Five-star winners re-route from World Championships to lead Blenheim Horse Trials dressage
Reigning Adelaide CCI5* champions Oliver Barrett and Sandhills Briar head the provisional Blenheim Horse Trials dressage standings in the CCI4*-L
Adelaide winners Oliver Barrett and Sandhills Briar lead the Agria Blenheim Horse Trials dressage standings at Thursday’s CCI4*-L lunchbreak, after rerouting from the eventing World Championships in Aachen.
Oliver, 22, and the 10-year-old, who is owned and bred by Oliver’s family, scored a huge new international personal best of 25.6 and soared to the top of the leaderboard shortly before lunch on the opening day of dressage at Blenheim.
The duo glided through the early trot work and scored a nine for their mid-test halt, continuing to earn lofty marks from the ground jury for their quality canter work.
“I thought during the middle of the test that it was going pretty well,” said Oliver. “We got the trot work out of the way and his walk felt really good. Usually the walk is a good testament as to how the rest of the test might go, and he walked super. Then I was able to really ride him in the canter.”
He added: “One of the biggest things is that he has a fair bit of presence about him. He is a beautiful horse in general. He can be a little bit high octane on the ground – he wants to know what’s going on everywhere around him, but as soon as I get in the saddle, he is always there with me. I think that’s probably his greatest trait: when I ride him, he’s always tuned into me.”
Oliver and his team made a quick decision to re-route to Blenheim Horse Trials after he and “Briar” parted company on the cross-country at Aachen. The pair had a solid prep run in the CCI3*-S at Cornbury last week, their eventing debut on British soil, before coming for their first tilt at Blenheim.
“Our first event [in the northern hemisphere] was Aachen and that didn’t quite go to plan, and we had to decide quickly whether or not to stay over and do something else. On the Sunday of the showjumping at Aachen, we had to put all of this into place,” he said.
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“I’m really fortunate to have been at Sammi Birch’s for the last couple of weeks. It’s been amazing. She’s a great friend and I’m really grateful that she’s welcomed Briar and me. It’s been a little bit wet, everyone’s been telling me how dry it’s been, but nothing to frighten me away just yet!”
Gemma Stevens and Chilli’s Jester, a full-brother to her Burghley-winning ride Chilli Knight (“Alfie”), hold second on a score of 29.6 in the Blenheim Horse Trials CCI4*-L dressage results at this stage.
The 10-year-old, owned by Chris and Clare Mathias and Christopher and Lisa Stone, finished on the podium at Scone CCI4*-S last month, and cut an elegant picture in Blenheim’s Palace Arena this morning.
“I’m absolutely thrilled with him, he’s still really green. He might be 10, but he has been a slow developer and has had to have some time off in his life, so I’m thrilled with the way he went in there and that he produced the best work for where he is at the moment,” said Gemma, adding that her highlights were his relaxation and that his lateral work felt “more stable and much more connected”.
“That’s the first time he’s scored in the 20s at a four-star.”
Chilli’s Jester is a talented, beautiful horse in his own right. Given his famous brother’s recent glory at Defender Burghley Horse Trials, there will of course be interest in whether there are similarities between the two.
“There are for sure similar traits,” said Gemma. “Their work ethic is amazing, and his gallop is amazing too. He actually moves much better than Alfie, he’s much straighter and he has more scope on the flat for the dressage. But whereas Alfie never lacks confidence, Chilli’s Jester would lack a bit of confidence. So it’s funny how he has the attributes to be better, but he has to believe it first.
“It’s all about confidence with him. He’s quite a tall horse and it’s taken a bit of time to get him to believe that he can hold his neck up and be in that frame without losing his balance.”
Gemma credited her “amazing team” for keeping Chilli’s Jester, and all her horses, going at home while she’s been away at events this season.
“I couldn’t do any of this without them,” she said, naming Georgie Driver, April Kitchener, Hannah Lavender, Leah Clarke, and her two apprentices Molly and Georgia.
“They are all amazing, we work really well as a team and communicate. That’s what makes it possible.”
New Zealand’s Ginny Thomasen is in provisional third with her own, Phillippa Levy and Ross Milne’s Katchafire.
Blenheim Horse Trials dressage: early bird catches the worm
Tom McEwen is one of the busiest riders at Blenheim this week, so was always going to be pathfinder in at least one class on at least one horse.
He was first to go in the GFS Saddles CCI4*-S for eight- and nine-year-old horses with Brookfield Danny De Muze, owned by Alison Swinburn and John and Chloe Perry.
The 2025 seven-year-old world champion set a so far unassailable lead of 27.2. Sweden’s Therese Viklund and Sella are their closest rivals at this stage (29.1), while Australia’s Isabel English completes the international top three on home-bred Cil Dara Bombay S (30.2).
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Lucy is an experienced news journalist, reporter and presenter. Since joining the Horse & Hound team in 2015, Lucy has reported from major global sporting events including the Tokyo Paralympic Games and multiple European Championships, as well as Badminton, Burghley and London, to name a few. She has covered current affairs and sports news across the full spectrum of equestrian disciplines and racing, as well as human and equine welfare, industry news and court cases.