What a spectacle! We were treated to a feast of equestrian action at the World Equestrian Games (WEG) in Tryon, North Carolina — and experienced the whole spectrum of emotions during that rollercoaster of a fortnight. Did it really have to end? But now the last set of glittering medals have been presented and the final curtain has come down on this equine extravaganza, we thought it was time to re-live some of WEG’s golden moments one more time…

1. Clinched it!

Ros Canter and Allstar B showjumped clear to secure Great Britain’s team gold medal. Minutes later, Ros also claimed the individual title

2. Sterling work

Lee Pearson and Natasha Baker celebrate team silver for Great Britain in the para dressage

3. Making a splash

Australia’s Boyd Exell makes a splash as he scores his third successive individual WEG gold medal

4. Back in the medals

Charlotte Dujardin shows her sheer delight in securing individual and team bronze with the nine-year-old Mount St John Freestyle

5. A class act

Championship debutantes Amanda Derbyshire and Luibanta BH prove best of the British showjumpers, finishing 17th individually

6. Reining it in

Francesca Sternberg and Spook N Sparkle fly the British flag in the reining

7. Gold!

The USA’s anchorman McLain Ward seals the deal in the most nerve-wracking of jump-offs to claim showjumping team gold for the host nation

8. Thank you to the equine superstars

Britain’s double gold medallist Sophie Wells and groom Lewis Coppin praise C Fatal Attraction after a top performance in the para dressage

9. Golden girl

Isabell Werth’s 14-year-old Bella Rose, off injured since 2014, repays her rider’s faith in her with two gold medals shortly after her return to competition

10. Team selfies

The Dutch para dressage riders celebrate their historic gold

11. Balancing act

Germany’s vaulting squad successfully defend gold with a magical performance

12. Storming to victory

Gemma Tattersall celebrates a cracking cross-country round on Arctic Soul as the British team gold medal-winning pathfinders

13. High five

Chester Weber celebrates finishing the cones phase en route to helping USA secure team gold in the driving for the first time

14. ‘She’s all you could wish for’

The newly crowned showjumping world champion Simone Blum of Germany, pays tribute to her mare DSP Alice, who didn’t hit a pole in four days of championship jumping

15. Flying the flag

Great Britain’s Tom McEwen, Gemma Tattersall, Ros Canter and Piggy French adorned in their glorious gold medals

16. Making history

Ireland’s Padraig McCarthy and Mr Chunky move up the leaderboard to take the individual and team silver — providing his country with its first senior medal in 23 years

17. We did it!

Summing up everything it means to jump clear for your country, Colombia’s Carlos Enrique Lopez Lizarazo (Admara) celebrates his ascent from 26th — as a last minute substitute to the individual jumping final — to finish fifth

Don’t miss the latest issue of Horse & Hound magazine, out now (dated 27 September), for all the news and features from the second week of the World Equestrian Games action from Tryon, USA

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

While the remnants of Hurricane Florence caused disruption and disappointment at the World Equestrian Games (WEG) in Tryon, with the cancellation of the dressage freestyle and postponement of the eventing showjumping, one rider knows all too well the far more damaging effects hurricanes can have.

Grade V para rider Lee Frawley (pictured riding at a competition at Hartpury) hails from the US Virgin Islands, a cluster of islands scattered in the Atlantic ocean, not far from Puerto Rico, that were devastated by two Category 5 hurricanes in September 2017.

“The place is still wrecked,” says Lee, 64, who was brought up riding on the beaches of the Virgin Islands, but now lives in the UK. “First we had Irma, which brought the winds, and then two weeks later Maria just dumped so much rain. My brother’s house was destroyed and my father’s badly damaged.

“It’s been such a journey to get to WEG, and it’s huge for me,” says Lee, her voice cracking. “We’re such a small team but to have the support of the islands is really special — they have other, more important things going on.”

Lee competed at the 2012 Paralympics and 2014 WEG with her old horse, Rhapsody, but has only had the ride on Anneke De Vree’s 18-year-old PS Panta Leone for a year.

