coach, and a UKCC Level 3 Coach.
Sam has successfully produced and competed horses up to Advanced level in Eventing, and has also achieved success in pure Dressage and Show Jumping. Her yard operates as a livery yard, providing boarding options for pupils who wish to keep their own pony or horse—whether they are day pupils or boarders.
Our equestrian teams compete at various levels within the National Schools Equestrian Association (NSEA), regularly travelling to local competitions at Golden Cross, Felbridge, and Hickstead.
Recent highlights include a fantastic 3rd place finish at the Grassroots National Finals at Hickstead in Summer 2025, with notable individual success, including 6th place in the 60cm finals. We also celebrated outstanding individual achievements at the Sunshine Tour Championships, highlighted by a win in the Supreme Junior Championship. In addition, we are proud to be the 2025 East Sussex 70cm Individual and Team County Champions (NSEA).
Looking ahead we are aiming to qualify for NSEA National finals in October 2026, and we continue to support our riders in training, competition and enjoying the sport together.
Training usually takes place in the afternoons during term time in our games slots (Tuesday or Thursday afternoon). For Years 9 and 10, this can be a little complex as timetabling is different for Years 11-13. Pupils are taken over to Sam’s yard and parents/carers bring the horses/ponies to meet them for an hour-long lesson. This means day pupils can return home at the end of their training.
We also look to put on weekend training sessions to top up the training hours. Pupils are expected to attend training regularly to be eligible to ride for the College. The usual time slot for Year 9/10 would be a 4.00pm lesson start, while Years 11–13 can leave earlier and arrive for a 3.00pm lesson start.
There are also options for those without their own pony to attend lessons at Polegate Equestrian Centre.
Recent successES
- 2025 East Sussex 70cm individual and team county champions (NSEA)
- 2025 3rd placed 70cm team at the national grassroots NSEA finals at Hickstead
- 2025 Individual 6th in the Grassroots national NSEA 60cm final at Hickstead and 7th in the teams
- 2025 pupil representing at National level for the pony club. Coming 6th place in the 1m eventing section at the JCB National Championships. Representative for the U18 youth eventing championships at Bishop Burton
- 2025 National finals qualifications in 80cm and 90cm Show jumping
- 2024 National Champion at the Sunshine tour showing championships in Pony Club pony
- 2024 A number of top placings at BS for schools and local competitions
