An Olympic and World Championship medallist, Spencer Wilton is one of Britain’s leading dressage riders and technical advisor to the British para dressage team

I can say with complete honesty that 2025 is the year I’ve had my eyes opened to the world of para dressage.

I’d previously done training and a few shows with clients Susanna Wade and Melissa Cannon, but I was by no means an expert. So when Georgina Sharples, para dressage performance manager for the World Class Programme (WCP), approached me for a technical advisor role, I was surprised but excited.

Although it has been a steep learning curve, everyone has been incredibly welcoming. And I’ve spent time observing how every rider approaches training and competition.

Each is unique, but getting to know their disabilities, their strengths and how best to support them has been my biggest takeaway. They’re hugely talented and inspirational people.

When I was riding on British teams, the para squad consistently brought home medals and their success helped secure UK Sport and National Lottery funding for other equestrian disciplines. Those medals kept Britain in the game and helped us thrive. Now we have four funded sports regularly on the podium.

The team behind the team often goes unrecognised, but they’re vital. Between the home teams and the WCP, it takes a village.

Impressive medal stats

Angela Weiss and Nina Venables, the para dressage performance coaches, have been involved for 20 years. I asked British Equestrian for stats. In that time, para squads have won 157 medals, compared to 89 across the other three disciplines – although para dressage does have more medals on offer. The two of them are unsung heroes, who’ve given me invaluable support.

Over the past eight years, the professionalism and standards in para dressage have skyrocketed. With more nations now competitive, the margins are razor-thin. It’s great for the sport, but means securing medals is getting tougher every championship.

As an example, in a grade I walk test, earning seven or 7.5 hinges on minute details and losing half a mark here or there can mean the difference between a medal or sixth. The pressure is immense.

Having a strong back-up team makes a massive impact. One difference between para and able-bodied dressage is that in able-bodied dressage, most athletes have a professional set-up with their own staff.

In para dressage, it’s families putting all their time and resources into supporting a rider to achieve a goal, often with hopes resting on one horse. And access to WCP support becomes a game changer.

As 2025 was a non-qualification year, it was a chance to introduce new combinations at the recent European Championships in Ermelo. The selectors brought in Jemima Green and Nicola Naylor for their debuts, and with just three team appearances between them, Mari Durward-Akhurst and Gabby Blake.

Their faith paid off, with superb performances all round, and to finish just 0.7 off the team podium is remarkable with a fresh team.

Being on the British para team comes with medal expectations, but I remember being a newbie. The WCP message is always self-belief; you’ve been selected, you’re here because we believe in you. That’s what allows you to perform at your best.

Seamless support

When it’s time to perform, everyone steps up, but between those moments, it’s got to be enjoyable too, and if it is, that only helps athletes to deliver their best.

What people don’t see is how seamlessly the support team works. Everyone knows their role, but they all muck in. For para riders, even basic routines can be disrupted at shows, adding pressure. That’s why the team’s work is so vital – and they do it brilliantly.

Georgina Sharples never stops. She orchestrates everything: timings, preparations, coordination. I don’t know when she sleeps! Sophie Thomas and Vicky Cook from the WCP operations team handled all the logistics and did it with a smile. They’re incredible.

I’m 100% on board. After 30 years in dressage, I’ve gained a deep appreciation and understanding for para in a short time – and I’m hooked.

● How can Britain stay ahead as para dressage grows more competitive worldwide? To let us know your thoughts, write to us at hhletters@futurenet.com, including your name, nearest town and county, for the chance for your letter to appear in a forthcoming issue of the magazine

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Olympic rider Spencer Wilton has paid tribute to Super Nova II, his “horse of a lifetime”, who took him to places “I never thought I would ever get to”.

The British Hanoverian gelding bred by Mrs Kirby and owned by Jen Goodman has been put down aged 22 following a happy retirement.

In 2016 Spencer and “Neville” made their championship debut and were part of the team that won silver at the Rio Olympics, alongside Carl Hester (Nip Tuck), Charlotte Dujardin (Valegro) and Fiona Bigwood (Atterupgaards Orthilla).

Spencer described the Rio Olympics as “the time of my life”.

“To be part of that team with Fiona, Carl and Charlotte was the most amazing experience. We had such good fun,” he told H&H. “It’s an experience I’ll be eternally grateful for.”

Two years later, Spencer and Neville were on the team that won bronze at the World Equestrian Games in Tryon, USA. The pair were also reserves for the 2015 European Championships, and in 2017 finished sixth individually at the Europeans in Gothenburg, where the team was fourth.

“Neville was my horse of a lifetime, he took me to places I never thought I would ever get to. At the time when you’re on the treadmill of getting selected and going through it it’s difficult to appreciate, but looking back I think I’ll never get another one like him,” said Spencer.

Carl produced Super Nova II, having bought him from Melanie Slater, and Carl’s then pupil Katie Bailey competed him in 2009. Spencer first saw Neville as an eight-year-old at Badminton Horse Trials in 2011 where Carl was riding him in the dressage demo.

“I remember looking up at the big screen and seeing Carl on this horse that looked a bit wild to be honest. But I remember thinking, ‘Oh my God, what an extraordinary looking horse,’” said Spencer.

“He had a skinny neck, and a big old head, but he looked quite exciting. Two weeks later Carl phoned me and said he had a horse he thought would suit me, and it was him. I phoned Jen Goodman, I’d never asked anybody to buy me a horse and I was so nervous, but she looked at a video of Neville, we went and tried him and that was it.”

Spencer continued to produce Neville, and they won their first international grand prix together at the Barcelona CDI in 2014. They enjoyed 15 more international victories.

“He had this incredible engine and desire to move and be forward-thinking,” he said. “His natural power and strength was incredible. That was his biggest gift, it had nothing to do with my training, it was just nature.”

“He was incredibly sweet and kind, but he was quite complicated, and I had to be on high alert for potential hazards every time I got on him. My groom Claire Hinton looked after him for the whole period and I don’t know what I would have done without her. There wouldn’t have been many people that would have understood him and accepted all his idiosyncrasies like she did.”

Spencer missed much of 2019 after he had back surgery, but in 2020 he and Neville started the year strongly with double wins at the Lier CDI4* and Keysoe CDI3* as they aimed for selection for the Tokyo Olympics.

“But of course the pandemic happened. It was a real kick because he felt better than he’d ever felt, and sadly we weren’t able to show it,” said Spencer.

“After the decision was made to postpone the Olympics, I had the rest of that year with him at home hacking and having a nice time pottering around, and it was a really nice period of time with no pressure. We came to the decision that it wouldn’t have been right to keep him going another year for the sake of another Olympics, so we wound him down.”

Neville was retired aged 18, and went on to spend a happy retirement at home with Ms Goodman.

Carl told H&H Super Nova II was “an absolute natural star”.

“Even at five years old he had amazing energy. He had a great walk, trot and canter. I sat on him and just loved him,” said Carl.

“He showed all those abilities and he found grand prix movements so easy, it didn’t surprise me that he turned out to be brilliant. But you’ve got to have a good rider to produce these horses, and it’s everything I love about matching horses and riders. I was thrilled to see Spencer and Neville get to where they should have, because we know with horses it doesn’t always happen that way.

“I can only say lovely things about Super Nova, he was just a star.”

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Spencer Wilton may be best known for his talent between the white boards and being part of the silver medal-winning team at the 2016 Rio Olympics, and the bronze medal-winning team at the World Equestrian Games in Tryon in 2018, but his first love was eventing.

“I always thought it would have been amazing to ride Ginny Elliot’s Priceless. I was at Badminton in 1985 when they won, and from then on, I was obsessed. That’s what started my passion for eventing at that time,” says Spencer.

Priceless was known for his characteristic buck that provided the odd hairy moment, but he was a true athlete and won medals at Olympics, Worlds and European Championships. Ginny and Priceless were crowned world champions in 1986.

“He wasn’t big, but he was incredible in all phases. He always had his ears pricked like he was just loving everything he was doing,” says Spencer Wilton. “At the 1986 World Championships, he came out of the start box and bucked his way to the first fence – his tail was always going like a helicopter. He oozed personality.

“I always thought he looked like an old soul, like he’d been here before. I think the only dressage horse equivalent to him would be Valegro – I was lucky enough to ride him as a young horse and he had that same kind of thing about him – an old head on a young body. I imagine that’s what Priceless felt like.”

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Want to get that winning edge between the boards? We find out the secrets behind top dressage riders’ successes

1. Gareth Hughes (above)

“Watch riders that you admire and have an image in your mind of how you want you and your horse to look. An impression in your mind helps when you are riding on your own, as it gives you something to work on. Learning ‘feel’ is also important as it means you can make corrections without someone having to tell you.”

2. Alice Oppenheimer

“Always take your time in the initial warm up phase to ensure that your horse is physically and mentally ready to work before you start the ‘work’ phase of your session. I like to feel that they are working in front of my leg and forwards to the contact before asking for anything more demanding.”

3. Dan Greenwood

“Make time to look at your horse and assess him properly every other week. Either get someone else to sit on so you can take a look and get some feedback, or lunge him. Is he moving freely and equally? Especially in the winter, it’s too easy to take rugs off, tack up and get on and go. You’ll then have a clear picture in your head of what your horse needs to work on.”

4. Isobel Wessels

“Improve the contact. As a judge, I see people lose marks because of the contact all the time. It’s something that affects every single movement and if you have the contact better, your horse will be nicer to ride and the picture will look more correct, earning you more marks. Spend some time during the winter months really improving the contact through lots of transitions, so that you have the horse really in front of you, taking the bridle from behind.”

5. Spencer Wilton

“At home, I spend a lot of time achieving the ‘perfect’ feeling underneath me, but at a show, a limited warm up time means it’s not always possible to create that feeling before you go in the ring. The art of good training is knowing how much time to spend on waiting for that perfect moment and teaching yourself and the horse what to do when the moment isn’t perfect. That way, you have all bases covered.”

6. Lara Butler

“Training a horse is like teaching a young child — they don’t know the difference between right and wrong, so it is our job to guide them in the right direction. Always make it fun for the horse and let them know you are pleased with what they are doing, as they will try a lot harder for you.”

7. Judy Harvey

“During the winter months, make allowances for the weather and any time off your horse might have. Don’t have too high expectations and expect your horse to get straight back to the stage you left off in your last session. He needs more time to supple up in the winter and expend any excess energy from being stabled more, so allow for this when you start a session.”

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Olympic dressage rider Spencer Wilton has praised the power of social media after more than 1,600 people shared his post about his missing filly – who has since been found safe and well.

It was found that yearling Giselle Grande, known as Elle, was missing from her field at Spencer’s husband Darren’s parents’ yard in Somerset early this morning (11 February).

Spencer Wilton told H&H that Elle, by Grand Design out of a Ferro mare, was bought for him by Darren as a surprise present to celebrate his 49th birthday, on 1 February. The couple had recently collected her from Berkshire-based owner Nicole Nelson and moved to her Darren’s parents, Steve and Linda Hicks.

“When Darren’s parents went to check the horses they found Elle was missing. There was no trace of where she’d gone or what had happened so we called the police and thought the worst,” he said.

“Eventually they found a hole in a hedge but it was outside her field. They saw some small hoof prints and followed them and she was found six fields away from where she was meant to be. We’re still not 100% sure about how it happened. We can’t work out why a yearling would leave other horses and get herself out of the field, then through a hole – so we’re not ruling out foul play. But she’s absolutely fine, and obviously made of tough stuff.”

Spencer said Elle, who has been named after supermodel Elle McPherson – in keeping with a supermodel theme owing to the Giselle in her passport name, is a “very sweet” filly.

“Darren went to view some foals at Nicole’s last year and Elle stood out to him and the deal was done without me knowing anything about it. He kept it a secret then on my birthday he said ‘I’ve got you this surprise’ and we went and picked her up. I absolutely adore her,” he said.

Spencer added that when he took the call to say she was missing he was “heartbroken” and completely “panic-stricken”. He put a post on Facebook, which was shared 1,600 times.

“She had only been there for a few days, and prior to that had just left all her friends and I just thought she’s on her own and traumatised. Anybody that owns or has had horses will understand, it was just a horrible situation to be in when you don’t know what the outcome is going to be,” he said,

“Facebook gets an awful lot of negative publicity and there’s not always a lot of positive stuff that comes out of it, but I have to say I’m overwhelmed by the amount of shares. I’m really grateful to everyone that took the time to share the post. It could have been a much worse outcome than it was.”

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Spencer Wilton’s 2016 Olympic silver medallist Super Nova II has been retired at the age of 18.

Spencer and the British-bred gelding, by De Niro x Weltmeyer, have been stalwarts of the British team in recent years, competing at the Rio Olympics in 2016, the European Championships in 2017 and the World Equestrian Games in 2018. Having won Olympic team silver, they finished fourth with the team and sixth individually at the Europeans in Gothenburg the following year, before winning team bronze at WEG alongside Carl Hester, Charlotte Dujardin and Emile Faurie.

“After 11 amazing years Super Nova, aka Neville, has come to the end of his competitive career,” said Spencer. “I was hoping that he was going to have the chance to shine one more time representing Team GB in 2021, but it was not to be.

“At 18 years young, he will now enjoy a quieter life spending the majority of his time doing what he loves most: hacking and eating grass!

“His favourite person, groom Claire Hinton will continue to be at his beck and call 24/7 as she has been for so many years. They have a very special bond with each other. Claire has been with us for all the highs and most importantly she’s been there to pick us both up from all the lows,” added Spencer.

After giving Neville a quieter year in 2019, Spencer mounted a campaign for the Tokyo Olympics, with a double win at Lier CDI4* in early 2020 setting them up well for a successful year. When the pandemic struck, Spencer opted to give Neville an easy summer, “to put him on ice” in readiness for a crack at the Tokyo team in 2021, and brought him out to score a double win at Keysoe CDI in October 2020.

They began their season with a plus-79% grand prix at Burrows Court Farm in May, but were forced to withdraw from Wellington CDI later that month due to Spencer’s ongoing back injury, for which he had surgery in 2018. They were not able to continue their team selection campaign in time, and Spencer made the decision over the summer to retire the characterful gelding.

“Neville has been my horse of a lifetime and has given his owner Jen Goodman and myself the most amazing journey with memories that will stay with us forever. It’s been a blast!”

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Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade your subscription to access our online service that brings you breaking news and reports as well as other benefits.

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

Olympic silver medallist Spencer Wilton has withdrawn from this week’s inaugural Wellington CDI3*.

Spencer was due to compete his Rio Olympic ride Super Nova II in their first international appearance since March 2020, but has pulled out owing to an ongoing back injury.

“My injury has been rumbling along; I recently had three injections in my back, which now feels amazing, but I am still getting horrific cramps in my left leg from nerve impingement,” Spencer told H&H. “I am going to have another procedure to help with that, and hoped to be able to wait until after Wellington to have it done, but it wasn’t to be.

“It’s not like I can put my hand up halfway through my grand prix and ask the judge if I can just get off and stretch out my hamstring before continuing with my zig-zag,” he joked.

“The support from World Class has been amazing, especially doctor Pippa Bennett and physio Ashleigh Wallace, who have gone above and beyond for me during the past four years.”

Spencer and the 18-year-old De Niro x Weltmeyer gelding made their competitive comeback at Burrows Court Farm last weekend, where they scored a personal best of 79.6% in the grand prix. Spencer now aims to compete “Neville” at Compiègne, France, at the end of May, and Le Mans, France, in June.

“Everything was going so well, and Neville is feeling really good,” said Spencer. “But if [the Tokyo Olympics] doesn’t work out for us, we will just refocus and look toward the European dressage championships.”

Continues below…

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Neville and Spencer have been stalwarts of the British team in recent years, having competed at the Rio Olympics in 2016, the European Championships in 2017 and the World Equestrian Games in 2018. Spencer gave the gelding a year away from top competition in 2019, and made a hugely successful start to his Tokyo Olympic campaign in early 2020 – set to be Neville’s final year of top sport. Following the postponement of the Olympics due to the coronavirus pandemic, Spencer put Neville “on ice” and gave him a quiet summer, with plans to bring him out to campaign for team selection in 2021.

