Riders prepare for winter dressage championships glory

Among those competing at the Event Insurance Winter Dressage Championship, supported by Horse & Hound, at Solihull Riding Club (11-15 April) are six of the 15 horses selected by British Dressage for its world class equine pathway programme. This programme is designed to identify horses with the potential to win Olympic medals for Britain.

The horses are: Legamento (Blue Chip Feed Balancer Novice Open), Fernandez (Albion Medium Music Freestyle), Showtime (Biotal Equine Gold Medium Open and Speedi-Beet Advanced Medium), Duvie (Teviot Elementary Open), Farberge 50 (NAF Prix St Georges Music Freestyle) and Showmaker (Blue Chip Feed Balancer Novice Open). Will these stars of the future live up to expectations? Only time will tell.

The championships host the Petplan Equine Area Festival Finals, the Spillers Response Combined Training Championships and a number of music freestyle championships, in addition to British Dressage’s popular winter dressage finals.

The gala evening performances include a masterclass with Dressage at Hickstead founder, Dane Rawlins, who will also be performing a pas de deux freestyle with Andrew Gould. Mary Ray will be demonstrating the act of canine heelwork to music and the English Vaulting squad will also be in action. Finally, there will also be top class freestyle to music to look forward to.

Admission to the event is free to spectators, except for Friday and Saturday evening performances, which cost £10 per person per night. Gala tickets can be obtained on the door. For more information (tel: 07791 318721 1pm-8pm Mon-Fri) or visit www.bdchampionships.co.uk

For further informantion about the Event Insurance Winter Dressage Championships, including details about the six world class equine pathway horses, see the current issue of Horse & Hound (5 April, ’07)

Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2026 and beyond with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now