“He came to me with the reputation of being a hot horse, but he’s much better in his mind than he used to be,” says Lee, who sadly had a disappointing ride in the individual after the gelding became unsettled towards the end.

Article continues below…

You might also be interested in:

Tales from Tryon: gold medallist talks about the ‘battle to overcome my own mind’

Adrienne Sternlicht, who was part of the gold medal-winning US showjumping team last week, talks about the mental struggles she

Tales from Tryon: ‘This horse has given my life purpose and meaning again’

Meet the former eventer who has put her life back together after a horrific accident

Tales from Tryon: ‘I had lost my legs but they lifted me back on board my horse’

Meet the brave Brazilian rider who couldn't hold back his emotion when he secured his first medal.

“I overrode the extended canter and it blew his brains,” rued Lee, who suffered complications from a badly broken leg after a riding accident 20 years ago.

“From my knee down I don’t have any use of my leg, and I can’t totally bend or straighten it,” she explains. “It’s mostly fine when riding, but I can’t do a Pony Club kick!”

For all the latest equestrian news and reports, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine out every Thursday

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

Opinion

I rushed back from work to watch Sophie Wells fight for her individual grade V title online at the World Equestrian Games in Tryon. To be able to watch world-class para dressage live is a dream.

Across all grades, from a walk-only test to the advanced movements of the grade V, the overall picture needs to be harmonious. A para judge will forgive lack of expression and power if it makes them smile.

It was easy to forget that Natasha Baker has only had the ride on Diva for 8 months. I’m excited to see what the future holds with the partnership, as test riding and experience will easily tidy up the places where she can gain marks. The spook in the freestyle was really unfortunate and reminds us that we are working with living animals and nothing can be taken for granted.

I really hope that Natasha has started something new for British para riders by teaming up with Mount St John’s Stud.

Horsepower has shot up massively and we can no longer afford to buy the calibre of horse required to defend our titles. We need to bring in owners and breeders to the sport, and think about how we fundraise.

Erin Orford also did amazingly, considering the wrong freestyle music was played. I’m not sure I would have been so cool and collected!

It takes quite a lot to impress me, but Denmark’s Stinna Tange Kaastrup always does. To do leg-yield with no legs is quite something. Talented and articulate, she is a brilliant ambassador for para dressage. I remember her bursting onto the scene at Kentucky in 2010, where she won silver. She is now world champion.

Interesting judging

There were 17 riders in the grade I, which was great, though I predicted the top three beforehand. Italy’s Sara Morganti on the faithful Royal Delight was consistent and correct, meaning the judges couldn’t give her anything below a seven. Laurentia Tan and Elke Philipp’s horses have more impressive walks, but as the movement gets bigger, it is more difficult for us as the most disabled athletes to keep the consistency.

The judging was interesting in the grade I — the top four competitors were ranked from first to eighth across the five judges.

The judges need to collectively decide what they are looking for in a walk test, which it appears they did for the rest of the week. But it also begs the question whether we should drop the highest and lowest score when we have five judges.

This would have meant that the USA’s Roxanne Trunnell, who came fifth, would have won individual bronze to add to her freestyle medal.

Finding Horsepower

The Brits did remarkably well to hold on to the silver medal. When Rixt van der Horst and Sanne Voets won the individual titles in grades III and IV, and with Frank Hosmar not far behind Sophie, I did think it was going to be tight.

The Dutch have been knocking at the door since 2015 and with new combinations on our team this year, it was a tough ask to hold on to our undefeated record.

But this should be the wake-up call we need to keep on pushing for those marginal gains, and we need the help of the public in finding and financing horsepower for the talent we have in this country. The squad has gone through change recently and it will take time to build up experience.

With two years until Tokyo we have work to do, but I’m ready for it!

Ref Horse & Hound; 27 September 2018

There was a protest today (Saturday, 22 September) over the medals in the Adequan-sponsored para dressage grade IV individual freestyle at the World Equestrian Games (WEG) in Tryon, USA.