The Wellington CDI gets under way in Hampshire today (11 May), with the grand prix tomorrow, and the grand prix special and freestyle on Thursday (13 May). Several of Britain’s top combinations will be in action, including Charlotte Dujardin with both Mount St John Freestyle and Gio, Carl Hester with En Vogue, Emile Faurie riding Dono Di Maggio and Sonnar Murray-Brown on Erlentanz.

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade to access our H&H Plus online service which brings you breaking news as it happens as well as other benefits.

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

The inaugural Wellington CDI3* that gets underway this week is set to be one of the most significant dressage events of the year. As the first dressage international to be held on British soil since October – and the first outdoor UK show since 2019 – the country’s top combinations will be out in force. 

While not officially a selection trial, this will be a crucial opportunity for those riders campaigning for a place on the British dressage team at the Tokyo Olympics to prove themselves. For those who have opted not to make a trip across the Channel to compete this year, this show will be especially important. 

A total of 34 combinations are entered for the big tour at Wellington CDI3*, of which 25 pairs are British. There are also riders representing Finland, Ireland, Greece and Poland. We have picked out a selection to keep a particularly close eye on…

Charlotte Dujardin – Mount St John Freestyle (12-year-old mare, Fidermark x Donnerhall) and Gio (10-year-old gelding, Apache x Tango)

All eyes will be on Charlotte and her two rides. Both performed strongly at Hagen CDI4* at the end of last month, with Freestyle winning the grand prix special there (pictured above), and Gio the freestyle. At present, both horses are an option for Charlotte to take to Tokyo, although championship – and flying – experience would make Freestyle a more obvious first choice. Barring disaster, Charlotte is a shoe-in for the Tokyo team, but she will be keen to fine-tune her two superstars as she prepares to peak in Japan.

Fiona Bigwood – Hawtins Delicato (13-year-old gelding, Diamond Hit x Regazzoni) and Fame (11-year-old gelding, Bordeaux x Rhodium)

This will be Olympian Fiona’s international debut with the former championship ride of Carl Hester, Hawtins Delicato. The pair have had a few months to gel and it will be fascinating to see what they can bring to the table here. Fiona also rides her upcoming star Fame on what will be the horse’s international debut. 

Gareth Hughes – Sintano Van Hof Olympia (11-year-old gelding, Sandro Hit x Silvano) and KK Dominant (12-year-old stallion, Diamond Hit x Rubin Royal)

With Gareth’s top horse Classic Briolinca out of contention for this year’s championships, attention has now turned to his upcoming star Sintano, who made a super international debut in Belgium last month. Gareth will be looking to consolidate those good results here on home soil, with half an eye on selection, while also progressing the career of the striking stallion Dominant.

Emile Faurie – Dono Di Maggio (14-year-old gelding, Dimaggio x Santander H)

Having been denied entry to the EU while travelling to compete in Belgium last month, Emile will be keen to make the most of this second opportunity to show off his rekindled partnership with his 2918 World Equestrian Games ride Dono Di Maggio. Emile temporarily took back the ride from Dono’s Greek owner, Theodora Livanos, and they have already impressed behind closed doors this year at a practice grand prix event at Hartpury. 

Steph Croxford – Mr Benn (12-year-old gelding)

Wellington will be an international debut for this quirky horse and his popular rider. Nicknamed “Thug”, this gelding was bred for driving and is by a coloured Irish cob, and out of a Dutch warmblood/hackney, and presents a very striking picture in the ring. While Steph says she is looking forward to “propping up the bottom” in the grand prix here, this is just the beginning of this plucky pair’s international career together.

Kate Dwyer (IRL) – Snowden Faberge (15-year-old gelding, by Foxcourt Fabelhaft)

This adorable chap has Shire in his breeding but it hasn’t stopped him from becoming one of Ireland’s top grand prix performers. This pair haven’t competed internationally since Doha CDI5* in February 2020, where they made Irish history by winning the grand prix special. They were also a part of the Irish team that secured Olympic qualification at the European Championships back in 2019, and will be itching to get on the Tokyo team. 

Theodora Livanos (GRE) – Robinvale (14-year-old gelding, Rubinero 2 x Wittinger)

This pair have their sights set on representing Greece as an individual at this summer’s Olympics, and having being denied the chance to compete in Belgium along with Emile Faurie last month, Wellington is their chance to secure qualification for Tokyo. It’s been a long road to this point for 19-year-old Theo, who underwent surgery and months of recuperation after being diagnosed with osteomyelitis last year.

Spencer Wilton was also due to compete for Britain with the 18-year-old De Niro son Super Nova II, in what would have been the duo’s first international appearance since March 2020, but has withdrawn from the competition.

Article continues below…

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What’s on at Wellington and how to watch

The grand prix will take place on Wednesday 12 May, with the grand prix special and freestyle both scheduled for Thursday 13 May.

Wellington will also host small tour classes at prix st georges and inter I level, which will take place on 11 and 12 May, while a full complement of youth classes, from under-25 level to ponies, will be held across the week and over the weekend.

While the event is being held behind closed doors due to current coronavirus restrictions, it will be available to watch via Horse & Country TV’s live stream.

H&H will also have a reporter on site, so don’t miss the 20 May issue of the magazine for full coverage.

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade to access our H&H Plus online service which brings you breaking news as it happens as well as other benefits.

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

After relocating to a stunning new base in Gloucestershire, Spencer Wilton is as ambitious as ever and gearing up for a big year in 2021

IN a year full of chaos and confusion, arriving at Spencer Wilton’s new base, the swanky Cotswold Club Equestrian, feels like stepping into an idyllic bubble of peace and ponies. It’s only been a few months since Olympic silver medallist Spencer relocated here from Berkshire with husband and fellow dressage rider Darren Hicks, but I can see exactly why they already feel at home.

This is no ordinary yard after all; it is a luxury equestrian centre founded by Charlotte Dunkerton, whose vision was to combine five-star equine facilities with the atmosphere of a high-end social club.

At the time of writing we’re in between lockdowns, and Spencer, Darren and I are sitting in the riders’ lounge – at a two-metre distance of course – sinking into deep leather armchairs, enjoying coffee and freshly baked banana muffins next to a roaring woodburner, and admiring the mahogany bar and twinkling chandeliers above our heads.

“It’s quite special, isn’t it,” remarks Spencer, 48, who has his dogs Percy and Pippin curled contentedly on his lap. “Charlotte had an amazing vision for this place and she’s followed through with it.”

The equestrian facilities are just as impressive as the riders’. Spencer’s five horses, spearheaded by his top ride Super Nova II, are living it large in a beautiful indoor barn, complete with solarium, fresh flowers and dreamy exposed brick – and even Shetland pony Tiny Tim is swanning around in a huge, airy loosebox of his own.

Meanwhile, Darren’s string of 10 are round the corner in a charming traditional courtyard, with its own smart tack room and romantic archway. In between lies the stunning glass-walled 50x80m indoor arena and shrub-framed 20x60m outdoor arena, with an all-weather canter track and seven furlongs of gallops also on offer.

“My last place, near Newbury, was lovely and originally we weren’t very keen on the idea of moving out of the area as it meant losing some of my London clients. But when we came to visit here we realised it ticked so many boxes,” explains Spencer, who moved his horses in as resident professional rider in July.

“The hacking is great, the turnout has really good drainage, there’s staff accommodation and it means Darren is able to run his business alongside mine, but in a different area of the property. If you’d given me a wishlist, this place would tick everything on it.”

As soon as the property market reopened after the first lockdown, Spencer put his house up for sale, found a place to rent in Stow-on-the-Wold while he and Darren house-hunted around the Cotswolds, and started putting plans in place for the big move.

“It was a scary, daunting idea and a major upheaval – a bit of a leap into the unknown. But I spent years in this part of the country back when I was based with Carl Hester, so it actually feels a little like coming home,” muses Spencer.

A big move for Spencer Wilton

For Spencer, this big move was a “silver lining” in a year that brought plenty of stress and heartache. He and Jen Goodman’s 18-year-old De Niro gelding Super Nova – known as Neville – have been stalwarts of the British team over the past five years, bringing home silver from the Rio Olympics in 2016 and bronze from the World Equestrian Games in 2018.

With 2020 always set to be Neville’s final year on the job, Spencer opted to take a season out from top competition in 2019, readying himself and the notoriously quirky but talented gelding for their final hurrah, the Tokyo Olympics.

They made a flawless international comeback in February last year, with a string of high-scoring wins at Lier and Keysoe CDIs setting the wheels in motion for Olympic selection, and Spencer reporting that Neville felt better than ever – then the pandemic hit.

“When they announced the Olympics were going to be postponed, my first thought was, ‘Well that’s it – it’s all over for us.’ I was quite depressed about the whole thing,” admits Spencer. “But then I rang Andy Bathe at Newmarket, the vet who looks after Neville, and he told me just to ‘put him on ice’ for six months, and said that there was no reason why he couldn’t come back out in 2021 and do the same thing again.”

So, with his top horse “chilling, hacking and mooching about” throughout last summer, it was the perfect opportunity for Spencer and Darren to switch their attention to the massive upheaval of switching yards.

“I’m not sure how we would have managed to do all of this and also gone to the Olympics, though we would have made it work somehow,” says Spencer. “So this has been a nice silver lining to the whole thing. Now we’re settled, and raring to go this year.”

“He feels fantastic”

Watching Spencer lightly schooling Neville in the indoor school – which is so bright thanks to the glass walls that it almost feels like being outdoors even on a gloomy day – I think that “raring to go” sums up this tall, elegant gelding well. He is 18 this year, but could pass for half that age.

“Normally when he is out of training, he is completely out of work, so to have spent most of 2020 somewhere in between the two is an unusual concept for him,” says Spencer, busting out an easy line of tempi changes for the benefit of the H&H photographer.

“Luckily he just loves hacking – he walks slower on the way home than on the way out – and he is feeling really supple, which I think is a result of the hillwork and the hacking. He feels absolutely fantastic to ride at the moment, and he is just as spooky as ever, too.”

With competitions currently on hold due to the third coronavirus lockdown, and the Tokyo Olympics potentially at risk again, Spencer is very thankful for the prospect of a European Championships, set to go ahead in Hagen, Germany, in September.

“The Olympics is so uncertain, but having the Europeans is a good back-up to remain focused on. It’s amazing for British dressage that we would be able to field two super teams this year.”

Spencer had planned a trip to Belgium for the 2021 Lier CDI this month, but with that cancelled he is having to give careful consideration to the shape of his season.

There is no getting away from the fact that, whatever happens, 2021 will be Neville’s last year of competition – “we can’t keep on re-resurrecting him!”

“However good he feels, I have to be mindful of his age and tactical with how I plan my year. But I also want to make a real effort to enjoy whatever happens,” says Spencer, matter of factly, but with noticeable emotion in his voice.

“It feels odd to be going into his final year with so much time to think about that – I know that within 12 months it will be all over for him, and it will be very sad when we have to make that decision.”

What’s next for Spencer Wilton?

After Neville, there is a bit of a gap in his string when it comes to upcoming stars, but that’s not to say there aren’t plenty of horses keeping Spencer excited for the future, and he certainly has no intention of hanging up his own competition boots any time soon. The rising eight-year-old Zamboucca son Danny Zucco is waiting in the wings and will be one to watch in coming years. He, like Neville, is owned by Jen Goodman, and has “phenomenal paces”.

“I also have a couple of two-year-olds out of my mare Santa Maria, who are both by Glamourdale,” Spencer says. “They have incredible canters, just like their sire. I also have another that will be born this year, out of Santa Maria again but this time by Nikki Barker’s grand prix stallion Durable. I have always admired him and it’s exciting to use a British stallion. There are not that many horses I see at shows whom I think I would love to ride, but he would be one – he has such power and presence.”

Then there are several horses owned by German rider Kathleen Kröncke, who arrived with 10 horses in November to base herself at the Cotswold Club and train with Spencer. With three of these now at grand prix, including her World Cup contender San Royal and the “really special” Hampton Court, Spencer is set to help with riding and training them in between visits from Kathleen’s father, Dolf Dietram Keller. There’s an apt link, too, in that Dolf trained and competed the great stallion De Niro, sire of Neville.

Darren’s exciting string

Darren, too, has a stable yard full of horses for whom the future holds great things. He is on the cusp of making his grand prix debut with the Hofrat 13-year-old Hemisphere II, and has the likes of Woodcroft Django Mon Ami and Duchess Calina, both owned by Samantha Britton, coming up the ranks, as well as six-year-old Ronaldo just starting out on his career. He has nine horses in at the moment, and one spare stable, but it won’t be long before that is filled.

“I could never have too many horses, and I’m always on the lookout for something,” says Darren.

He made the most of competitions starting back up between lockdowns in 2020, with good placings at the rescheduled Winter Dressage Championships in August riding Hemisphere at small tour and Woodcroft Django Mon Ami at novice. He and the eye-catching grey Dante Weltino son Django went on to finish runners-up in the six-year-old final of the inaugural Nexgen Young Horse Series, as well as taking fourth at the British Dressage Young Horse Championships in October.

I wonder whether Spencer is finding it tough having had so much time away from competing in recent years, particularly with his husband having been out on the circuit most weekends during the latter part of 2020. A back injury kept Spencer out of action for much of 2018 – although he regained enough form to be selected for the WEG team and help win bronze – and his competition appearances over the past two years have been few and far between for reasons already mentioned.

“It is tough when I think about it, especially watching the other top riders go out and get the big scores while I’m at home,” admits Spencer. “I love competing, but I’ve had to get used to switching off and not thinking about it – otherwise it would drive me insane. My main focus is preserving Neville throughout this year.

“But even after Neville retires I’m very hungry to keep going. The problem is that good horses don’t grow on trees, and life can end up becoming a juggling act between making a living and maintaining a competition career. But I’m definitely still as competitive as I ever have been – maybe even more so.”

This feature was also published in H&H magazine, 25 February 2021

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It’s always fun to drool over lust-worthy equestrian facilities, and Spencer Wilton’s new stable yard is sure to impress. The British Olympic dressage medallist and his husband Darren Hicks, moved their horses in over the summer to the stunning Cotswold Club Equestrian, near Naunton in Glos, which is a luxury equestrian facility founded by Charlotte Dunkerton. Charlotte’s vision was to create a five-star equestrian centre, with all the facilities a rider could want for their horse, while also providing a relaxed social atmosphere.

Let’s take a look around…

Spencer has room for 10 horses in his section of the indoor barn – where the current star resident is his Rio Olympic silver medal winner Super Nova II. The horses here enjoy enormous, airy stables, and there is a large private tack room, two wash bays with hot water and a solarium.

Darren Hicks’ courtyard-style yard may be open to the elements, but it is no less impressive, reached through a romantic archway, and also offering 10 luxury stables and its own tack and feed rooms.

Indoor schools don’t come much brighter than this – the glass walls make this 80x50m arena feel even larger than it already is. With a viewing gallery and glass-fronted lounge overlooking the action, it is set to host a number of clinics and conventions in months and years to come.

If you ever felt your own yard was lacking something, perhaps it was this bar! At the Cotswold Club, riders and connections are treated almost as well as the horses, with a stunning, cosy lounge taking pride of place in the centre of the complex.

There’s not much that beats cosying up by a log fire with a drink – or cupcake – in hand after a tough schooling session or exhilarating hack. Actually, maybe if it was followed by a massage…

In addition to the two further social spaces in the pipeline, both overlooking the indoor arena, the club will also soon boast treatment rooms where riders can indulge in various treatments from visiting therapists.

The 20x60m outdoor arena, with an all-weather surface by Equestrian Surfaces, nestles alongside the indoor, framed by shrubs and – on the day of our visit – lots of gloriously autumnal trees.

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The centre also boasts a useful all-weather canter track, as well as seven furlongs of all-weather gallops just a short, beautiful ride away.

With smart post-and-rail paddocks – monitored by CCTV – and woodchip turnout pens for use in winter, in additional to the indoor facilities, this is certainly an enviable place for your horse to call home.

Horse & Hound magazine, out every Thursday, is packed with all the latest news and reports, as well as interviews, specials, nostalgia, vet and training advice. Find how you can enjoy the magazine delivered to your door every week, plus options to upgrade to access our H&H Plus online service which brings you breaking news as it happens as well as other benefits.

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

In the same week that the dressage medals should have been decided at the Tokyo Olympics, top British dressage rider Spencer Wilton joins H&H dressage editor Polly Bryan on episode nine of The Horse & Hound Podcast, to relive some of his favourite memories from Rio 2016.

