Sam Lissington and Ricker Ridge Sooty GNZ. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
It’s been a big spring for British-based Kiwi rider Samantha Lissington, who rode the wave of a triple podium sweep at Royal Jump’s CCI4*-L in Chaumont-en-Vexin, France to an additional podium finish in the CCI5* at Longines Luhmühlen in Germany.
“When you’re on form, you can either maintain or go downhill, so there’s a bit of pressure to keep it up!” Sam admitted at Luhmühlen. And it’s true: big results come few and far between in our sport. With that in mind, however, it’s key to enjoy the waves of success when they come, using them as fuel to build toward more of the same in the future.
For Sam, the results of the past few weeks are proof in the pudding of exactly what can happen when horsepower, hustle, and business smarts come together at the right moment.
Those “big results” began (this year, at least) at Bicton where Sam was on the podium in the CCI4*S with Lord Seekonig. A week later, she headed to Royal Jump, where Sam took home first place in the CCI4*-L with the High Flyers Syndicate’s Quantas R, second aboard Billy Alberto for Alison Spence, and third on Delarado for Kate Maitland, Rachel Bessell, Sam and her husband, Brayden. She was also second in the CCI4*-S that weekend with Ricker Ridge Sooty GNZ in what would be his final prep for Luhmühlen; the 14-year-old Holsteiner/Thoroughbred gelding would go on to finish second in Germany.
A Journey to the World Stage
Sam and Quantas R en route to the 4*-L victory at Royal Jump. Photo by Libby Law Photography.
For Sam, this string of success is part of a bigger picture—one she’s been patiently building alongside her husband, Brayden, ever since she made the leap from New Zealand to the UK in 2019. Like many Kiwi riders before her—Mark Todd, Andrew Nicholson, Blyth Tait, Jock Paget, Tim and Jonelle Price, to name just a few—she knew the only way to develop consistently at the top of the sport was to compete against the best, in the heart of where it all happens.
“I always viewed New Zealand as the place to build a foundation and sharpen your skills,” she said. “But if you want to play on the world stage, you have to be based abroad.”
Sam knew she had an eye for both selecting and producing horses; the first horse she took 5* in New Zealand was a horse called Ricker Ridge Pico Boo, a horse she and her father picked out as a three-year-old when she was a teenager. She went on to take that horse to the Adelaide 5* before setting her sights on expanding her operations.
“I got lucky with the one horse who really put me on the map, and for some reason I think that developed my feel and my eye, and picking horses has always come super naturally to me,” Sam explained. “I’ve always invested time – more importantly than money – into finding horsepower, and I’ve always had the philosophy that the right horse doesn’t always come at the right time, sometimes you have to go out on a limb or take a risk, and other times you just have to be patient. I think that has paid off in the long run.”
“You could argue that I’m just good at producing, but the horses I choose do seem to go on,” she continued. “I’d gotten to the point where I had four four-star horses in New Zealand before we left.”
The eventual move to the UK came with no guarantees. She arrived with four horses, no local owner base, and a whole lot of uncertainty.
And then COVID hit.
“We struggled for two years during the pandemic because we couldn’t build any new relationships. No one could visit the yard, there were no events, no way to meet people,” she recalled. “But it also gave us the space to refine our system. We would not have survived without the support of our two New Zealand based owners, Pip McCarroll and Sharon Honiss – they were a lifeline for us and they didn’t even get to see their horses in the flesh until years later!”
Horses, Owners, and Honest Conversations
Sam Lissington and Ricker Ridge Sooty. Photo by Shannon Brinkman.
The foundation of that system is built not just on picking the right horses—but on connecting with the right people.
Samantha and her husband Brayden (who co-hosts the popular Eventing Weekly podcast) didn’t arrive in the UK with deep pockets. What they had was drive, transparency, and a willingness to let their work—and their horses—speak for themselves.
Their first UK ownership relationship began at a pub, when Brayden struck up a conversation while walking their dog. That stranger-soon-to-be-friend, Jules Humphreys and her husband, Martin, lived just down the hill from their yard, came up for a visit, and brought along their friends (Annabelle and Robin Greville-Williams). The group would eventually buy into Quantas R, and from there, the circle kept growing.
The list of Team Lissington supporters is burgeoning and growing and “these relationships have been instrumental in helping us be successful.”
“Our owners are really our friends,” she continued. “Friendships can begin anywhere: a dog walk, standing in a coffee line at an event, a loose connection through a mutual friend. But all friendships are based on honesty and a genuine connection. There is a lot of opportunity here in the UK, but it is important that you bring the right people for the right reasons into your circle.”
What follows is a structure rooted in that aforementioned honesty. “We never overpromise, and we’re always super clear about long-term goals and our expectations of the horses.. People want to feel like they’re part of something, and when you’re transparent and consistent, they stick with you through the ups and downs.”
Many of her owners are horse people themselves—some with top-level experience, others who just love the game. “I’d like to think they believe in us as people, not just in the horse of the moment,” Sam said. “That makes a difference when you’re building something sustainable.”
Building a String from the Ground Up
Samantha Lissington and Lord Seekonig. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
This year’s results (and we’re only halfway through the year!) are a payoff from years of thoughtful planning and selective building on Sam’s part – and these horses are just a few of the current and coming 4* horses in her yard.
Quantas R, further to Sam’s philosophy that too much too fast doesn’t do anyone any good, didn’t even run a 4*-L last year—by choice.
“He had a huge seven-year-old year, and we knew he was special. We didn’t want to run the legs off him. We took a step back and focused on control, maturity, and the big picture,” she said.
