Charlotte Dujardin and Brave Heart II put the cat among the pigeons in the pre-World Championships selection race, winning both the CDI3* grand prix and grand prix special at Hartpury, on 74.8% and 74.7% respectively – smashing their international personal bests in both tests.
The fourth British team spot for the worlds at Aachen has been the season’s big sub-plot. Selectors weigh grand prix scores most heavily, as this decides the team medals in Aachen – the special and freestyle, which determine individual medals, count too, but less.
Fiona Bigwood and Donna Bella had emerged as favourites on the back of the strongest form of the chasing pack, edging out Charlotte and Brave Heart in both of their head-to-heads this season: 73.13% to 72.8% at Hickstead CDI3* in May, then 74.6% to 71.87% at Wellington CDI3* in June, where Charlotte finished third behind winners Carl and Fame.
Charlotte’s international average had rested on just those two grands prix this season – the smallest sample size of any on the British dressage squad shortlist for Aachen 2026. And as the team is due to be confirmed this month, Hartpury was billed as the last chance for either combination to move the needle before selectors make their call.
Why Hartpury was a key moment in the Aachen worlds selection race
Fiona and Donna Bella were not competing at Hartpury – and although they have beaten Charlotte and Brave Heart on both occasions the pair have faced each other this season, Charlotte’s bumper score has lifted her grand prix average from 72.34% to 73.16%, above Fiona’s 72.9%. Charlotte’s Hartpury score is now also the highest posted by either combination all season, just eclipsing Fiona’s previous best of 74.61%.
Fiona still boasts the bigger sample size having competed at four internationals this season, including in the championship-like atmosphere of the Fontainebleau Nations Cup, where she rode alongside Carl and Lottie on the British team.
Horse & Hound Newsletter
Never miss out on the latest happenings in the equestrian world
But the raw numbers have swung in Charlotte’s favour – a reversal I wouldn’t have predicted after Wellington, when I’d have put money on Fiona and Donna Bella completing the team alongside Fame, Glamourdale and Jagerbomb. Charlotte and Brave Heart had one shot left – and what a time to pull out a personal best.
“I’m so pleased with Brave Heart,” Charlotte said. “His confidence is really growing in the arena, and I know there is so much more to come.”
Her grand prix score did come with a notable spread across the panel, although she was the unanimous winner. Judge at B, Susan Hoevenaars, marked her at 71.85%, more than five points shy of Eduard de Wolff van Westerrode at M’s 77.17% – which selectors will no doubt weigh up. Despite that, her overall marks were remarkably consistent between the two tests, the special just 0.1% off the grand prix.
With averages, sample sizes, head-to-heads and now a scoring spread all in the mix, selectors Judy Harvey, Jenny Ward and Anne Keen have a genuinely tight call to make. I don’t envy them.
Sadie Smith and Swanmore Dantina – also among the nominated entries for Aachen – finished runners-up in the grand prix on their own personal best of 72.65%.
American rider Ashley Holzer completed the podium on 71.96% aboard Hawtins San Floriana, one of several of Charlotte’s former rides now competing at the highest level. Gareth Hughes and Mowgli-Olympia MC, the only other nominated combination in action, finished fourth on 70.98%. Sadie and Dantina went on to win Saturday evening’s freestyle gala, scoring 76.94%.
Susan Pape and Harmony’s Giulilanta were also in action this weekend, competing in Germany at Hagen CDI4*. Going into the competition, their grand prix average of 72.13% was just 0.2% behind Charlotte’s, leaving them an outside chance too. Among a stacked field, they scored 70.17% in the grand prix, finishing ninth, but bumping their grand prix average down to 71.64%.
International grand prix average scores for top British riders
Here’s how the season’s international grand prix averages now stand across the eight nominated combinations:
Lottie Fry and Glamourdale – 79.62%
Carl Hester and Fame – 76.75%
Becky Moody and Jagerbomb – 76.43%
Charlotte Dujardin and Brave Heart – 73.16%
Fiona Bigwood and Donna Bella – 72.90%
Sadie Smith and Swanmore Dantina – 71.74%
Susan Pape and Harmony’s Giulilanta – 71.64%
Gareth Hughes and Mowgli-Olympia MC – 70.42%
The top three didn’t compete this weekend, and their places remain untouched. But for the fourth spot, the picture could hardly be tighter: just 0.26 of a percentage point now separates Charlotte and Fiona – though, as ever, averages alone won’t be what decides it.
A couple of weeks ago, this looked like Fiona’s spot to lose. Now, with the door firmly back open, it’s genuinely anyone’s guess which name the selectors will read out – and as the British entries are not expected to compete again before the announcement, this is the picture they’ll have to work with.
Oscar joined Horse & Hound in October 2023 and is the magazine’s dressage editor and sports manager, overseeing coverage of equestrian sport. After studying equine science at Myerscough College, he spent four years working for leading dressage rider Emile Faurie, competing at the 2015 National Dressage Championships and travelling with the yard to CDIs including Aachen and Saumur. He holds a master’s degree in Literature from York St John University (2021).