The Rio Olympics, where he rode Jen Goodman’s Super Nova II and helped Britain bring home the team silver, was Spencer’s first championship, and the moment he found out he had been selected for the team is one that sticks in his mind.

“I remember exactly where I was when I got the call from chef d’equipe Dickie Waygood to say I had been selected,” says Spencer. “I was in the car – on hands-free – on my way to the yard, just getting on to the M4. The phone rang and I thought, ‘This is it, this is it’, and then I was trying to negotiate roadworks while Dickie was talking to me. It was an amazing moment.

“From that point onwards, it was just the most magical experience. If I never get the opportunity to do it again, it will be one of the most amazing experiences of my life.”

Spencer rode on the British team alongside Charlotte Dujardin on Valegro, Carl Hester with Nip Tuck and Fiona Bigwood on Atterupgaards Orthilia.

“Having never been to any of the big championships before, I don’t know what I was expecting, but I had the best time – it was just so much fun, and what a great team to be a part of,” says Spencer. “Everyone has their own individual pressures of course, but we had the best time. We had an amazing back-up team and Dickie made the whole experience as much as you can have at an Olympics where you also have to be serious and represent your country!

“I hadn’t twigged that we would all be sharing an apartment, and that we would be all together 24/7 for the best part of two weeks,” adds Spencer. “In between being very serious and trying to win a medal, we had lots of laughs.”

Many Olympians report spending lots of their time in the Athletes’ Village trying to work out what sport everyone else competes in, and Spencer says he and the other Brits were no exception.

“The food hall in Rio was like a huge aircraft hangar and I think it sat 5,000 people at a time. We spent hours trying to work out what sport other people did. Of course there are people from all around the world, from lots of different cultures, and looking at what people had on their food trays was particularly fascinating, especially at breakfast time!

“The first time I saw Usain Bolt was quite a moment – he is physically quite an imposing person, but he also just has this amazing aura about him.”

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Although the coronavirus pandemic has pushed the Tokyo Olympics back to 2021, Spencer is looking forward to campaigning Super Nova for team selection. The De Niro gelding will be 18 next year, but Spencer reports that he is feeling better than ever.

“Our vet Andy Bathe said, ‘We’ll just pop the old boy on ice for six months and keep him ticking over, and then we’ll thaw him out and get him going again in the autumn’. I said that if Andy takes care of his body, I’ll take care of his mind, which is like that of a six-year-old most of the time. He’s hacking out and having a play in the school from time to time, and he feels fantastic.”

If you’d like to find out more about Spencer’s plans as he looks ahead to Tokyo, and hear him chatting about his stunning new yard, listen here to episode nine of The Horse & Hound podcast or search “The Horse & Hound Podcast” in your favourite podcast app

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

Welcome to the ninth weekly episode of The Horse & Hound Podcast, in which we chat to Olympic dressage rider Spencer Wilton about his Rio memories, putting his Tokyo hopeful ‘on ice’ for a year and his exciting new yard; our news team talk about calls for a review of FEI blood rules, a spike in lorry breakdowns, and staying safe on beach rides; while vet Ricky Farr MRCVS explains why tetanus remains as big a threat to horses now as ever

Episode nine of The Horse & Hound Podcast, our exciting new audio service available exclusively every Thursday morning for our H&H Plus subscribers, is now live. We would love to hear your feedback on this week’s episode, so please do send your thoughts to pippa.roome@futurenet.com

In an exciting development, we have decided, for a limited time, to make each episode available for all H&H fans to listen to 24hrs after its early release to our H&H Plus members. Search for “The Horse & Hound Podcast” in your prefered podcast app and click subscribe to be notified about each new episode. This will allow more listeners to make The Horse & Hound Podcast an essential part of their week on Friday morning.

In episode nine, British Olympic dressage rider Spencer Wilton shares his special Rio memories with our dressage editor Polly Bryan. Spencer reflects on how it felt to receive the call confirming he was included on the team heading to Rio, the moments he will never forget from the Games, how he’s dealt with Tokyo being postponed and the highs and lows of moving to an exciting new yard with his husband Darren Hicks.

Pippa is joined by news editor Eleanor Jones, senior news writer Lucy Elder and news writer Becky Murray to chat about this week’s top stories including calls for the FEI to review its blood rules following a recent appeal by a top rider, why horsebox owners are being warned to check their lorries before heading out after lockdown, and the steps rider need to follow to stay safe if they are intending to head out for a beach ride this summer.

We also hear from equine vet Ricky Farr MRCVS of Farr & Pursey Equine, who this week is talking about why horses are at much higher risk of tetanus than humans and explains that it is a serious condition that should not be underestimated.

We hope you will enjoy it.

H&H Plus podcast: episode nine

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What did you think of this week’s podcast? Let us know by emailing pippa.roome@futurenet.com

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The Horse & Hound Podcast: episode seven – Ian Stark | Vet advice: wounds | News round-up

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The Horse & Hound Podcast: episode eight – Andrew Hoy’s Olympic memories | Pre-purchase vettings | News round-up

The Horse & Hound Podcast: episode one – Lucinda Green | Vet advice: overweight horses | News round-up

An interview with eventing royalty Lucinda Green, plus a discussion about the return of equestrian sport at all levels...

What’s it like living with an elite athlete grounded by the abandonment of all sport? H&H asks the partners of top riders how they are coping with lockdown...

Rebecca Hughes, wife of Team GBR dressage rider Gareth

A few years ago, I bought Gareth a guitar for his birthday, but he’s never had time to touch it – until now. Every afternoon he takes himself off into a different room to learn to play. Initially our young cat would run away from him when he picked it up and gave it a strum, but she’s stopped doing that now, so he must be improving!

He’s also been mowing the lawn as often as he can – Gareth is a homebody generally, so while it has been disappointing not to be working towards the Tokyo Olympics, he has been able to enjoy this rather strange break.

He tends to be grumpy when it’s cold and happy when the sun’s out, and luckily it has been mostly great weather.

He’s the one who usually goes out to Tesco to do the shopping – he tells me I don’t do it properly because I don’t go up and down every aisle. He very much likes the fact that there is now a one-way system in the supermarket as that was how he has always done it!

Chloe Breen, wife of Irish team showjumper Shane Breen

Hickstead is a unique habitat with around 20 of us, including the lads, living in one household, so I call it our self-isolation bubble. The priority has been trying to keep everyone safe, but it’s pretty much been business as usual and we haven’t gone too stir-crazy.

Our eldest daughters have been diligent with their schoolwork, but as for the two younger boys… They’ve been doing some veterinary work – they now know how to spot an embryo through a microscope and how to castrate yearlings. But they’ve seen more of Shane in the past seven weeks than they have in 13 years and Shane is loving it too – he keeps threatening to retire!

It’s been really valuable for Shane just to stop and take stock of the business. He’s been running a mini Global Champions Tour every week over very restrained heights, with the kids joining in, and Steven Wilde even sent us some commentary. We start with the individual qualifier, then the team competition and the grand prix, and our daughter Lorna is currently leading the rankings.

Shane and I have taken up daily yoga and he’s really feeling the benefit – he couldn’t touch his toes at the beginning and now he’s performing shoulder stands and headstands.

One person goes out every week to do all the shopping and the local Chinese restaurant has just started doing takeaways again, so we’re delighted about that. It’s been a challenge and cashflow is a nightmare, as I’m sure it is for everyone, but the lads have been amazing, we have some very loyal owners and we’re really enjoying this family time.

Simon Souster, husband of showing producer Ella Souster

For me, lockdown has been a big change as I’m a mechanic and my garage has been closed. It’s almost as if I’ve become Ella’s employee and I now come home each day smelling of horses.

While I do usually go to shows, I’ve always maintained that I’m the fixer; if anything needs fixing – such as the lorry – that’s my job. But I’ve learnt a lot spending more time at the yard, such as how to put a headcollar on, hang up a haynet or put a horse in the field – Ella will just say, “That one goes over there,” and off I go.

I’ve also come to realise what an awful job filling haynets is, so to make it easier I built a stand to hold the net while you shove the hay in.

I sat on a horse for the first time in 20 years. Even though I’ve known Ella for so long I’ve never, ever been on board. We were nominated for the loo roll challenge so I sat on one called Flossy (Hot Gossip).

We’ve been having movie nights in the evenings with the kids, Lexi, who’s four, and Xander, two. The kids love the ponies and have been learning lots, too. Xander has a pony called Herbie whom he likes to feed and give lots of kisses; he gets up early with Ella to go and see him. Lexi is also getting her riding in.

Melissa Whitaker, wife of showjumping multi-medallist Michael

Enjoying it is the wrong word, but Michael has been coping with lockdown pretty well – he’s been tootling around on his tractor, fixing fencing and that sort of thing. We’re nowhere near the end of the “to-do” list yet, though.

The top horses are out in the field so Michael’s loving the chance to work on the young ones and the trickier ones which, being away so much, he doesn’t usually have time for.

Our youngest daughters Katy and Molly are due to sit their GCSEs and A levels next year so they’ve been cracking on with their work – luckily I don’t have to do any more than check up on them occasionally. Our eldest son Jack is here with us, too. We had to furlough some grooms but we still have three girls on the yard. We’re pretty isolated anyway, so it’s a lovely little unit.

I have had to be a lot more creative with my cooking though with five adults to feed every day – and the boys are used to hotel food while they’re away competing, so they’re demanding starters, main courses, desserts, the works!

Michael and I have been glued to The Last Kingdom on Netflix, which has been a nice change. And I think for only the third time since I’ve known him, Michael actually went shopping – he was going that stir-crazy he offered to get the groceries. He couldn’t get over the banality and the price of it all though, so I don’t think he’ll be offering again soon…

Tom March, husband of Piggy, last year’s Badminton winner

Piggy has a few new rides this season – the advanced horses Dargun and Fonbherna Lancer, as well as two seven-year-olds – so in a way it’s been great to do a few events and then work with them at home again. However, we’re now getting to the stage where we’d like to go and test them in a competition environment.

The hard part of losing events is losing your target, so it’s a case of keeping motivated and having a plan of what you want to try to achieve with each horse.

There are certainly positives as well as the obvious negatives – Piggy is more relaxed than she would usually be with high pressure competitions such as Badminton.

We have six live-in staff and, with more time, we’ve made a conscious effort to help them more, giving them pointers and holding in-house dressage competitions.

We’re also spending more time with our son Max, who will be four at the end of July. Piggy is the chef – in normal times and lockdown – but I make a conscious effort to help with tidying up and washing up.

We’ve caught up on Killing Eve, but we’re not big TV watchers. I always watch a lot of online videos for breeding research and Piggy has watched some of the old Badminton and Burghley highlights shows.

Victoria de Sousa, wife of three-time champion Flat jockey Silvestre de Sousa

Silvestre is definitely getting bored in lockdown and has now broken the lawnmower through overuse, but he is keeping himself busy doing some fencing and landscaping. He’s been very relaxed but I can tell he’s starting to get itchy feet.

We’ve been together for 15 years and have three children, but we have never spent this much time together because he is one of the busiest Flat jockeys and is always racing.

To keep ourselves entertained we have been trying some TikTok challenges including the “koala”, where I climb over his shoulders and back through his legs without touching the ground. It’s particularly impressive considering Silvestre is smaller than me.

We’ve watched a lot of Netflix, including Money Heist and Wanted, and Silvestre has been out riding the young horses we have in daily. I’ve come to realise how clean he is, but he does also easily lose things and he has no idea where anything is kept in the house.

He tells me not to drink and smoke so much – perhaps he’s discovering my bad habits instead of me discovering his! He cooks a great steak and fish on the barbecue, plus some amazing Brazilian dishes.

James Davies, partner of showing producer Sam Roberts

Sam’s day-to-day routine has been pretty normal. She is outside most of the day trotting around in circles and going on the occasional hack. I am on furlough so will be collared to lend a hand when a fence needs fixing – which is at least once a week – or the pony bus needs looking at. I also seem to fix a lot of jumps as she keeps crashing into them; I can’t work out if it’s the pony or the driver’s fault.

If there is a feed delivery, I am the human forklift. I will sometimes help get the ponies in from the field and change their shin pads. Some can be a little feisty but I manage.

At the moment it’s like having two Sams around as her mother, Suzie, is never far away. If I get away from one, the other will soon find me.

The weekends are a bit strange as Sam is usually away showing. On Friday evenings I’d got used to seeing the ponies with their Mexican wrestler headgear on and their legs wrapped up like mummies.

As I can’t go shooting or fishing at the weekends, I have rearranged Sam’s belts and badges cabinet. I tell her she needs to win a few more big flowery ones before she can have a new cabinet; I think she’s been slacking.

In the evenings, I usually talk to the dog as Sam will be on social media catching up with horsey friends. Facebook is constant and on Tuesdays I will disappear when Holby City is on.

Lucy McCarthy, wife of Irish event rider Padraig, world silver medallist

After the initial serious black cloud, Padraig has adjusted to lockdown well. Our three children – Moss is five, Gus 20 months and Mimi eight months – are really fun to be around. Padraig doesn’t usually get to see much of them, but now he rides in the mornings and then does stuff with the kids and odd jobs.

Moss has started school but he’s quite advanced, so as long as he reads every day I’m not beating myself up about home schooling.

I’m quite anti-social. I miss going to the pub occasionally, but otherwise I love lockdown – which is an awful thing to say as so many people are suffering, but I’m enjoying having time as a family. Also, Padraig is doing the jobs I’ve been nagging him to do for ages. We live on a 170-acre farm and have our breeding programme, so there is plenty to do.

Padraig made me a raised vegetable bed for my birthday and he’s made a platform, bridge and slide for the kids. That’s his idea of gardening: bolting bits of wood together and sticking them in the ground. The extent of his green fingeredness is that he put together a living willow den. He did a magnificent job – though I did buy all the bits.

On Saturday nights we have a nice supper with the four live-in staff, lots of booze, cards and games such as Monopoly.

We live with my mum, Pippa. As she’s not in her first flush of youth, I am quite anxious about Covid-19 on her behalf and we’ll have to see how we operate when everything eases up a bit.

Fiona Johnson, wife of four-time champion jump jockey Richard

It’s been really nice having Richard at home during lockdown because I am so used to him being away racing seven days a week. He likes always to be busy and can’t really sit still, so he’s done a lot of tidying up outside.

We have been tag-teaming with the home-schooling of our three children. He goes out at 7am to do the horses and comes back in at 9am to help me with it – I do the English and he does the maths. The kids love having him at home, but he’ll be pleased to get back racing just to have a break!

Richard does a very good Sunday roast and has been perfecting his homemade Yorkshire puddings, but his gravy can be hit and miss. During lockdown, he’s been doing a roast every Sunday; it’s become his signature meal.

We’ve been watching Normal People on TV and some films, but don’t usually have much time in the evening once we’ve done the kids’ tea, put them to bed and then eaten ourselves.

We have two broodmares in at the moment who have foaled, plus some breakers, youngstock and the kids’ ponies. There is also 15-year-old terrier Jimmy, Labrador Hector and four chickens, so we’re enjoying some fresh eggs.

Darren Hicks, husband of Team GBR dressage rider Spencer Wilton

“Spenny” and I are hardly ever at home together so the past few weeks have actually been quite nice. He’s mostly been spending time in his garden, doing whatever he does to his plants, and has also been doing lots of baking – I think he’s trying to feed me up! He has made lots of carrot cakes and more recently a chocolate cake, although he wasn’t happy with that one so it went straight in the bin, sadly.

We’ve ended up watching a lot of The Great British Bake Off as well, which I haven’t been too happy about, but we have also watched Tiger King – like the rest of the world.

I’d say I’m quite a clean person, but not like Spenny. He’s stringent about cleaning, and has bought himself a steam cleaner so he can do the floors three times a day. The house looks like a show home!

We’ve been working out together at home, and we end up competing with each other – he definitely wins when it comes to core work.

