Death of a Showjumper
Sky’s graphic for the three part series, Death of a Showjumper, featuring Katie Simpson
Hot on the heels of reviewing the audiobook Groomed, by Nicola Tallant, Sky offered me up a three part TV documentary, Death of a Showjumper, also covering the death of Katie Simpson, a promising jockey from County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, at the hands of the charismatic, baby faced jockey Jonathan Creswell.
Unable to resist, the series put a few things into perspective and we heard extra stories from the point of view of some of the women under Creswell’s spell. Seeing them, hearing them, helps with understanding why they did nothing to raise the alarm about Creswell, although I think being asked to clear up blood before a police investigation might have drawn a line for me personally. That said, CAAGe only exists because groomers are so utterly credible and persuasive.
In the film, there are people who have probably declined to participate. Missing voices include Katie’s sister, Christina, Creswell’s wife; and Katie’s new boyfriend, Shane McCloskey. This awful unravelling of events cannot have been easy for either of them. Christina’s story must be heartwrenching. Her sister is dead, and her long term partner, the father of her two children, is now also dead, having murdered her sister.
Groomers’ harms rarely affect just one person.
If the book painted a fabulous visual picture of the countryside where events unfurled, in the documentary the remoteness and ties to the equestrian world help explain a lot of the back story - and the close knit nature of the community. The area is every bit as beautiful as the book suggests.
Descriptions of Creswell’s ability as a horseman differ in the two versions. In the book, he seems cruel with the horses, with an ability to remain in the saddle but none of the brilliance of either Katie or Abi. In the documentary, he’s described by people as brilliant, talented. My own studies of psychopaths lead me to suspect the book is more accurate. But belief of his brilliance would, of course help a grieving community to come to terms with their hero worship of/complicity with a man who turned out to be a murderer. They had held a ‘Welcome Back’ party when Cresswell returned from prison following his attack on Abi Lyle.
It was great to see and hear Abi in the documentary - the book opens with her story. Abi finds her voice in the documentary. She is delightfully un-bitter, although she’d have every cause to be. But, obviously, she’s relieved that he can do no further harm. And she has, gratifyingly, gone on to acheive show jumping success, despite the fact that the horsey community around Creswell had shunned her. Creswell served just six months for his vile and violent abuse of Abi.
It was Abi who indirectly found the smallest bit of justice for Katie. It was a journalist who covered her case who fought for further investigation. She recognised patterns and sensed that the initial verdict regarding Katie’s death - suicide - was highly suspect.
The hard work of journalist Tanya Fowles deserves a mention. Her tenacity shines through, and she was able to use connections to push for a fuller investigation. Not everyone has her bravery, tenacity, experience or contacts, and I am left wondering wether Abi’s name would remain tainted for having accused Creswell of violence and assault, and wether those around Creswell would have remained silent until he did it again. Jill Robinson, Rose De Montmorency-Wright (who lived with Christina, Katie and Creswell), and Hayley Robb were each given suspended sentences, effectively for covering up. Jill’s testimony in the documentary stands out - she describes being under Creswell’s spell. It’s very hard to reconcile with the women washing bloody clothes while Katie was dying in a hospital bed.
Creswell escaped justice by killing himself (suicide) after the first day of his trial for the murder of Katie Simpson.
He had sexually groomed Abi Lyle and the Simpson sisters along with Jill Robinson, Rose De Montmorency-Wright and Hayley Robb and countless others into his warped web, creating a situation where no-one could speak up - with devastating effects.
Compelling story, compelling viewing if you like real life documentaries.
Post Scripts
There are, incidentally, a couple of post scripts to both the book and the documentary.
The ombudsman looked into the policing around the case. Six officers faced disciplinary action, but most weren’t pursued due to either retirement or a lack of evidence. Policing needs some major reforms. An independent review of the case was announced in January 2025.
Christina Simpson, Katie and Jonathan Creswell (who had abusiness together) had purchased a piece of land before Katie’s death. Christina was taking legal action over ownership, and Creswell’s mother, Donna Creswell, made a claim against Christina, which was later dropped.
And now retired, James Brannigan, the police officer who investigated on Tanya’s say so, but initially on his own time, has set up a charity, the Katie Trust, to help families where someone’s death has been described as suicide. There will be more Creswells. More clever groomers who charm their victims and the people around them. But it’s good to think that the net might be tightening, in one area at least.
Credits
Death of a Showjumper was released on Sky Documentaries on 7 September 2025 and is apparently available to stream on service NOW. It is a Walk On Air and Sky Studios production in association with Northern Ireland Screen. Executive Producers are Rachel Hooper and Jonathan Smith for Walk On Air, Vesna Cudic for Sky Studios and Bruce Fletcher for Sky. Seriesdirected by Niamh Kennedy. Producer Natalie Maynes.