Brazilian chef d’equipe Rodrigo Bezerra Braga lodged the protest on behalf of rider Rodolpho Riskalla, who took the silver on Don Henrico behind the Netherlands’ Sanne Voets (NED) on Demantur NOP.

The protest stated that, contrary to article 8421.2.4.7 of the para equestrian dressage rules, Sanne had executed one sequence change of four-tempis, instead of five-tempis.

Following a review of the official video footage of Sanne’s test, the ground jury unanimously agreed that there was no attempt by Sanna at a deliberate sequence change of four tempis and that she had in fact made a mistake at the end of the movement, which they had taken into account in their original scoring.

As a result, the protest was denied and the placings remained unchanged, with Sanne in gold, Rodolpho in silver and the home side’s Kate Shoemaker in bronze with Solitaer. Sanne scored 79.645%, with Rodolpho on 77.78% and Kate on 73.23%.

There was drama in the grade III freestyle today too, when the penultimate competitor, Britain’s Natasha Baker took a fall near the start of her test on Mount St John Diva Dannebrog.

The para dressage at WEG concluded this afternoon. The individual showjumping final and the cones phase of the driving will take place tomorrow to finish the 2018 WEG. Britain has one rider in showjumping, Amanda Derbyshire on Luibanta BH. She is currently lying in 15th place.

Article continues below…

You might also be interested in:

‘It just doesn’t make any sense’: combination eliminated in WEG para dressage

A heart-breaking end to the WEG para dressage for this combination

‘He’s given me everything’: Sophie Wells sets another WEG record for freestyle gold

Britain’s Sophie Wells topped 80% today in Tryon to take the grade V freestyle gold medal, using a new soundtrack

‘I don’t know what got into her’: dramatic fall for British para rider at WEG

The Team GBR rider had barely started her freestyle test at the end of the afternoon when things unravelled in

Keep up to date with all the final day news from Tryon on horseandhound.co.uk

Horse & Hound’s bumper magazine reports from WEG are in the issues dated 20 September (dressage and eventing) — on sale now — and 27 September (showjumping and para dressage).

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 was a dramatic conclusion to the Adequan-sponsored para dressage at the World Equestrian Games (WEG) in Tryon today (Saturday, 22 September), as Britain’s Natasha Baker suffered a nasty fall during her final test.

Natasha was in the early stages of her grade III freestyle with Mount St John Diva Dannebrog, with whom she took individual and team silver earlier in the week, when the mare suddenly leapt forward and fly bucked. Natasha was unhurt in the fall.

“I actually have no idea what happened — it’s so out of character for her as she’s an angel,” said Natasha of the nine-year-old mare she has leased from the Mount St John stud since January.

“As we were coming down the slope to the 10 minute box we passed [Australian rider] Emma Booth who had just finished her test and the Australian mascot, a bright yellow kangaroo, was following, which set Diva off a bit. Then we walked in and the crowd were massively cheering for Rixt [van der Horst] and that set her off in the tunnel.

“I’m fine though — my ego is bruised and probably my bum too, but what a way to do it,” joked the multi-medalled Paralympian.

“I don’t know what got into her today but it’s out of character. We’re going to sit back on her now to give her some confidence back as I think she’s a little shell-shocked about what happened as well.”

Natasha exited the arena on her electric wheelchair and was a good enough sport to give the crowd a wave and a thumbs up on the way out.

The class was won by Dutch pair Rixt van der Horst and Findsley, with Britain’s Erin Orford finishing fifth with Dior.

Article continues below…

You might also be interested in:

‘He’s given me everything’: Sophie Wells sets another WEG record for freestyle gold

Britain’s Sophie Wells topped 80% today in Tryon to take the grade V freestyle gold medal, using a new soundtrack

Tales from Tryon: ‘This horse has given my life purpose and meaning again’

Meet the former eventer who has put her life back together after a horrific accident

The Netherlands ends Great Britain’s unbeaten para dressage run: ‘We will come back stronger’

The Netherlands makes history as Britain’s 23-year reign as champions of para dressage finally comes to an end

Keep up to date with all the news from Tryon on horseandhound.co.uk

Horse & Hound’s bumper magazine reports from WEG will be in the issues dated 20 September (dressage and eventing) and 27 September (showjumping and para dressage).