Our other lockdown project has been to teach our French bulldog Percy how to swim so we’ve been going to the river during our walks. Luckily we haven’t had to go in and rescue him yet…

Ref Horse & Hound; 28 May 2020

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Polly Bryan hears more about the quirky De Niro gelding who doesn’t act his age, and who made a winning comeback from more than a year off earlier in 2020

Super Nova II

Age: 17

Breeding: De Niro x Weltmeyer

Owner: Jen Goodman

Rider: Spencer Wilton

Breeder: Eva Kirby

Greatest achievements: championship debut at the Rio Olympics in 2016, team silver; sixth individually in the grand prix special at the 2017 European Championships in Gothenburg; team bronze at the 2018 World Equestrian Games in Tryon.Holly Smith’s up-and-coming showjumping star Denver

Rider Spencer Wilton

“‘Neville’ is 17 now, but he doesn’t feel it! He doesn’t need to learn anything new, so we are planning to take things easy with him for the rest of this year. He’ll hack out and potter about, then we’ll start again in the autumn with some quiet training and target the Tokyo Olympics with the same plan as we had in place for this year.

“Over the past six years Neville has actually missed a considerable amount of time in proper competition work, so even though he’ll be 18 next year, his brain is still very much up for it and I have nothing to lose.

“Making our ‘comeback’ this year, he felt genuinely better than ever, and there was actually a lot more in the tank. There are plenty of horses who have continued to compete at 18, and Neville and I have unfinished business!”

Groom Claire Hinton

“Neville is both the love of my life and the bane of my life, and I’ve never met a horse like him. He loves routine – I could set my watch by him – and anything out of his routine makes him unhappy. He’s such a big personality on the yard and has lots of little quirks. He loves a mid-morning nap – sometimes Spencer arrives to ride at midday and I have to tell him that Neville is still asleep.

“He is quite a polite horse to handle, but he can get grumpy in his stable. He prefers to be left to himself most of the time – he likes cuddles but they have to be on his terms. But there’s no nasty bone in his body.

“He also loves pears – the mushier the better. They’re his favourite treat and whenever we go to shows I have to stock up on them.

“Neville is a sensitive soul and has to have trust in the person handling him or riding him. I don’t think many people would be able to ride him like Spencer does; you have to get in his head. To this day, Neville still does things he’s never done before and throws new challenges into the mix.”

Judge Clive Halsall

“I judged Spencer and Super Nova when they won at both their comeback internationals earlier this year – Lier and Keysoe – and the horse looked really good. One of the biggest challenges with older horses is keeping them supple and gymnastic and he looked to be in top form. When I’m judging, I look at whether the horse can do it, and also whether he wants to, and Super Nova really did.

“At Lier there were a lot of distractions and plenty going on, but Spencer did well to keep the horse attentive and focused throughout his tests, and they were very polished. It’s a challenge for horses to come back out the next day and do the grand prix special, but I remember this pair having so many highlights, particularly the passage in the special.

“It was early in the season, and February and March are not the easiest months for a horse to come out looking great, but Super Nova really said, ‘Here I am, ready to go’.”

Ref Horse & Hound; 21 May 2020

Spencer is an Olympic silver medallist, having partnered the De Niro son Super Nova II at Rio 2016, as well as at the 2017 European Championships and World Equestrian Games in 2018, taking team bronze. He is now targeting Tokyo Olympics.

I’ve always been of the opinion that if a horse doesn’t do something the way you’d like him to, there can only be two reasons why: either they don’t understand, or they physically can’t. That could be because they are not strong enough, not coordinated enough, or are uncomfortable in some way.

Thinking this way helps me to approach problems, whether in my teaching or my own riding, with a more positive mindset.

We often assume horses think like we do, and we humanise them, but actually they can’t think and plan with the same levels of logic that we do.

Another attitude I’ve picked up over the years is the thinking that most modern competition horses are kept in an environment that they’re not really designed for. Horses are built to move, not stand still, and that’s as much for their brains as for their bodies.

Personally, I think we have a moral responsibility to make horses’ lives as comfortable and natural as possible.

Kisses for thought

The best advice my parents gave me was probably something my mum would say to me from a young age. She told me to make sure I take a moment to myself after every success to enjoy it, because there might not be another one. Nowadays, no matter whether I’m at the Olympics or a show down the road, I have her words in my ears. It’s so easy to let these big moments pass you by.

Another thing I always do on every competition day is give my horse a kiss on the nose before I get on to warm up. Then the last thing I do before going into the ring is always to take a moment to take a deep breath and sit up straight – like a bit of a reset.

I’m inspired by every successful grand prix rider. I’m fascinated by other people’s techniques and different riding and training styles – I think we can learn something from everyone.

If I had to choose one horse I’d loved to have ridden, it would probably be Blue Hors Matine. She was a mare who seemed to give so much of herself, and sitting on a horse who really gives you everything they have must be an amazing feeling.

Of all my former rides, I’d most like still to have Dolendo now. He was the first grand prix horse I produced, and I don’t think I did too bad a job back then – we were national champions in 2007 – but if I was training him now, I’d have a different level of confidence in my own ability.

I adored him, and it would be interesting to see how he would compare to the top horses of today.

Ref Horse & Hound; 30 April 2020

This time of year is always full of promise, but there's a few reasons why 2020 is shaping up to be an especially exciting year for dressage riders and fans alike...

1. Britain might win an Olympic medal

In case you hadn’t realised, there’s the small matter of the Tokyo Olympics fast approaching! Britain’s top combinations are getting their competition campaigns underway, all hoping to be chosen as members of the team of three that will travel to Japan in July, along with one travelling reserve. And there’s no shortage of talent at the top — with Charlotte Dujardin, Carl Hester and Gareth Hughes leading the charge, you can be sure that whichever riders end up representing us in Tokyo, they’ll be in with a very good chance of a team medal.

2. There will be some exciting format changes

If the Olympics weren’t exciting enough, this year’s Games are set to produce even more drama, with a new competition format. The grand prix special will now determine the team medals, with the grand prix test serving as a qualifier for the individual competition – the freestyle – and to decide the running order for the special.

3. The National Dressage Championships have had a revamp

Back at home, the British Dressage national championships will take place at the beautiful Somerford Park, Cheshire, this September, with three international arenas, extra capacity across the levels and several new classes, including a prelim gold championship, prix st georges and inter I silver championships and a prix st georges freestyle.

4. There’s plenty of new and returning talent to watch out for

One of the most exciting young British riders of the moment, Lottie Fry, will be campaigning hard for Tokyo selection, not just with her 2019 European Championship ride Dark Legend, but the Lord Leatherdale stallion Everdale, with whom she wowed crowds and judges alike at Olympia in December. At the other end of the spectrum, experienced combination Spencer Wilton and Super Nova II are also back in action and aiming for a team place, having not competed since helping Britain win team bronze at the World Equestrian Games in 2018.

5. The Area Festival series has had a makeover

The ever-popular Area Festivals will now run across two seasons, culminating in the winter championships at Hartpury in April and the brand new summer championships, to be held at Arena UK in September.

6. Britain’s para dressage squad are looking stronger than ever

There have been several new faces on British para teams in recent years, such last year’s gold medallists Georgia Wilson and team silver medallist Mari Durward-Akhurst. But competition for a team place at the Paralympics is especially strong this year, with multi-medallists like Natasha Baker and Sophie Christiansen boasting top-class new rides. Britain hasn’t won team gold at a para championship since 2017, but there’s everything to suggest they could be back on top in Tokyo.

7. Freestyle to music fans have a new championship to aim for

The summer Area Festival series now includes freestyle classes, so if you and your horse love nothing more than to strut your stuff to music, this is a great opportunity. The Area Festival Summer Music Championship will be incorporated in to the Area Festival Summer Championships in September. Check out this week’s dressage special issue of H&H for more on creating a winning freestyle.

8. Britain’s queen of dressage has another horse at the top level

Having already proved herself to be far from a one-horse wonder following Valegro’s retirement, Charlotte Dujardin can now add the nine-year-old Gio — aka Pumpkin — her grand prix string alongside Mount St John Freestyle. The diminutive Apache son made his grand prix debut with nearly 80% in January, and is set to compete at his first international competition in March, at ’s-Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands.

9. Middle tour combinations will be well catered for

If you and your horse have progressed beyond small tour but aren’t quite ready to make the leap up to grand prix, it can often feel as though you’re somewhat stuck in no-mans land. Not this year though — BD has launched a new Middle Tour Championship, to run at the Keysoe High Profile show in December with inter II, inter B and inter A/B freestyle classes for gold and silver competitors.

Don’t miss Horse & Hound’s dressage special issue, on sale now

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Spencer Wilton and Super Nova II have made a winning comeback on their first competitive appearance since helping Britain win team bronze at the World Equestrian Games (WEG) in 2018.

Spencer and “Neville” represented Britain at three consecutive championships from 2016 to 2018, also winning team silver at the Rio Olympics, but Spencer announced in May last year that he would not campaign the De Niro son for the European Championship team in 2019 and would instead focus on the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

And the pair made the best possible start to their Olympic campaign, scoring 76.9% in the grand prix at Sparsholt College on Saturday 1 February – Spencer’s birthday.

“It was a very nice birthday present!” laughed the Olympian, who underwent surgery for a ruptured disc in his lower back in June 2019.

“Neville’s 17 this year but feeling really good and, touch wood, I am feeling good too with my back. With team selection for Tokyo being so early this year, we had to get out competing sooner rather than later if we were going to go for it. Neville needed to go out and do a test so I could see how he felt and then plan my internationals for the year around that.

“He felt fantastic! He actually feels more confident and is finding things easier, such as the piaffe, changes and pirouettes,” Spencer told H&H. “He was very lively in the warm-up — there were a couple of moments when I felt like I was sitting on a five-year-old at his first show!

Continues below…

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“I hadn’t even ridden through the grand prix test at home since WEG, but it’s an amazing feeling to get on a horse who knows their job — it’s like putting on an old pair of slippers.”

Spencer now plans to take Neville to the Lier CDI4* in Belgium at the end of February, as well as Compiegne CDIO5* in May and “something else in between”.

“It’s going to be a real battle for a team place, with only three available this year and some really good combinations,” added Spencer. “But this might well be Neville’s last year at this level so we might as well give it a real go. The exciting thing is that whoever ends up on our team, it will be a fantastic team.”

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British dressage rider Spencer Wilton has undergone surgery in Sydney for a ruptured disc in his lower back, having been admitted to hospital while in Australia on a teaching trip.

The multi-medalled Olympian suffered with the back injury during 2018, blighting his preparations for the World Equestrian Games (WEG) in September — though he and Super Nova II still helped Britain achieve team bronze in Tryon.

A relapse while in Australia meant he was admitted to the Prince Charles Hospital in Sydney, and needed an operation before he could return to the UK. He underwent the surgery on Saturday morning (8 June).

“I’m feeling much better and extremely relieved,” said Spencer. “If all goes well I’ll stay in hospital until Wednesday then have a few days resting up and hopefully fly home next weekend.

“[It wasn’t] quite the end to a fabulous trip teaching in Australia that I was expecting. Having had a bit of a sore back on arrival it quickly got rather uncomfortable, to the point that I was needing assistance to get dressed!

“Without getting too mushy I want to say that being in this situation, on the other side of the world, has been quite an experience, but all the messages of support that I have received have really humbled me. So thank you all from the bottom of my heart.”

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Spencer and “Neville” have been members of the British senior team for the past three consecutive years, winning team silver at the Rio Olympics and helping Britain finish fourth at the 2017 European Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden.

The pair made their comeback after the best part of a year out in 2018, winning bronze at WEG, but Spencer recently announced that he will not be campaigning the 17-year-old De Niro gelding for this year’s European Championship team, instead saving him for a tilt at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.

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World Equestrian Games (WEG) bronze medallist Spencer Wilton has taken himself and his top horse, Super Nova II, out of contention for this year’s European Dressage Championships.

Spencer and the 16-year-old De Niro gelding helped Britain achieve team bronze and Olympic qualification in Tryon, USA, in September 2018 but have opted to not travel to Rotterdam, Netherlands, this August, and instead target the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.

“It was a really difficult decision because he’s feeling really good, like a spring chicken, but I’d like to keep him feeling like that, and whatever happens in 2020 I would be looking at retiring him at the end of that year,” Spencer told H&H. “So if next year is going to be his last we might as well focus on making that a good one.”

Spencer and “Neville” were members of the silver medal-winning British team at the 2016 Rio Olympics and also helped Britain finish fourth at the European Championships in 2017, before securing bronze at WEG 2018.

“If Neville did the Europeans this year and the Olympics next year that would be five consecutive championships for him. How many horses actually do that in their career — not many!” said Spencer, who was forced to give the tall gelding almost 10 months off between September 2017 and July 2018 due to injury.

“He has been slightly challenging at times to keep going so, after discussing it with [British chef d’equipe] Caroline Griffiths, the selectors and Neville’s owner Jen Goodman, we decided to take the pressure off and not worry about this year. From a team point of view it was very important last year that we qualified for the Games, but we managed that.”

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Spencer continued: “I think Britain will still have a good chance of winning a medal at the Europeans — we have some really strong combinations.”

Spencer will instead focus on his up-and-coming ride, the seven-year-old Sandro Hit mare Santa Maria, who was unbeaten last year at novice level. He plans to keep Neville in work during the summer, and contest some autumn internationals in preparation for the 2020 campaign.

“I’m certainly not having a year off, but a quiet year will be nice — and a bit of a novelty,” he said.

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Dressage royalty were out in force last Saturday (15 December) to celebrate the wedding of British Olympic rider Spencer Wilton and his partner, fellow dressage rider Darren Hicks. The pair tied the knot at Shaw House in Newbury, and 200 guests joined them at the party in the evening at Hillfields Farm, Lower Basildon.

With a beautiful barn decorated by Spencer’s mother, Chelsea Flower Show gold medallist Isabel Wilton, Britain’s Got Talent finalist Lettice Rowbotham entertaining on the violin and Olympic riders left, right and centre, it was certainly a wedding to remember. We take a look at just some of the famous faces who joined in the celebrations…

The rain did nothing to dampen the spirits of the happy couple.

“So yesterday Darren and I became Mr and Mr,” said Spencer on his Facebook page. “We would like to say a massive thank you to everyone who made our special day a spectacular one.”

Spencer celebrates with his long-time friend and owner of his Olympic and world medallist Super Nova II, Jen Goodman.

Spencer’s teammate Charlotte Dujardin lets her hair down with super-groom Alan Davies.

Carl Hester with Vanessa Chinn, owner of several of Darren and Spencer’s horses.

Ben Neal with Spencer’s mother Isabel — a three-time winner at the Chelsea Flower Show.

Violinist Lettice Rowbotham gets the party underway in great style.

Andrew Gould was another of the international rider contingent, with his wife Hannah and their three-week-old daughter Ophelia.

British eventing performance manager, and former British dressage chef d’equipe Richard Waygood, with his partner Sophie Leigh.

It wasn’t just the great and good of British dressage who joined the celebrations — top Dutch international riders Hans Peter Minderhoud and Edward Gal also made the trip, pictured here with Jane de la Mare, owner of Carl Hester’s Olympic horse Nip Tuck.

Dressage riders definitely have the best style — Spencer and Darren each sported snazzy red-soled Louboutins for their big day.

Photographs by Leslie Bliss Photography

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A successful small tour dressage horse formerly ridden by Spencer Wilton is enjoying his second career as an eventer having won his first affiliated BE90 class.

Doogie, a 15-year-old 17.1hh gelding by Democrat, was Inter I champion at the British Dressage National Championships in 2013 with Spencer, and is now being ridden by Alison Lidstone, who is based in Oxfordshire.

Alison, who formerly represented Britain at the Rural Riders European Cup CIC** in Belgium in 2003, told H&H: “Doogie arrived with me in November 2016. His owners, Mary Baker and Carol Large, made the decision to retire him from top level dressage and he came to me to be retired in the field. He’d been at grass for about a year and the owners asked if I would like to start riding him.

“One thing led to another and we gave him a little jump and he seemed to really enjoy it. We decided to let him have a bit of fun at the lower levels and for the owners to have a bit of fun. It’s a real treat riding Doogie, he’s obviously beautifully trained, which has made jumping him really easy because he is so educated.

“I started jumping him this year and took him cross-country schooling in the spring. I think he’d jumped a little bit with the odd pole session in the years gone by, but never cross country. He took to it and that’s where his previous training really came in.”

Alison and Doogie competed at Monmouth on 14 September winning their BE90 section, finishing on their dressage score of 19.8.

“He got the best dressage score – it would have been a bit awkward if I hadn’t got a good mark! He’s used to competitions but when he goes to a dressage show it’s quite contained whereas I think for him, going to an event and seeing lots of things in the distance, he was fascinated,” said Alison.