Billy Alberto was a different sort of project. Produced by Sophie Fouracre and handed down to a Junior rider, he came with a tricky flatwork foundation and a whole lot of personality. “He’d rather gallop around with his nose in the air like a giraffe,” Sam laughed. “But he’s fast, runs in a snaffle, and is surprisingly rideable. He’s the ultimate yes-man – unless you’re asking him to do dressage!”
Sam and Delarado at Royal Jump. Photo by Libby Law Photography.
Delarado, originally meant to be sold as a potential Young Rider horse, was another who turned out to be too special to part with. “She’s never had a rail down with me in eventing, and she came home from her first 4*-L feeling like a proper one,” she said. “We decided to buy into her ourselves at the end of last year in order to keep the ride, and I’m so glad we did.”
Ricker Ridge Sooty GNZ (who was second in the 4*-S at Royal Jump) is the longest standing member of Team Lissington and was purchased with co-owner Pip McCarroll as a five-year-old nearly a decade ago, making the eventual move to the UK with Sam and her team. Now 14, he has taken them all over the world and, as Sam puts it, “We fit each other like a glove.” Last weekend at Luhmühlen, he brought Sam her best 5* result to date.
“I always knew he was going to be a good one,” Sam said of “Sooty” after her show jumping round at Luhmühlen. “I’m so glad I’ve been able to show the world what a horse he is.”
Lord Seekonig, who was second at Bicton in the CCI4*S in May, was the first horse Sam didn’t produce from scratch. She and Sharon Honiss had sold a young horse and bought the took a “shortcut”, buying him as a nine-year-old campaigning at 3* level by Ireland’s Alex Power in 2022. Two years later, he’d finish just outside the top 10 at Luhmühlen’s 5*. Annabelle and Robin Greville-Williams and Neil Robertson joined the journey as supporters of this horse, and Sam believes they are only just starting to tap into his real potential. She’s planning to aim him at CHIO Aachen in July with an eye to the upcoming FEI World Championships, also to be held at Aachen in 2026.
Sam also has two 3* horses in the wings (Malibu TS and Lucas Stone) who will aim for Blenheim at the end of the year.
The Philosophy: Safety, Type, and the Long Game
Sam and Billy Alberto at Royal Jump. Photo by Libby Law Photography.
Now part of the EquiRatings Horse Sales team, Sam’s eye for talent is helping other riders and owners find the right horses, too. With access to performance data from over 8,000 FEI horses, she filters potential matches, not by name recognition or flashy breeding, but by metrics and then, most importantly, instincts.
“What I look for first is a horse that’s careful—with a good front end,” she explained. “That’s non-negotiable. Safety over cross country and reliability in the show jumping ring are absolutely key.”
From there, it’s about potential and rideability. “You start by asking: what can we improve? How much will that improvement impact the final score? Is this horse more suited to Burghley, or the Olympics, or something like Aachen? Those are very different jobs now.”
Blood percentage used to be the first filter—but not anymore. “We used to shop 50% [blood] or more, but now we shop on type. Easter Star [a mare with about 35% blood on paper who is currently campaigned at the Advanced level in the U.S. by Britain’s Lucienne Bellissimo] proved that to me. Some of our best gallopers with the most stamina don’t have much blood on paper.”
Importantly, Sam builds with flexibility – and commercial viability – in mind. “Not every horse has to be a 5* horse. But they all need to have a job. If it turns out they’re better suited to a talented amateur or Young Rider, then we reinvest and go again. Our owners know that—some horses become ‘keepers’, and some we end up producing to sell. But every horse has a future, and every one of them teaches us something.”
Additionally, this enables Sam to sell horses on that will make her owners a tidy profit; as she puts it, “our owners have generally done really well because they either get a four- or a five-star horse, or they make some money. The goal is to keep delivering that within our community.”
Sam Lissington and Ricker Ridge Sooty GNZ. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
At the end of the day, any professional rider also needs to create a business model that allows them to fund their operation. Sam clued me in to the model she’s crafted the business around: “We’ve created a model that is more sustainable than we used to have,” she explained. “Whenever we buy a young horse we try to keep at least 25% ownership, so if that horse gets sold we get some money back in the bank to fund the running costs of others. But if that horse transitions to a ‘keeper’, usually at the point where it proves it has what it takes to be competitive at four-star level, we sell the final 12.5% share to an owner who might like to get involved at the top end with a proven horse. This allows us to keep putting our money where our mouth is in that we are always financially invested in the horses’ journeys, but it also keeps the business sustainable long term.”
Delarado and Quantas are now both at that stage, with 12.5% shares now on offer for interested parties.
As she looks ahead to her upcoming goals for her burgeoning string of horses, which include a trip to the Blenheim 8/9-Year-Olds in September for Quantas R, Lucas Stone and Malibu TS, a start at Burghley for Billy Alberto, a trip to CHIO Aachen with Lord Seekonig, and Boekelo, Strezgom and Pau also on the list. She’s a busy girl, but the proof is in the results – both on paper, and intrinsically felt in training – that a dedication to correct production, enlisting trusted support, and her riding and production of horses speaks for itself.
With all eyes on WEG in 2026, Sam looks back at her journey to this point with pride.
“It’s not just about this result,” she said at Luhmühlen. “It’s about the last 15 years of work that have gone into it. So, it feels like we’re riding a wave, and I’m hoping we can keep riding it—keep learning and building on it.
“We’ve built a team I’m proud of,” Sam concluded in our interview. “And now we’re trying to create a program where every horse, every owner, and every moment adds up to something bigger.”
