It’s time for the Lemieux National Dressage Championships, with over 700 combinations descending on Somerford Park in Cheshire from 15-18 September, for four days of dressage action.
The National Dressage Championships are always the highlight of the British dressage calendar, and we’ve rounded up six reasons why you should be particularly excited about this year’s event…
1. Olympians and former national champions are among the grand prix contenders
The pinnacle of the National Dressage Championships is the crowning of the British national champion, awarded to the best performing combination across the grand prix and grand prix freestyle classes. This year’s grand prix line-up is stuffed full of exciting partnerships, and will be a hard one to call.
There’s Olympic gold medallist Laura Tomlinson on her developing grand prix horse Fallatijn, and world silver medallist Gareth Hughes riding his Tokyo Olympic alternate and 2021 European medallist Sintano Van Olympia, both of whom could finish at the top of the leaderboard. Look out, too, for 2017 national champions Hayley Watson-Greaves and the now 18-year-old Rubins Nite, making their 10th appearance at the nationals.
2. You’ll have a chance to see our new British world champion, amongst other 2022 medallists
A highlight of these year’s championships will be each of the parades with the brilliant British medallists from the Herning World Championships. On Saturday, 17 September, expect to see Sophie Wells, Natasha Baker, Georgia Wilson and Sir Lee Pearson, who between them brought home three silver and four bronze medals from the World Para Dressage Championships.
On Sunday, 18 September, the silver medal-winning British senior team will parade, with Charlotte Dujardin, Gareth Hughes and Richard Davison joined by Lottie Fry, who also won two individual gold medals in Herning aboard Glamourdale.
You’ll have a chance to rub shoulders with the stars as well, in the British Dressage Fan Zone.
3. Get a glimpse of future stars at the National Dressage Championships
Every year, dressage fans make a beeline to watch the national finals for young horses, and the KBIS four-, five- and six-year-old championships, and British Dressage seven-year-old finals look to be no exception.
Ones to watch across the age groups include the British-bred 2021 six-year-old champion Swanmore Dantina, who recently returned from the Dressage World Breeding Championships in the Netherlands with her owner and rider Sadie Smith, where they finished a fabulous fifth against the best in the world. They’ll be looking to claim back-to-back national titles with a win in the seven-year-olds at Somerford.
Charlotte Dujardin will contest the four-year-old class with the young stallion Vida Loca, but she will face stiff competition from the likes of Dannie Morgan on Fever Tree, who scored 8.94 in the semi-final in July. Magic Dream, ridden by Becky Moody, will be one to watch in the five-year-old final, while Sarah Rogers and Full Moon II will be looking to add this year’s six-year-old title to the novice win they enjoyed at the 2021 nationals.
4. Charlotte Dujardin is bringing a full string of exciting horses
Vida Loca is far from Charlotte Dujardin’s only ride at the National Dressage Championships. Despite being midway through her pregnancy, Charlotte will arrive at Somerford Park with no fewer than seven horses, entered in eight classes.
Among them is Hawtins San Floriana, with whom she will contest the Andrews Bowen advanced medium gold and the Fairfax Saddles prix st georges (PSG). Her second PSG ride is Alive And Kicking, who will also contest the under-21 championship with Charlotte McDowell, in the young rider section. She completes here three-strong bid for the a back-to-back PSG title with Sarah Pidgley’s Hilus MHB.
5. This year’s National Dressage Championships masterclasses promise to be fantastic
There will be masterclasses to enjoy on all four days of the championships, with multi-medalled Paralympians Sophie Wells and Sir Lee Pearson taking to the arena on the Thursday and Friday to share their fascinating insights into the production of top level para dressage horses and riders.
On Saturday and Sunday, the masterclass mantle will be taken over by 2021 national champion Emile Faurie and his head rider, Tom Goode, as they share what it takes to train a horse to the very top of the sport.
6. There’s more para dressage action – including Tokyo and Herning partnerships in action
The National Dressage Championships kick off with the Equissage Pulse para dressage finals on Thursday, 15 September, across all five grades. Among the contenders are Tokyo Paralympic gold medallists Sophie Wells (grade V) and Georgia Wilson (grade II), with Sophie bringing forward her team horse, Don Cara M, and Georgia her second horse, Midnight.
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