“Mary and Carol couldn’t see Doogie at Monmouth because they were at the World Equestrian Games in Tryon watching the dressage so once they got back they came to the yard for a carrot ceremony.”

Alison said Doogie is the “easiest” horse on her yard.

“I’m a very lucky girl. He’s a very kind, lovely horse. He’s a real gentleman and just so easy to deal with.”

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Alison is riding Doogie at BE Dauntsey Park this weekend (28-30 September).

“We have some more lower level runs planned for this season,” said Alison. “He’s a very bright horse when the jumping bit comes along, and he’s quite capable but he’s 15 and he’s only ever been worked on dressage arenas, so I’m conscious it’s not the surface he has been accustomed to over the years so naturally we want to be careful with him.

“His owners just want him to be happy and he really enjoys his jumping so it’s a nice thing for him to do.”

For all the latest news analysis, competition reports, interviews, features and much more, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, on sale every Thursday.

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Britain’s Spencer Wilton has withdrawn from today grand prix special at the World Equestrian Games in Tryon, North Carolina.

Spencer and his own and Jen Goodman’s Super Nova II helped Britain win team bronze yesterday, but the 15-year-old De Niro gelding, known as Neville, was not feeling 100% today after getting excited in yesterday’s medal ceremony.

“I’m obviously devastated for myself and Jen as we were so looking forward to building on what we achieved in the grand prix,” said Spencer. “Prize-givings are not Neville’s favourite thing and normally I wouldn’t do them but we’re at a championship.

“I helped the team secure qualification for Tokyo 2020 and that was my primary focus, so with that in mind, Neville’s welfare was key to this tough decision.”

Britain’s Emile Faurie and Dono Di Maggio are currently lying 19th, having scored 70.38%. Emile reported that the huge 18hh gelding was feeling the humidity and the heat, which had reached 30 degrees.

“It was not easy today; he’s a massive horse and he struggled with the heat. The tank was a bit empty,” Emile told H&H. “With these big horses it takes a bit longer to get the strength too, but this has been a great experience for him. I’m really happy with him — he really tried. He’s a fantastic horse and I just know he’s going to be really great for the future.”

Article continues below…

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Sweden’s Juliette Ramel is currently leading the grand prix with Buriel KH, having scored a personal best of 77.28% with a brilliant performance. Her Swedish teammate Therese Nilshagen is lying second with Dante Weltino, on 75.82%.

Britain’s Carl Hester will ride his own, Ann Cory and Anne Evans’ Hawtins Delicato in the special at 4.10pm (9.10pm UK time), with Charlotte Dujardin the penultimate rider of the class, beginning her test with Emma and Jill Blundell’s Mount St John Freestyle at 5pm (10pm UK time).

Horse & Hound has two journalists and a photographer in Tryon for WEG. Keep up to date with all the news on horseandhound.co.uk and in the magazine issues dated 20 and 27 September

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The Helgstrand-sponsored dressage competition at the World Equestrian Games in Tryon continues today (Friday, 14 September), with the grand prix special. All four members of the British team — who won bronze behind Germany and the USA yesterday — have qualified and will compete at the following times:

• Emile Faurie with Hof Kasselmann’s Dono Di Maggio — 11.10 am local time (4.10pm UK time)
  
• Spencer Wilton with his own and Jen Goodman’s Super Nova II — 3pm local time (8pm UK time)
• Carl Hester with his own, Ann Cory and Anne Evans’ Hawtins Delicato — 4.10am local time (9.10pm UK time)
  
• Charlotte Dujardin with Emma and Jill Blundell’s Mount St John Freestyle (above) — 5pm local time (10pm UK time)

The top 30 combinations from Wednesday and Thursday’s grand prix contest the special, which serves as a qualifier for the grand prix freestyle on Sunday, 16 September. The very first dressage rider into the arena will be Belgium’s Laurence Roos and Fil Rouge, at 10.30am local time (3.30pm UK time). Ireland’s individual competitor, Judy Reynolds with Vancouver K, will go at 11.20am local time (4.20pm UK time).

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Germany maintain their golden run, with the USA claiming silver and Britain securing bronze

For the newly crowned world champions Germany, the first rider into the arena today will be Dorothee Schnieder and Sammy Davis Jr at 3.10pm local time (8.10pm UK time) followed by Jessica von Bredow-Werndl with TSF Dalera BB at 3.30pm (8.30pm). Sonke Rothenberger and Cosmo, who finished third in the grand prix with plus-81%, will ride at 4.50pm (9.50pm UK time), with Isabell Werth and Bella Rose, who scored plus-84% to lead the grand prix, the last combination to ride the special, at 5.10pm (10.10pm UK time) on Thursday.

Silver medallists the USA will kick off with Steffen Peters and Suppenkasper at 12.50pm (5.50pm UK time). Adrienne Lyle and Salvino will follow at 2.40pm (7.40pm UK time), while Kasey Perry-Glass and Goerklintgaards Dublet will compete at 3.40pm (8.40pm UK time). Laura Graves, who took second in the grand prix, will begin her test with Verdades at 4.40pm (9.40pm UK time), after which the medals will be awarded.

Horse & Hound has two journalists and a photographer in Tryon for WEG. Keep up to date with all the news on horseandhound.co.uk and in the magazine issues dated 20 and 27 September

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Britain have secured the bronze medal in the Helgstrand-sponsored dressage at the World Equestrian Games in Tryon, North Carolina. Germany maintained their lead to claim an emphatic gold while the USA took silver.

Britain were sitting in the silver medal spot with Charlotte Dujardin still to go following very good tests from Carl Hester on Hawtins Delicato, Spencer Wilton on Super Nova II and Emile Faurie on Dono Di Maggio. Under blazing hot sun, Charlotte rode Emma and Jill Blundell’s nine-year-old Mount St John Freestyle (below) to a score of 77.76% at the mare’s first championship.

Freestyle displayed some super work, with her extensions garnering especially high marks, although the test was not blip-free — they had a small mistake in the one-time changes, and the piaffe was sticky at times. But Charlotte was delighted: “What an amazing horse to come here and do that — I’m so proud of her. I didn’t know how she was going to be in there as she’s never been in that sort of environment and she’s very young and inexperienced,” said the Olympic gold medallist, competing at a senior championship for the first time since the retirement of Valegro.

“We had a few little mistakes but they’re all things that are easy to iron out. She felt great and loved the atmosphere — it doesn’t make her afraid at all. You definitely wouldn’t think she’s only nine.”

The fight for bronze could not have been closer, however; Sweden’s anchorman Patrik Kittel needed a huge personal best of 78.3% to deny Britain a medal, and he and the 10-year-old mare Well Done De La Roche CMF came excruciatingly close, their score of 78.19% more than 2% ahead of their previous personal best.

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Germany’s Isabell Werth had the ride of her life on the dainty Belissimo mare Bella Rose (below), who has had nearly four years off with an injury. They charged to the top of the leaderboard with a fantastic test, posting 84.83%, another huge personal best on the mare she describes as her “dream horse”.

“This was so special,” said a hugely emotional Isabell, who has partnered Madeleine Winter-Schulze’s mare since she was a three-year-old. “We have worked together for so long and had so many ups and downs. It’s so brilliant to come back with this performance.”

Last-to-go Laura Graves also brought her A-game for the home side, recording 81.54% with an almost flawless performance on her 16-year-old gelding Verdades, to secure the USA the silver medal.

The Netherlands finished in fifth place with Spain sixth and Denmark seventh. The top 30 riders will go forward to compete for the first set of individual medals in the grand prix special tomorrow.

Horse & Hound has two journalists and a photographer in Tryon for WEG. Keep up to date with all the news on horseandhound.co.uk and in the magazine issues dated 20 and 27 September

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Germany hold the lead after day one of the Helgstrand-sponsored team dressage competition at the World Equestrian Games in Tryon, with Great Britain sitting fourth.

Super tests from Germany’s opening two pairs, Jessica von Bredow-Werndl on TSF Dalera BB and Dorothee Schneider on Sammy Davis Jr, banked Germany scores of 76.67% and 75.06% which places them at the top of the leaderboard overnight.

Sweden currently hold the silver medal spot with Tinne Vilhelmson Silfven and Don Auriello posting 73.1% and Juliette Ramel and Buriel KH earning 75.25%. The USA have slotted into the bronze medal position with scores of 73.45% and 74.86% from Steffen Peters (Suppenkasper) and Adrienne Lyle (Salvino) respectively.

Britain are currently sitting in fourth place; Spencer Wilton’s 74.5% with Super Nova II was followed by Emile Faurie posting 72.79% with Hof Kasselmann’s 11-year-old Dimaggio gelding, Dono Di Maggio (pictured above).

Their test was full of highlights, with the Dono’s elevated, energetic passage receiving high marks, but the odd mistake crept in, including a double beat behind in the one-time changes, and Emile was fairly disappointed with the performance as a whole.

“It’s a massive atmosphere in there and he went a bit into himself and didn’t shine quite as much as I know he can,” Emile explained. “He’s such a wonderful horse and I would have loved to have put in a better score for the team but that’s life. He’s still quite young, with relatively little experience — this was only his 11^th grand prix — and he’s never seen anything like this before.”

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The team competition in Tryon, North Carolina, continues tomorrow with Carl Hester the first on for the Brits, riding his own, Ann Cory and Anne Evans’ Hawtins Delicato at 11.10am (4.10pm UK time). Charlotte Dujardin will be the final British rider to compete, going at 5.51pm (10.51pm UK time) with Emma and Jill Blundell’s Mount St John Freestyle.

Ireland’s Judy Reynolds, competing as an individual with Vancouver K (pictured below), is currently lying 12th having posted 71.96%.

“I’m happy overall but there were more glitches than I would have liked, and it just didn’t have the smoothness I wanted,” said Judy, who has only completed two grands prix tests this year with “JP”, the Jazz gelding having been out for a full year with injury. “We had a mistake in the twos, which was my fault; he was backing off the camera in the corner and I used too much spur. There was a lot of good stuff in there though, so fingers crossed it’s enough for us to get through to the special.”

Horse & Hound has two journalists and a photographer in Tryon for WEG. Keep up to date with all the news on horseandhound.co.uk and in the magazine issues dated 20 and 27 September.

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Great Britain has got off to an ideal start in the Helgstrand-sponsored dressage team competition at the World Equestrian Games in Tryon, North Carolina, with first-to-go Spencer Wilton banking a solid score for the team.

With his own and Jen Goodman’s Super Nova II (Neville), Spencer produced a mistake-free test to score 74.58%, sitting second individually and putting Britain into the silver position at this very early stage.

The 15-year-old British Hanoverian gelding, who is by De Niro, helped Britain secure team silver at the Rio Olympics two years ago but has been off games for 10 months of the past year after an injury, and only returned to competition at Hartpury CDI in July. He has performed just two grands prix this year prior to Tryon.

“He was a little nervous in there as he always is, but he felt very good in his body, and we did what we needed to do for the team so I’m delighted,” said Spencer, who has also struggled with three bulging discs in his back this summer and had to enlist Carl Hester to run Neville during yesterday’s trot-up as the pain is now affecting his left calf. “If it wasn’t for the team physio, Ashleigh Wallace, and our chief medical officer, Pippa Bennett, I wouldn’t even be here now.

“Neville feels amazing overall, and he’s generally better in the special actually as by then he’s already been in the arena and I feel more confident that he’ll stay with me so I can push for more,” added Spencer. “The main thing today was to do a mistake-free test, and provide a good, solid score for the others to build on.”

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Germany’s Jessica von Bredow-Werndl is currently leading with 76.68% on the 11-year-old Easy Game mare TSF Dalera BB. Spencer sits second, just ahead of the USA’s Steffen Peters and Suppenkasper, who scored 73.5%.

Emile Faurie will ride next for Britain, beginning his test with Hof Kasselmann’s Dono Di Maggio at 3.24pm (8.24pm UK time). Carl Hester and Charlotte Dujardin ride tomorrow (Thursday, 13 September); Carl and his own, Ann Cory and Anne Evans’ Hawtins Delicato will go at 11.10am (4.10pm UK time) and Charlotte will ride Emma and Jill Blundell’s Mount St John Freestyle at 5.51pm (10.51pm UK time).

Horse & Hound has two journalists and a photographer in Tryon for WEG. Keep up to date with all the news on horseandhound.co.uk and in the magazine issues dated 20 and 27 September.

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Double Olympic champion Charlotte Dujardin spearheads the British dressage team for this September’s World Equestrian Games (WEG), which was announced today (17 August).

Charlotte will pilot the nine-year-old Fidermark mare Mount St John Freestyle, owned by Emma Blundell, at Tryon International Equestrian Center, US, on her first championship appearance since the retirement of Valegro.

Charlotte is joined on the team by her London 2012 Olympic gold medal-winning team-mate Carl Hester, who has been named with his own, Anne Evans and Ann Cory’s 10-year-old Diamond Hit gelding Hawtins Delicato. Both Freestyle and “Del” are in just their first year of grand prix.

Competition for the remaining two slots of the team has been fierce, but Spencer Wilton made the cut with his Rio Olympic and 2017 Europeans ride, Super Nova II. The 15-year-old De Niro gelding, who is owned by Jen Goodman and Spencer, had 10 months out of competition due to an injury, returning to the arena with solid grand prix scores at Hartpury and Hickstead CDIs in July.

Filling the other team spot is Emile Faurie with Hof Kasselmann’s Dono Di Maggio, an 11-year-old Dimaggio gelding. This will be Emile’s third WEG, having returned to the senior team for the 2017 Europeans for the first time since 2011. Emile has also been named with a direct reserve horse, another De Niro son, this time Elena’s Knyaginicheva’s 14-year-old stallion Delatio

Lara Butler is the final reserve, with her long-term partner, the Bechtolsheimers’ 16-year-old Rubin Al Asad. Lara and “Rufus” were reserves for both the Rio Olympics and the 2017 Europeans.

Dressage performance manager Caroline Griffith said: “It’s very exciting to be working with a team of riders that have such a wealth of experience between them and I know that they will use that experience to best effect. We have seen some great scores this year from those on the short list, which, for me, underlines the strength of the four athletes and horses that will be travelling to Tryon.

“If anyone can prepare this high-calibre group of young horses for a World Equestrian Games, we know Carl, Charlotte, and Emile can. Add to that Spencer and we have capacity for some truly exciting team scores and a great competition.”

British Dressage CEO Jason Brautigam added: “We’re exceptionally lucky to be in a position to field four riders with Olympic experience in Carl, Charlotte, Emile and Spencer. In our team for WEG we have three exciting young horses making their championship debut, alongside a fourth making his third consecutive team appearance.

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“They have all been carefully campaigned through the year to peak for Tryon – and with the team’s vast experience of preparing for the big occasion, confidence in the camp is high. We are looking forward to seeing these combinations in action and wish them all the very best in the USA.”

The Games run from 11 to 23 September.

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The shortlist for the British World Equestrian Games (WEG) dressage team has been confirmed.

Eight combinations have been listed, from which four will be selected to make up the British team that will travel to Tryon, North Carolina in September.

Charlotte Dujardin spearheads the line-up with Emma Blundell’s nine-year-old mare Mount St John Freestyle (pictured above, centre). The talented Fidermark mare only began her grand prix career this year but is so far unbeaten, with scores of over 80% in the grand prix special.

Carl Hester is also listed with his young grand prix star, his own, Anne Evans and Ann Cory’s Hawtins Delicato (pictured above, left). This British-bred 10-year-old, by Diamond Hit, is another in his first year of grand prix.

Rio silver medallist and 2017 Europeans team member Spencer Wilton is short-listed with his Olympic ride, his own and Jen Goodman’s Super Nova II. The 15-year-old De Niro gelding has spent 10 months away from competition due to an injury, but made his comeback at Hartpury CDI in July this year, finishing third behind Carl and Charlotte. The pair also won the grand prix at Hickstead CDI in late July.

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Emile Faurie and Gareth Hughes are both named with two rides; Emile has Elena Knyaginicheva’s Delatio, the 14-year-old De Niro stallion with whom he posted plus-73% at the Aachen CHIIO5* last month, and Hof Kasselmann KG’s Dono Di Maggio, an 11-year-old by Dimaggio who was second and third at Fritzens CDI4* at the end of June.