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

Britain’s Sophie Wells and C Fatal Attraction collected their second individual gold medal of the World Equestrian Games (WEG) today (Saturday, 22 September) in Tryon, USA. She topped the grade V freestyle in the Adequan-sponsored para dressage with a massive 80.755% — another WEG record.

Her technically difficult floorplan was set to a new soundtrack — an original composition by Tom Hunt which suited the expressive Fidertanz gelding down to ground.

“He was a little bit tense today and on edge but he’s come out this week and given me everything,” said Sophie, for whom this was the first time she has taken double individual gold on Charlotte Hogg’s 11-year-old, having been forced to settle for a pair of silvers at the Normandy WEG in 2014.

“When you miss out on an individual gold like at WEG 2014, after training everyday and putting everything into the sport, it’s hard, but to achieve this after a big gap like I’ve had is amazing,” she added.

Their only real blip was a trip during their half-pass zig-zag in canter, but Sophie quickly resumed the rhythm.

“He was on edge in there and I did feel like I was having to deal with him rather than show him off,” she said.

Freestyle gold in grade III ranks went to the Netherlands’ Rixt van der Horst and the eight-year-old Belissimo M mare Findsley, whom she has only partnered for a matter of months.

This win was Rixt’s third world title of the week, having also taken individual and team gold.

“She felt amazing in there — she was a little bit tired so I did have to help her through the test, but I really gave it my all, and we had no mistakes,” said Rixt.

Britain’s Erin Orford finished fifth with Dior, while Natasha Baker was sadly disqualified after a fall from Mount St John Diva Dannebrog.

The grade IV gold went to the Netherlands’s Sanne Voets, riding Demantur NOP, on a mark of 79.645 %. In the grade I, victory went to Italian rider Sara Morganti on Royal Delight. She scored 78.867 %. Danish rider Stinna Tange Kaastrup ruled in the grade II contest, taking gold with 78.947% on Horsebo Smarties.

Article continues below…

You might also be interested in:

‘I don’t know what got into her’: dramatic fall for British para rider at WEG

The Team GBR rider had barely started her freestyle test at the end of the afternoon when things unravelled in

Polly Bryan’s WEG blog: why para dressage is the dream sport

Why H&H’s dressage editor thinks para dressage is such an underrated sport

The Netherlands ends Great Britain’s unbeaten para dressage run: ‘We will come back stronger’

The Netherlands makes history as Britain’s 23-year reign as champions of para dressage finally comes to an end

Keep up to date with all the news from Tryon on horseandhound.co.uk

Horse & Hound’s bumper magazine reports from WEG will be in the issues dated 20 September (dressage and eventing) and 27 September (showjumping and para dressage).

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 was devastation at the World Equestrian Games (WEG) in Tryon for one para dressage team rider, who was eliminated in today’s grade III team competition.

Italy’s Francesca Salvade was nearing the end of her test on the 11-year-old Muggel (pictured, above) when the bell was rung. She was spoken to by the judge at C, Marc Urban, and the pair were eliminated due to the Carabas gelding being deemed unlevel. Their score had been trending on around 63% at that point.

“This just doesn’t make any sense,” the Italian chef d’equipe Luigi Ferdinand Acerbi told H&H. “It’s not fair that, if the judges thought the horse was not sound, they still gave points of between six and seven all the way through. Why didn’t they ring the bell sooner in the test?”

Luigi said that there was an “evident mistake from the rider”, who lost the balance coming through the corner into the second medium trot.