Gareth has made the short-list with Steve and Anne Keen’s Don Carissimo (pictured above, right), with whom he travelled to Gothenburg to compete on the British team at last year’s Europeans, before being forced to withdraw when the Don Crusador gelding sustained an injury after arrival. Gareth is also listed with his own, his wife Rebecca’s and Julia Hornig’s 12-year-old Trento B mare Classic Briolinca.

Lara Butler and the Bechtolsheimers’ Rubin Al Asad complete the shortlist. Lara and the 16-year-old Rubin Royal son are the only combination not to have competed on a championship team, though they were selected as reserves for both the Rio Olympics and the 2017 Europeans.

“We have a great mix of exciting young horses with experienced riders and established combinations all of whom have performed well this year so I am very, very excited about the World Games,” said dressage performance manager, Caroline Griffith.

“All of those campaigning this year have pushed those on the shortlist hard for their places, a true sign of the strength, depth and quality we have in this country.”

There is no definite date for the team announcement, though it is expected within the next two weeks.

Don’t miss our full preview of the FEI World Equestrian Games in Tryon, on sale Thursday 30 August

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Olympic silver medallist Spencer Wilton and his double championship ride Super Nova II have made their long-awaited comeback after nearly 10 months out of competition.

The 15-year-old De Niro son had only made one competition appearance since representing Britain at 2017 European Championships in Gothenburg, achieving a grand prix special victory in Darmstadt-Kranichstein, Germany, last September. But the tall gelding hardly looked as though he has been out of action, scoring 75.85% for a classy test to finish third behind Charlotte Dujardin and Carl Hester in today’s CDI3* grand prix at Hartpury.

“He finished last year really well, but when he came back in after a break he just had a couple of little niggles,” Spencer explained. “I could have rushed him back to do other shows, but I spoke to the selectors about it, and it was my risk so I thought I’d leave it as long as I could.

“I’m really delighted with him today — he doesn’t feel as though he’s been out at all. It’s given us both confidence,” Spencer told H&H.

Charlotte added to Mount St John Freestyle’s growing tally of international victories, with a 77.43% win here. The pair had some mistakes, with Emma Blundell’s nine-year-old mare feeling the scorching heat and looking reluctant to piaffe, but also produced some outstanding work to rake in the high scores elsewhere.

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Carl slotted into the second with his own, Lady Anne Evans and Ann Cory’s 10-year-old Hawtins Delicato. The Diamond Hit son produced an excellent performance for 76.09%, with just one sticky moment coming out of the first piaffe.

“I made the first passage too big and he couldn’t cope in the piaffe and got stuck,” Carl told H&H. “Every test is a learning curve, but you’ve got to go for it at a place like Hartpury.”

Richard Davison took fourth with 72% on Bubblingh, with Sonnar Murray-Brown and Erlentanz taking fifth with 71.6%.

Don’t miss next week’s issue for the full report from the Harpury Festival of Dressage, including the CDI3*, CPEDI3* and Premier League, on sale on 12 July.

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OPINION

We all love dressage, are advocates for horse welfare and want future generations to be encouraged to take up this sport, correct?

Then why are we cultivating a circle of fear among riders, who dare not even warm up their horses without the worry of pictures and footage being taken of them, so they can face trial by social media, often without facts?

A lot has been written on this subject of late, with many posting heartfelt commentary asking their peers to please consider what they post on social media before they have the full picture. Riders fear they will be labelled as abusers at any time.

‘Horses’ bodies are like human bodies’

The irony is that many of those leading the war against extreme hyperflexion have not competed under the glare of this digital age and rarely volunteer footage of themselves training their horses to be analysed by their following.

Horses’ bodies are like human bodies. They function in different ways, alongside having differing temperaments, fitness and attitudes. It’s a rider’s job to tailor their riding to each individual horse’s needs; to find that connection with the horse and overcome their challenges — together. Photos are great for capturing moments in time, but these moments are sometimes twisted and judged by those who seek to damage others.

They are often not a reflection of the true partnership. I am increasingly distressed by riders being put into the social media dock and defamed without the facts being known.

Recently, a public apology was made on a social media group fighting to tackle

extreme hyperflexion, after pictures posted of a horse at a competition led to the rider being accused of improper riding. It was then found that evidence for the accusation was incorrect. How appalling that the rider concerned has had to endure so much stress unnecessarily.

Most of us are strongly against the use of rollkur and there are clearly certain riders who practise this method consistently in their training.

Most of us agree this needs condemning by stewards, judges and the FEI. But the need for correct reporting and facts has never been greater, because, although our sport is in a good place, a minority seem to be trying to bring it down.

Dressage has progressed much more into the mainstream over the past few years, with British Dressage increasing its membership and more people, particularly children, feeling inspired, but this progress is being threatened.

Work in harmony

Dressage is a sport enjoyed by all ages and is the pinnacle of a partnership between human and horse, but it is being pulled down in a way that often constitutes outright bullying, and which can be defamatory to reputations and individuals who work hard and adore their animals.

I fully support the fight against equine abuse, but let’s put a stop to the vigilante behaviour and make change in a more productive way.

This can only come from open communication in a non-confrontational way. All riders, trainers and spectators want to see our noble friends work with willingness, ease and in harmony. So let’s try to work in harmony ourselves.

Ref: Horse & Hound; 5 April 2018

Opinion

This year’s Olympia was a mixed bag for the Brits. I imagine there will be a few who were a little disappointed, but certainly not Emile Faurie.

I was in Germany in September when he did his first show on Delatio and, although you could see he had potential, he was green. Since then, the horse has improved dramatically and, by performing in the Olympia environment, he has shown us not just how talented he is, but also how good his temperament is. He looks like a real team prospect for next year if he continues to improve.

I take my hat off to Emile. It’s exciting for the sport in this country, and also for Emile to be making a bit of a comeback after not having had the best horses the past few years.

The other rider who stood out in terms of harmony and ease of riding was, of course, Patrik Kittel. He has always believed in Delaunay, but has slightly played down his aspirations for the horse, until now. And what a programme he produced; it was so difficult, but he didn’t miss a single beat and the horse looked happy and confident.

Edward Gal’s horse, Glock’s Zonik, has huge talent, although I’ve never seen Edward work so hard in a test. That said, for the horse to perform in that atmosphere aged nine, in his first year of grand prix, is remarkable. It would have been tempting for the Dutch to take Zonik on the team for the Europeans this year, but it was a good call to give the horse the extra time. I’m sure it’ll pay off.

Ref Horse & Hound; 21 December 2017

Keeping competition horses in peak condition through the winter can be a challenge. We delve into the diet plan of Team GB dressage horse Supernova II, to find out the details of his winter feeding regime

Horse: Supernova II (Neville)

The rider: Spencer Wilton

Key stats: 14-year-old, 17.1hh bay Hanoverian gelding (Donnerhall x Weltmeyer) owned by Jen Goodman.

Career résumé: this year alone he won the grand prix special and was third in the grand prix at Darmstadt-Kranichstein CDI4*, 13th in the grand prix freestyle, sixth in the grand prix special and team fourth at the European Championships in Gothenburg, won the grand prix and grand prix special at Hartpury CDI3*, won the grand prix, grand prix special and Nations Cup at Compiègne CDIO5*.

Winter routine: “Neville is the master of quirkiness,” says his groom Claire Hinton.

“He doesn’t have any complete blocks of time off because he gets bored and he doesn’t get turned out because of his previous injuries.

“His routine consists of being fed at 7am, having his hay and then being hand-walked for 20 minutes. Spencer will ride him mid-morning and then he’ll have a lunch feed before being groomed and hand-walked again for 40 minutes at 4pm. He’ll have his dinner about 5pm and then a late-night feed and more hay at 9.30pm.”

Feeding plan: “He has the four feeds because he can be quite fussy and, if I give him two big feeds, he’ll only eat half of it. When he is in lighter work, I do cut the amount of feed down, but he still has four feeds.

“He’s fed Saracen Super Fibre Mix all the time, and Saracen Re-leve Mix and Saracen Competition-Fit Balancer when he’s in work. It is a high-energy diet without cereals, so he has his energy from the fibre and oil, which is great for him because he can be quite hot-headed and excitable. He also has sugar beet, NAF Superflex Senior and the NAF Soya Oil. When he’s competing, he also has NAF Liquid Electro Lytes.

“He has ad-lib haylage, which is a second-cut ryegrass haylage that isn’t too potent, fed from a net during the day to stop him walking it around his stable, and from the floor at night.”

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The quirks: “The first day at a competition, he’ll pick through his morning and lunch feeds and not eat all of it, so I make sure he has the balancer and all his supplements in his night feed, which he always finishes — that way I know he is getting everything he needs.

“He is fed in a manger in his stable because he likes to pick up the bucket, tip the food on the floor and then doesn’t want to eat it.

“He can also be naughty about banging on his door if I’m a bit late feeding him.”

The full version of this article was first published in the 12 October issue of Horse & Hound magazine

For all the latest news analysis, competition reports, interviews, features and much more, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, on sale every Thursday.

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They may already be stars of their respective competitive fields, but showjumper Laura Renwick’s Bintang II and dressage rider Spencer Wilton’s Olympic mount Super Nova II also proved to be expert models for photographer Matthew Seed’s recent shoot for Olympia Horse Show’s advertising campaign.

As this behind-the-scenes video shows, these stunning images for this year’s show were produced with a lot of patience and two very co-operative horses — and riders. The idea came about from a collaboration between Matthew — AKA The Horse Photographer — and the show’s design agency Red Giant Project’s creative director Martin Sharrocks.

The photo shoot took place over two days in April.

“I was delighted to be approached by Olympia,” said Matthew, whose background is in fashion and advertising, but who has ventured into fine art equestrian photography in recent years and is now renowned for his unique, dramatic approach with flash lighting.

“It was great working with Spencer Wilton and Laura Renwick, who were both very generous with their time. Both riders were initially overwhelmed by the huge white backdrops used for these shoots, which were necessary to produce the crisp, clean images, but both horses behaved impeccably as they had a very experienced team around them.

“Horses are beautiful animals to photograph,” he added, “but it often takes some time to earn their trust and my aim is to form a bond and understand each horse I photograph in order to capture their essence.”

Having trained using film cameras, Matthew’s fine art photographer is always achieved in the camera rather than post-production, using a balance of daylight and flash lighting for extra authenticity.

Matthew is no stranger to equestrian super stars, having been commissioned by the likes of The National Stud, Zara Tindall, Sam Twiston-Davies, Trevor Breen, Laura Collett and footballer-turned-racehorse-owner Michael Owen.

You can see more of his work at www.horse-photographer.co.uk. And look out for these striking images on the run-up to Olympia, which runs from 12-18 December this year.

For all the latest news analysis, competition reports, interviews, features and much more, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, on sale every Thursday

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Germany’s Isabell Werth proved unbeatable yet again as she secured her third gold of the European Dressage Championships. The world number one rode a flawless freestyle on the 12-year-old Don Schufro mare Weihegold OLD (below) and posted a massive 90.98%, edging out her compatriot Sonke Rothenberger (Cosmo) by just 0.3%.

“I knew I couldn’t allow even the slightest mini mistake in there and I felt Weihe was at her very best,” said Isabell, whose score was just a shade under the Europeans record of 91.25%, set by Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro in 2013.

With Cathrine Dufour and Atterupgaards Cassidy claiming their second individual bronze medal of the championships, scoring a freestyle personal best of 84.56%, it meant Britain’s Carl Hester and the Don Ruto son Nip Tuck (below) had to settle for an agonising fourth place after briefly holding the lead earlier in the competition.

Carl and ‘Barney’ performed a brilliant freestyle, with his difficult floorplan showing off the 18hh gelding’s accuracy and exceptional talent for the collected work. Just a couple of little spooks marred the routine, and they were rewarded with 80.6%.

“He was a little difficult in there, but I never know what he might see in an arena,” said Carl, who was visibly disappointed to lose out on a medal. “His scores have gone up all week and that’s how you hope a championship will go. To be fourth at the European Championships with Barney is very satisfying — we’ve come such a long way together.

“It’s all testament to his temperament — he’s a worker and he tries very hard, and he finds it easy to do difficult things, which helps in the kür.”

Britain’s Spencer Wilton finished in 13^th with Jen Goodman’s Supernova II. The pair posted 75.44% in just their second grand prix freestyle.

“I knew it was going to be a challenge, but he’s never experienced anything like this before,” said Spencer of the 13-year-old gelding. “I realised today that ‘Neville’ really needs to know where he’s going — he felt a bit lost at times in there.

“It’s a whole different pressure in the freestyle — it’s not about hitting your markers, it’s about hitting your notes.”

Stay up to date with the scores and results here.

Don’t miss the full report from the dressage, para dressage and showjumping action from this week’s European Championships in Horse & Hound — including analysis, expert comments, pictures and more — on sale Thursday, 31 August.

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Britain’s Spencer Wilton has gone into the lead at the halfway stage of the grand prix special at the European Dressage Championships in Gothenburg.

Jen Goodman’s Supernova II gave Spencer a much easier ride compared to Wednesday’s grand prix, scoring a brilliant 76.078% to jump to the top of the leaderboard at this early stage. They received 80.1% from Isobel Wessels, judging at K.

Their test featured some beautiful moments, with particularly high scores awarded for their passage and piaffe, although ‘Neville’ did become unsettled during the first pirouette, and an error crept into the following line of one-tempis.

“I’m delighted – to get that mark with a mistake is great, and there’s more we can improve on. He went in and felt like he really tried,” said Spencer, who goes through to tomorrow’s freestyle with the 14-year-old De Niro gelding.

Amazingly, this pair have just one grand prix freestyle under their belts, in Stuttgart in November 2016, when they scored 67.9% — their only mark under 70% in the past 18 months.

“We try to forget about Stuttgart,” laughed Spencer.

‘He was a bit confused by the whole thing’

Emile Faurie’s ride on Lollipop 126 began very well, with early scores trending above 73%, but the 13-year-old gelding’s greenness began to show as the canter work got underway, and mistakes in the changes dropped them to 70.8%.

“The mistakes are unfortunate — he caught me out a bit in the one-times — but he’s only ever done one special before,” commented Emile. “I think he was a bit confused by the whole thing.”

Britain’s Carl Hester is last to go in the special, riding Nip Tuck at 16.15 BST. The standout winner of the grand prix, world number one Isabell Werth and Weihegold OLD, compete at 15.45 BST.

The top 15 combinations in the special, which has its own set of individual medals, go forward to tomorrow’s freestyle.

Stay up to date with the scores here.

Don’t miss the full report from the dressage, para dressage and showjumping action from this week’s European Championships in Horse & Hound — including analysis, expert comments, pictures and more — on sale Thursday, 31 August.

Plus, keep up to date with all the latest news from the championships via horseandhound.co.uk and the H&H Facebook page.

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Great Britain have finished fourth at the European Dressage Championships, having lost out on the bronze medal by an agonising two points.

As predicted, Germany scooped gold with an incredible 13-point margin — such was the strength of their early lead that they had the gold in the bag before the final German rider, world number one Isabell Werth, had even entered the arena. But she and the 12-year-old Don Schufro mare Weihegold OLD pulled off a flawless performance, scoring a whopping 83.74%.

The battle for silver and bronze was much closer, coming down to the final riders for Denmark, Sweden and Britain.

Carl Hester and Nip Tuck produced an excellent test under intense pressure for Britain, scoring 74.9%. The only blip came as ‘Barney’ left a leg and lost balance in his rein-back at C.

But it wasn’t quite enough, as Cathrine Dufour and Atterupgaards Cassidy posted 78.3% to elevate Denmark to silver, and Patrik Kittel’s 73.85% with Delaunay was enough to secure bronze for Sweden. The Netherlands finished fifth, behind Britain.

“We’re just a snip off bronze and obviously I’m gutted for the team, but on the other hand you have to look at the sport as a whole — Denmark and Sweden haven’t won a medal in a long time, and this is really healthy for the sport,” said Carl, diplomatically.

“Things haven’t really gone our way all along, especially with losing Gareth — that was a real blow. But fourth is by no means a disaster — it just feels a little different to be going home without a team medal.”

This is the first year since 2009 that Britain have not won a team medal at a dressage championship. But all three British team members have the chance to compete for an individual medal, having all qualified for the special, which begins at 10.45 BST on Friday.

Don’t miss the 31 August issue of Horse & Hound, with full reports, analysis and expert commentary from the dressage, para dressage and showjumping European Championships in Gothenburg.

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Germany look set to take gold at the European Dressage Championships in Gothenburg, with just the final rider for each nation still to ride.

Britain’s hopes in the first half of today’s grand prix action lay with Spencer Wilton and Supernova II, who produced some top-class work, but with costly mistakes in the double-marked pirouettes and canter zigzag. They begun their test trending on over 76%, but finished on a score of 72.08%. Spencer currently sits 10^th, just behind Emile Faurie and Lollipop 126.

“I was actually pleased because, apart from the mistakes, he did everything quite nicely and I could feel him growing in confidence out there,” said Spencer, who made his championship debut with ‘Neville’ in Rio last year. “But he’s always thinking about where the exit is and the wobble in the zigzag and mistake in the pirouettes was due to him thinking about the way out behind him.”

German dominance

Meanwhile, Germany’s Sonke Rothenberger has moved to the top of the leaderboard, ahead of his teammates Helen Langehanenberg and Dorothee Schneider in second and third. Sonke and the 10-year-old Cosmo looked set to break the 80% barrier, until a mistake in the two-tempis. He finished on a score of 78.34%, tightening Germany’s stranglehold on the title.

“He presents himself really well in a big arena like that, so he shines even more,” said the tall German of the KWPN gelding. “It was a pity we had mistakes as he normally scores the most marks for his canter, but hopefully we have done enough for the team.”

With one rider left to compete for each team, Germany are way out ahead at the top of the leaderboard, with Isabell Werth still to ride. Sweden sit second, with Denmark third and The Netherlands occupy fourth. Carl Hester will provide the third score for Britain when he and Nip Tuck take to the arena at 20.03 BST.

Don’t miss the 31 August issue of Horse & Hound, with full reports, analysis and expert commentary from the dressage, para dressage and showjumping European Championships in Gothenburg. 

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

An all-male squad will represent Great Britain at the FEI Longines European Dressage Championships next month.

The squad features two combinations from the Rio 2016 Olympic medal-winning team — Carl Hester with Nip Tuck and Spencer Wilton on Super Nova II.

This will be Carl’s eighth Europeans appearance overall and his fourth consecutive senior championship with this horse.

They are joined by Emile Faurie, for whom this will be his sixth European Championship, and Gareth Hughes, whose last senior championship appearance was at the 2014 World Equestrian Games in Normandy, France.

Lara Butler is the reserve.

“Barney [Nip Tuck] just goes from strength to strength and has exceeded all our expectations,” said Carl.

“Gothenburg will be our fourth straight championship appearance and at just 13, Jane [de la Mare, the horse’s joint owner] and I couldn’t ask for more.

“It’ll be a tough task, but we’ll certainly do our best. Our pony team recently showed just what ‘girl power’ can achieve with a bronze medal; now it’s down to us guys to show what we can do!”

The full line-up of Brits heading to the championships on 21-27 August in Gothenburg, Sweden, is:

• Emile Faurie, 54, based in Oxfordshire, with Hof Kasselmann’s Weekend Fun and Elena Knyagincheva’s Lollipop 126 as a direct reserve
• Carl Hester, 50, based in Gloucestershire, with Jane de la Mare and his own Nip Tuck
• Gareth Hughes, 46, based in Warwickshire, with Anne and Steve Keen’s Don Carissimo
• Spencer Wilton, 44, based in Berkshire, with Jen Goodman’s Super Nova II

Reserve:

• Lara Butler, 29, based in Gloucestershire, with Dr Wilfried Bechtolsheimer’s Rubin Al Asad

Spencer said: “I was in a slightly different position this year compared with last, in that I’ve had a really strong season so I wasn’t feeling the pressure as much as I was when waiting for the phone call for the Olympic Games. But still hearing the words is a massive relief and it’s a huge honour.

“I definitely learnt a lot about myself and Neville [Super Nova II] in Rio and I gained a lot of confidence from seeing him cope with the bigger situation better than he had done in the past.

“He’s come back bigger and stronger this season as we’ve had a number of personal bests and I can’t wait to take him to the championships.”

Emile said he is “thrilled” to be back on the squad and to take Weekend Fun to his first championships.

“My focus now is to make sure both horses are fresh and healthy and in a routine ready for Gothenburg,” he said.

Gareth added it is “always an honour” to be selected to represent your country.

“Anne and Steve Keen have owned Darcy [Don Carissimo] since he was a foal, so it’s been an amazing journey for them,” he said.

“This is Darcy’s first year at grand prix and he has performed way beyond our expectations.

“I’m really looking forward to riding him at these championships alongside this very exciting team.”

Article continues below…

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British Equestrian Federation’s dressage performance manager Caroline Griffith said there has been “strength and depth” in the field of combinations for selectors to choose from.

She added this is “testament to the ever rising standards in dressage” and “bodes well” for Tokyo 2020.

“We go to the European Championships with an extremely experienced squad who are focused and targeted on delivering their best performances,” she said.

She also thanked the riders, owners, support teams, UK Sport and the National Lottery.

British Dressage chief executive Jason Brautigam said it is a “very strong team” and welcomed back Emile and Gareth to the squad.

“While we may have had to say farewell to Valegro, our star performer of the past five years, who was always going to be difficult to replace, it is testament to the strength in depth of Team GBR that we can still field such a strong line-up of experienced riders,” he added.

“We wish Caroline and the team the best of luck in Sweden, as well as expressing our thanks and appreciation to the owners, staff and home teams for all of their support on the journey to Gothenburg.”

For all the latest news analysis, competition reports, interviews, features and much more, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, on sale every Thursday

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The British long-list for the FEI European Dressage Championships has been released today (25 July) by selectors David Trott, Jennie Loriston-Clarke and Linda Whetstone.

Only horses and riders listed below can be chosen for the final team of four, who will be heading to Gothenburg, Sweden, next month for the championships (22-26 August).

It is the first championship team since before the 2011 Europeans in Rotterdam that does not feature Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro, as the 15-year-old has retired from competition.

Charlotte’s trainer and mentor Carl Hester is listed with his Rio 2016 Olympic ride Nip Tuck, a 13-year-old KWPN gelding by Don Ruto x Animo.

Carl and Jane De La Mare’s Nip Tuck (Barney) has not competed since Omaha CDI in April. Barolo, the horse that Carl had been campaigning as his Europeans back-up, is not on the list and therefore cannot be used as a reserve horse.

Unsurprisingly, Spencer Wilton has also been included on Jen Goodman’s Supernova II (14 years old, by De Niro x Weltmeyer) after a cracking season which has seen them unbeaten in their last five international starts, all with scores over 75%.

Runners-up to Spencer and Supernova at Hartpury, Lara Butler with Dr Wilfried Bechtolsheimer’s 15-year-old Rubin Royal gelding Rubin Al Asad, have also made the long-list.

Emile Faurie has two horses in the mix: Elena Knyagincheva’s Lollipop 126 (a 13-year-old Lord Sinclair x Welt Hit gelding) and also Hof Kasselmann’s 16-year-old Weekend Fun, by Welt Hit II x Rubenstein I.

Michael Eilberg is in the hunt with his 17-year-old team faithful Marakov (a Latvian gelding by Rufs), with whom he made the switch from showjumping many years ago and since excelled at top level.

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Hayley Watson-Greaves is in with a shout with her own Rubins Nite. The 13-year-old gelding by Rubin Royal — the same sire as Rubin Al Asad — is famed for his tremendous extended trot. 


Gareth Hughes has a new team hopeful in Anne Keen’s 12-year-old Don Carissimo. The Don Crusador gelding has less than a year’s experience at grand prix, but is already proving a very reliable partner in the ring. 


For all the latest news analysis, competition reports, interviews, features and much more, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, on sale every Thursday.

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The Olympic dressage silver medallist shares three simple dressage exercises to help improve the rideability of the horse, giving the rider control, confidence and calmness

Dressage exercise 1: shoulder-fore

The aim:

To bring the inside hindleg under the horse and build his strength. It enables the rider to gain and keep control of the shoulder and position the hindleg. To achieve shoulder-fore, the horse has to be focused and confident in his rider and less concerned about his surroundings.

I like to feel that I’m never more than 10 strides from being able to put the horse into a shoulder-fore position wherever I am in the school, whether that’s a circle, straight or diagonal line.

The exercise:

• Bring the horse’s shoulder slightly to the inside. The horse’s inside hindleg is positioned on an imaginary line running between the front legs and his head is positioned in the middle of his chest. I like to try and keep the horse’s neck fairly straight. Technically there should be a degree of bend through the whole horse but when you are teaching it to a young horse (or an older one who is unfamiliar with it) it’s easier to grasp the concept if you initially keep everything quite simple, in black and white.
•  I usually do this exercise in trot. You can start it in walk to learn the positioning but you need to make sure you refresh the horse off the leg and don’t allow them to become numb to it.
•  I do the exercise away from the wall to make sure the rider appreciates that to ride it correctly, the horse needs to be listening to both the rider’s legs.
•  The rider’s outside leg is playing a supporting role to keep the horse drifting to the outside and the inside leg is maintaining forwardness. Some horses will need or prefer the rider’s inside leg a little bit behind the girth and outside leg on the girth and others will prefer the reverse. I don’t think there’s a set rule. You need to adapt your aids to what you are trying to achieve.
•  Use the turn onto your line, where you will already have the horse bending round the corner, to establish the shoulder-fore position. Once your horse knows it, a good exercise is to arrive onto your line and go straight for a few steps, before asking for the shoulder-fore and then straighten before the end of the school.

Dressage exercise 2: using corners for confidence

The aim:

Horses often find corners scary and will spook away from them. I use these two exercises to gain control of the horse’s body and get them to focus on the rider.

The exercises:

• The first exercise is to ride a 15m or 10m circle in trot in the corner of the school, maintaining a consistent degree of bend throughout.
• The inside hind foot should land in the print of the inside front foot.
•  If the horse is spooking at trot, come back to walk and regroup.
•  Start with a 15m circle and spiral into 10m.
•  Go round the school and ride a circle in each corner, change the rein and repeat.
•  An extension of this exercise is to do a circle in the corner after the long side of the school and then to ride shoulder-fore on the short side.
• The second corner exercise is to trot towards the corner and make a transition to walk, make the turn and then trot again. As the horse progresses you can vary how far you go into the corner.

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Dressage exercise 3: improving the canter transition

The aim:

Correctly ridden transitions teach the horse to balance and to bring his hindquarters under him. Because the horse is pushing from behind, the quality of the transition and the paces that follow improve. I see a lot of horses ignoring the rider’s canter aid and as a result the transition is muddled. The aid for canter needs to be quick and direct, but not so big you shock the horse into canter.

The exercise:

• Ride a 20m trot circle in rising, then go sitting for a quarter of the circle and then go rising for half a circle, then sitting for another quarter before back to rising.
• What you are looking for is that nothing changes in the connection, rhythm, frame and direction. The horse should accept the rider’s seat and weight and then be soft through the back in the transition.
• Once this is established, then go sitting for a quarter of the circle and ask for canter.
• Once in canter and preparing for trot, the rider’s job is to put the horse in the best possible balance and my aid for trot is to balance the canter and then basically stop riding the canter. I always use my voice in the downward transition.
• Repeat the exercise on the other rein, starting with the trotting and sitting around the circle before asking for canter.

In Horse & Hound magazine (13 October 2016), Spencer offers a step-by-step guide to creating more impulsion

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

The times for the British dressage riders in the grand prix freestyle at the Olympics have been revealed. Tomorrow (Monday, 15 August) in Rio, Charlotte Dujardin will be defending her individual dressage gold medal from the London Games.

She finished second individually to Germany’s Isabell Werth in the grand prix special on 12 August — the first time she and Valegro have been beaten since Aachen in July 2014.

Her performance was still good enough to claim team silver for the Brits. Three riders from the UK are through to the individual final, the freestyle to music, or kür.

British riders’ start times:

Fiona Bigwood and Orthilia 10.30am (2.30pm UK time)

Carl Hester and Nip Tuck 11.35 (3.35pm UK time)

Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro 12.40 (4.40pm UK time)

The silver medallists from the London Games, Adelinde Cornelissen and Parzival will not defend their medal. They retired during the grand prix as Parzival was suffering the after-effects of an insect bite. The Netherlands did not have a travelling reserve.

Isabell Werth and Weihegold OLD have been drawn last in the competition, and ride at 1.20pm (5.20pm).

Continued below…

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Her compatriot Kristina Bröring-Sprehe also rides in the final group. With her De Niro stallion Desperados FRH, she came close to beating Charlotte at the European Championships in Aachen last year, finishing second.

As well as Charlotte, Isabell and Kristina, the final group of riders includes Dorothee Schneider (for Germany on Showtime FRH), Severo Jurado Lopez (on Lorenzo for Spain) and the USA’s Laura Graves on Verdadaes.

The first rider into the arena is Steffen Peters on Legolas at 10am (2pm UK time).

Follow all the action with H&H live on our live and interactive service, with expert commentary on every test from Olympic long-listed rider Hayley Watson-Greaves.

Full 20-page report on the dressage from Rio in H&H next week, out Thursday 18 August, including full analysis of how the medals were won and comment from Richard Davison and Peter Storr.

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

The German dressage team claimed team gold at the Olympic Games in Rio this afternoon, while inspired performances from the British riders nailed silver. The USA took bronze.

Charlotte Dujardin was last into the arena with the inimitable Valegro. They scored 82.983% despite an early break to canter in the half-pass.

It means that the gold and silver medal-winning nations from London 2012 have swapped places.

“It’s a very happy silver,” said team member Carl Hester, who rode a 76.485% test on Nip Tuck this afternoon. “It was really well fought by all of our team. To come back after London gold we knew was going to be very difficult to recreate, any medal would have made us very happy.

“The whole GB team has ridden beautifully and it’s quite a big margin from bronze.”

The German team once again dominated, delivering three scores over 81%. Neither the Brits not the German teams needed to count the score of their final rider to secure their respective medals.

Isabell Werth finished top individually, laying down an emphatic 83.711% on Weihegold OLD.

Britain’s third counting mark came from Fiona Bigwood on Orthilia, who scored 74.342%. Spencer Wilton also put in a strong test for 73.613% with Super Nova II.

Team GB has three pairs — Charlotte, Carl and Fiona — qualified for Monday’s freestyle where they will compete for the individual medals. Riders start on a clean slate for that competition so their scores from the team rounds do not count.

Continued below…

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Carl Hester says Nip Tuck ‘needs glasses’ after spooky test at Rio Olympics

Judy Reynolds has made history by becoming the first ever Irish rider to qualify for the individual freestyle final at an Olympic Games. She finished 17th today.

Judy was second to go into the arena in the grand prix special — a more difficult set test than the grand prix — on a drizzly day on her Jazz gelding Vancouver K, laying down 74.09%, a new personal best.

“It was the best special we’ve done, so I’m thrilled,” she said.

The Dutch had a difficult time of it, finishing in fourth. They did not bring a reserve rider and Adelinde Cornelissen elected to retire with Parzival part-way through the grand prix as he was suffering from a fever after being bitten by an insect. 

Team standings

1. Germany (81.936% average)

2. Great Britain (78.595% average)

3. USA (76.667% average)

Full 20-page report on the dressage from Rio in H&H next week, out Thursday 18 August, including full analysis of how the medals were won and comment from Richard Davison and Peter Storr.

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Britain’s dressage team holds the team silver medal position after the grand prix at the Rio Olympics. Final rider Charlotte Dujardin put in a brilliant test with Valegro this afternoon to score 85.071%.

“I just wanted to go out there and enjoy myself,” she said after her test. “I watched a lot of people yesterday going in there looking very white and nervous, so going in there today was all about going in and enjoying it.”

Her score rockets Britain into silver at the half-way point of the team competition, which concludes after the grand prix special tomorrow (Friday, 12 August).

Charlotte also sits atop the leaderboard individually, chased by three German riders all with scores over 80%.

“I was smiling out there before I even went in; I can’t help but smile when I ride Valegro because I think something and he does it and I laugh and think, ‘How does he know? I didn’t even I ask; I just thought it.’

“Now we’ve all been in the arena once and some of us will be better [tomorrow] I think,” added Charlotte, who holds the grand prix world record of 87.460% (set at Olympia in 2014). “Fiona and Spencer did fantastic jobs. And Carl, not only has he had to ride himslef, but he’s been the rock for all the rest of us. He’s been training us all and picking us up on down days when we’re moping. I honestly don’t know how he does it.”

Continued below…

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H&H Live: Rio Olympics grand prix dressage

British dressage team in medal position at Rio Olympics after an eventful day’s action

Carl Hester says Nip Tuck ‘needs glasses’ after spooky test at Rio Olympics

Germany’s Isabell Werth was the second best performer of the afternoon session. She scored 80.643% with Weihegold OLD (Don Schufro x Sandro Hit).

“I was really happy with Weihegold; she did a great job,” said the five-time Olympian. “She was a little bit tense; the flags were really rough when I came in as it was quite windy so I was careful as I felt she was reacting [to the surroundings] a bit.”

The top six teams are all through to tomorrow’s grand prix special, as well as the top eight riders not qualified through their team’s participation. This group include Ireland’s Judy Reynolds and her Jazz gelding Vancouver K.

Team standings

1. Germany (81.295% average)

2. Great Britain (79.252% average)

3. USA (76.971% average)

Individual standings

1. Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro (GBR) 85.071%

2. Kristina Sprehe and Desperados FRH (GER) 82.257%

3. Dorothee Schneider and Showtime FRH (GER) 80.986%

4. Isabell Werth and Weihegold OLD (GER) 80.643%

5. Laura Graves and Verdades (USA) 78.071%

6. Steffen Peters and Legolas (USA) 77.614%

7. Sonke Rothenberger and Cosmo (GER) 77.329%

8. Fiona Bigwood and Orthilia (GBR) 77.157%

9. Hans Peter Minderhoud and Johnson (NED) 76.957%

10. Cathrine Dufour and Cassidy (DEN) 76.657%

—

25eq. Spencer Wilton and Super Nova II (GBR) & Allison Brock and Rosevelt (USA) 72.686%

Full 20-page report on the dressage from Rio in H&H next week, out Thursday 18 August, including full analysis of how the medals were won and comment from Richard Davison.

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After the first two groups this morning, Britain’s Spencer Wilton is sitting in equal first individually with Super Nova II. They scored 72.686% — exactly the same score as America’s Allison Brock (Rosevelt).

Spencer’s lowest score, 70.2%, came from the American judge Gary Rockwell who is at H. His highest, 74.7%, was awarded by the Mexican judge Maribel Alonso, who is presiding from M.

There are still two team riders to come to complete the first rotation — from the Netherlands and Germany, though they ride after lunch.

Super Nova (Neville) spotted one of the TV cameras, then spooked and spun while he was going round the edge before starting.

“It was a big occasion in there for him — and for me,” said Spencer.

“He had a little moment and I thought, ‘Not here Neville, of all places!’. That unnerved him, which I think showed in the first part of the test,” said Spencer. “but he relaxed and got into it. The camera rattled us both, but it’s the same for everyone in there and it’s no good making excuses.”

The judges gave lots of eights for the passage work.

“I was particularly pleased about the pirouettes too as those can be tricky, but I will be having nightmares about the mistake in the one-time changes,” he said.

Continued below…

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After scoring 77.5% in the grand prix at Hartpury, hopes of a score around the 75% mark were high for this combination.

“I would have liked a higher score to take a bit of pressure off Fiona,” he added. “But I hope that my score’s good enough to get into the special. I want to go back in there!”

Stars and stripes

America’s rider Allison, on the same score as Spencer, said: “I’ve been riding Rosevelt for seven years and we’re like a married couple at this point.

“He had a rough ride to becoming a grand prix horse and really struggled with the one-times. He can be a playful monster in the jog [trot-up] but he’s a really sweet horse.”

The rider currently in third is Sweden’s reserve combination of Mags Hendeliowitz and Jimmie Choo SEQ, who got the late call-up when team horse Dante Weltino did not pass the vet check or his reinspection the following day. The scored 71.771%. Canada’s Medan Lane (Cavavella) is fourth with 71.286%, while Anders Dahl and Selten are in fifth have the highest sub-70% score (69.9%).

The next British team rider into the arena is Fiona Bigwood, who goes at 15.06 Brazilian time (19.06 UK time) with Orthilia.

Carl Hester and Charlotte Dujardin both ride tomorrow, the second of two days of grand prix competition. Carl ries at 11.27 (15.27 UK time) and Charlotte at 14.24 (18.24 UK time).

Follow all the action with H&H’s live, interactive text service and expert comments on all the tests from Olympic rider Emile Faurie.

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

There were always three clear contenders for dressage team places at the Rio Olympics, but the battle for the fourth spot has been bubbling for many months and was a closely-fought contest.

H&H can now reveal the dressage riders and horses who have been chosen to represent Britain in Brazil next month. They are:

Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro — a 14-year-old KWPN gelding by Negro owned by Carl Hester, Roly Luard and Anne Barott

Charlotte and Valegro have been the lynchpins for the British team since their first championship appearance at the Europeans in Rotterdam in 2011. The pair have not competed since the European championships in Aachen in August of last year, where they won all three tests. They are unbeaten in their last 15 consecutive starts. Their next outing is at Hartpury Festival of Dressage, which takes place this week.

Carl Hester and Nip Tuck — a 12-year-old KWPN gelding by Don Ruto owned by the rider and Jane de la Mare

Carl, who turned 49 last week, has nurtured the huge gelding, known at home as Barney, throughout his career. Although he used to be very sharp, that sensitivity has worked in his favour for the higher level movements and he has become a very reliable grand prix performer. He proved this in the spooky arena at Bolesworth International last month.

Fiona Bigwood and Orthilia — an 11-year-old Oldenburg mare by Gribaldi owned by the Bigwoods and the Dahls

Stellar results over the Olympic qualifying period put this pair firmly in the frame for Rio. Sussex-based Fiona rides with a patch over her eye to mitigate the double vision she now suffers as the result of a fall in April 2014.

Spencer Wilton and Super Nova II — a 13-year-old British Hanoverian by De Niro owned by the rider and Jen Goodman

This pair have attended three shows this year and scored over 70% at least once at every one. Their 2016 high water mark came in the form of two plus-73% wins at Lier CDI in March, though they did top 74% in the grand prix special in 2015. “Neville” is a former ride of Carl Hester’s whom Spencer has been competing since early 2012. The pair were grand prix winners with over 72% at both Somerford Park and Keysoe Premier League shows this season.

The travelling reserve is: Lara Griffith and Rubin Al Asad — a 14-year-old Hannoverian by Rubin Royal owned by Dr Wilfried and Mrs Ursula Bechtolsheimer

This pair have an average score of 70.64% in the 10 grand prix and grand prix special tests contested in 2016 — including half a dozen tests in Wellington, Florida, at the beginning of the year.

Find out who made the other British Olympic equestrian teams:

British showjumping team revealed for Rio Olympics

British eventing team named for Rio Olympics

Don’t miss H&H’s Olympic preview issue (28 July) or our form guide (4 August), with details of every runner and rider, plus score cards to fill in. Our Rio eventing report is published on 12 August — the magazine will come out on Friday rather than Thursday that week to tie in with Olympic competition schedules.

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The FEI has responded to suggestions that dressage needs a judging overhaul by saying it is frustrated the system being promoted by the International Dressage Riders Club (IDRC) has not yet been fully submitted.

The FEI reacted to the article in H&H, reporting that pressure on the body to re-evaluate the judging system is mounting.

Judging is a topic that has been a focus of riders’ minds of late — at Rotterdam, Spencer Wilton received scores varying from 65% to 73% for his grand prix aboard Numberto.

“We know that today’s judging system has potential for improvement, and we are open to evaluating all proposals. There is no doubt that we all want a system that is easy to understand and which prevents big differences. These make people sceptical about our sport,” said Trond Asmyr, FEI dressage and para- equestrian dressage director.

“We know that judges are doing their best to give the correct marks. The reason why we have judges sitting around the arena is that the execution of the movements looks different from different angles,” added Mr Asmyr.

“Because of this, the ‘correct’ solution is not to have exactly the same marks from all the judges, but the average of marks should give a correct total result.”

As well as education — for which future “e-learning solutions” are in the pipeline to help the training of judges — the FEI says it has introduced a number of elements to “avoid big differences”.

Mr Asmyr added: “The judges’ supervisory panel [JSP] is there as a safety net to correct marks if a judge has not seen technical mistakes or counting errors. As of this year, the responsibility of the JSP has been widened, so that if one judge’s results are markedly different from the rest of the ground jury, the results of this judge may be changed. This is especially important in cases such as at the 2013 European Championships [where one judge scored Michael Eilberg and Half Moon Delphi 6% lower than the others in the grand prix].”

The IDRC believes the solution is an evaluation matrix based on a code of points, similar to that used in other artistic sports such as gymnastics and figure skating. This solution has been supported by Spencer Wilton who said it would “bring more structure to the marking” in his recent H&H comment.

However, the FEI said it is frustrated the document has not yet been submitted.

“The FEI has repeatedly asked for a description of the system, so that we can start evaluating it. We have been told that it is not sufficiently developed yet,” added Mr Asmyr.

“Therefore the FEI finds it difficult to understand how the IDRC can have such a clear conviction that this is the mantra for the future. The overall idea is interesting, but how will it work in practice? It is easy to talk positively about a system if you don’t need to evaluate it from all sides. It is frustrating that the IDRC has so far not provided the FEI with the system, especially when the club is promoting it so heavily externally.”

Wayne Channon, secretary general of the IDRC, told H&H he had submitted an outline overview to the FEI a couple of months ago.

“We were hoping that the FEI would develop it from our draft,” he added. “We need to work on the software. It won’t happen overnight, but we aim to have the full proposal to the FEI by the end of the year.”

The FEI has said it is looking for a “detailed explanation of the system” from the IDRC, not a fully working model.

Ref: H&H 16 July, 2015

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The British team for the sole leg of the Nations Cup to take place on home soil has been announced.

The team will be made up of Hayley Watson-Greaves on Rubins Nite, Alice Oppenheimer on Headmore Delegate, Henriette Andersen on Warlocks Charm and Spencer Wilton aboard Numberto.

Hickstead’s international meeting takes place from 16-18 July and is the last chance for riders to prove themselves in front of selectors ahead of the European Championships at Aachen, Germany, in August.

The Nations Cup result will comprise team riders’ results from the grand prix and the special or freestyle: all riders contest the grand prix, then Hayley and Henrietta will ride the kür, while Alice and Spencer will compete in the special. The results of the rider with the lowest placings will be dropped.

But from a selection perspective, the grand prix results will be crucial, as it is this test which determines the team medals at the Europeans.

Hayley Watson-Greaves has had a cracking second international grand prix season with her 11-year-old Gribaldi gelding Rubins Nite.

Their scores peaked last weekend at Hartpury, culminating with 72.75% in the kür for third place behind Carl Hester (Nip Tuck) and Henriette Andersen (Warlocks Charm).

In turn, Henriette has been slowly building Warlocks Charm’s confidence and the results have been inching up to prove it. Their 75% at Hartpury was by far their best yet at the level — and only the second time they had broken the 70% barrier in the freestyle at the level.

Alice Oppenheimer’s home-bred Headmore Delegate has quite a bit to prove to catch selectors’ eye; the pair have only topped 70% at international grand prix once.

Spencer Wilton is still getting to know the 14-year-old Negro gelding Numberto, but the horse doubtless has talent; he scored a perfect 10 for his one-time changes at Aachen’s five-star show in 2013 under his former Spanish rider Severo Jurado Lopez. No pressure, Spencer…

Barring incident, the British dressage team for the Europeans is expected to be announced on Monday (20 July).

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

Everyone’s jumping on the judging bandwagon, and what happened to me in Rotterdam was not right [Spencer received scores varying from 73% to 65% for his grand prix aboard Numberto]. It’s not as much about the discrepancy in marks as the placings – fifth and 25th.

These shows take so much hard work and money to get to and when something like that happens it immediately makes me question and doubt what I’m doing. But as a rider who has done a small amount of judging I do understand how difficult it is, and a lot of people don’t appreciate that. I hope that we see a system developed that is not only better for riders but also easier for judges.

As for what that system might be, I don’t have the answer, but it’s got to have simplicity to it. A code of points [as proposed by the International Dressage Riders Club (IDRC)] is a good basis, as it would bring more structure to the marking.

There is the idea of judges starting with a 10 and deducting points according to faults, but I think it will be hard to train judges to think differently about the way they mark. Some judges may already do that, but senior judges are not going to change the mental process of their marking system.

The timeframe in which they have to watch a movement and make a decision is tiny. It’s a mind-boggling process when you really think about it.

It would have been nice if the senior judge had come to speak to me in Rotterdam, just to acknowledge the discrepancy and the fact that there had been a mistake in the judging.

It’s important this sort of thing isn’t ignored, and the tragic thing about my situation was that the team missed out on the chance to progress to the next leg of the competition.

Time to do some selecting

With the very sad sale of Half Moon Delphi, who has now left Michael Eilberg’s yard, the contest for the fourth spot on the team for the Europeans is still wide open.

Carl, Charlotte and Fiona look pretty secure, but there are several other combinations on a level pegging.

Supanova would be my first choice, but he’s still a little unpredictable, especially at big shows, as he hasn’t had masses of exposure.

I’ll be riding him at Hagen, with several people going to Hartpury CDI, then Hickstead CDI. There’s a lot riding on these three shows and it makes for very good sport — the selectors might have to do some selecting!

Ref: Horse & Hound; 2 July 2015

Saracen/H&H eventing bursary winner Laura Durkan is looking to improve her 15.1hh novice event mare Jing Mai‘s presence in the dressage arena.

Laura, a school sports coach from West Sussex, visited Saracen-sponsored rider Spencer Wilton with her eight-year-old daughter of Jumbo. He assessed the pair and gave them some valuable pointers to improve their way of going and results on the flat.

Spencer’s top tips

• If your horse doesn’t have huge movement like Valegro, don’t panic. By improving the horse’s balance, consistency and elasticity, any horse can be made to look more impressive and uphill
• Use a sheepskin half pad and a generous size white dressage square on horses with short backs. It breaks up the length of back between the saddle and the loins. Make sure the square is not too far forward; this will help make the shoulder look bigger and more impressive
• Look to your own hands before blaming your horse for an uneven contact; use mirrors where possible or, failing that, just look down for a few minutes each session to work out when and why your hands are moving around
• Ride transitions. Lots of them. And be pedantic and precise about the quality and timing of them. Make sure you practice riding them precisely at markers in the days leading up to a competition

A new diet has also been devised for Jing by Saracen’s senior nutritionist Lizzie Drury. When first assessed, the mare was lacking condition, but with the help of a carefully managed diet and an improved way of going, Jing now carries a little too much weight for a competition event horse.

Lizzie has now cut back her hard feed ration to help slim her down and will re-assess her in a month.

Follow their progress in the next Saracen/H&H training feature — cross-country with Francis Whittington — in Horse & Hound magazine 4 September

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

The Brits have done it again. Just when we thought all hopes were lost for Team GB to field a crack team for the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG) — they head off to Dublin, needing maximum points in the Nations Cup to avoid relegation, and achieve just that.

Team manager Rob Hoekstra took a chance, placing relative newcomer Spencer Roe (pictured) under that much pressure — Spencer being there to prove his worth on the WEG team in the process — and drew out a new superstar. Don’t miss H&H showjumping editor Jennifer Donald’s interview with Spencer in this week’s magazine (Thursday 14 August).

Showjumping, with worthwhile prize-money, is setting itself apart from all other disciplines, and more in line with the elitist likes of Formula One motor racing.

This does put riders into a predicament, though. Do you jump for the money, or save your best horse to represent your country? Which is the greater motivation?

Will our team manager continue to find enough talent and horsepower to service both? With Spencer and Joe Clee both being given their first crack at championship level, let’s hope he has found another Scott (Brash) and Ben (Maher).

Turning to the eventers acquitted of any wrongdoing, this outcome begs the question: does anybody actually know with 100% certainty what substances they are feeding their horse? And how far should riders reasonably be expected to go to make sure that they do? More of which next week…

This column was first published in Horse & Hound magazine (14 August, 2014 issue)

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