“The horse didn’t perform a perfect medium trot but it is an extreme movement, and the horse was perfect again after it. It was a clear technical mistake, and they should have given a low mark for that, but you can’t compare a technical error with the well-being of the horse,” added Luigi.

The Belgian judge at C, Marc Urban, told H&H: “The horse was irregular in the first medium trot and I gave a low mark for that, but it was very clear that the horse was unlevel in the second medium trot and I rang the bell just after that movement.

“The welfare of the horse is the most important thing and I had to eliminate them.”

Article continues below…

You might also be interested in:

The Netherlands ends Great Britain’s unbeaten para dressage run: ‘We will come back stronger’

The Netherlands makes history as Britain’s 23-year reign as champions of para dressage finally comes to an end

‘I had a painful three hours to wait’: Natasha Baker adds to Britain’s medal haul at WEG

Natasha Baker and Mount St John Diva Dannebrog land their first medal together

Tales from Tryon: ‘This horse has given my life purpose and meaning again’

Meet the former eventer who has put her life back together after a horrific accident

Muggel was one of two horses held overnight at the first para dressage horse inspection on Monday morning, but was passed when re-inspected on Tuesday morning. They went on to score 66.68% in the individual championship on Wednesday, finishing 11th and outside the qualifying places for tomorrow’s freestyle championship.

Francesca, 29, and Muggel have been competing internationally in para dressage since 2013, and have represented Italy at European Championships in Herning (2013), Deauville (2015) and Gothenburg (2017), as well as the 2014 WEG in Normandy and the 2016 Rio Paralympics. They competed as a grade II combination until 2017, when they were re-classified into grade III.

Keep up to date with all the news from Tryon on horseandhound.co.uk

Horse & Hound’s bumper magazine reports from WEG will be in the issues dated 20 September (dressage and eventing) and 27 September (showjumping and para dressage).

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 Netherlands made history at the World Equestrian Games in Tryon today by becoming the first team ever to beat Britain at a para dressage championship.

Britain have taken gold at every championship since para equestrian became a Paralympic sport in 1996. However, the Dutch team of Frank Hosmar and Alphaville NOP (grade V), Sanne Voets and Demantur NOP (grade IV), Rixt van der Horst (pictured, above) and Findsley (grade III) and Nicole den Dulk with Wallace NOP (grade II) produced remarkably consistent performances to edge the Brits off the top spot by just 0.6%, with Germany taking bronze ahead of last year’s European silver medallists, Denmark.

“This result is simply unbelievable; it is so exciting,” said the Dutch national coach, Joyce Heuitink. “I am so incredibly proud of them all, and not just the riders, but the whole team. They all had their form at the right time. That is something special. It is so difficult to get that done, just at the right time.”

Britain’s Sophie Wells put in a phenomenal performance with her individual gold medallist C Fatal Attraction (pictured, below), laying down a personal best and WEG record of 77.23% in the grade V division. Natasha Baker also achieved a personal best with her new ride, Mount St John Diva Dannebrog, in the grade III, putting 74.12% on the board for Britain.

Lee Pearson recovered well from a disappointing ride in the grade II individual championship — when he had to retire the nine-year-old mare Styletta — and posted 71.6% for the team. Erin Orford also improved on her score in the grade III individual, earning 69.03% with Dior.

Article continues below…

You might also be interested in:

Tales from Tryon: ‘I had lost my legs but they lifted me back on board my horse’

Meet the brave Brazilian rider who couldn't hold back his emotion when he secured his first medal.

‘This means such a lot’: Britain’s Sophie Wells crowned world champion in Tryon

Britain's Sophie Wells claims gold on day one of the para dressage in Tryon

Tales from Tryon: ‘This horse has given my life purpose and meaning again’

Meet the former eventer who has put her life back together after a horrific accident

“We came here with a relatively new and inexperienced team, and my sense is that we were not at our max everywhere because some of these horses, particularly Lee and Natasha’s horses, are new to this, and are very new combinations,” British chef d’equipe Sarah Armstrong told H&H.

“At some point this was going to happen, and all this will do is make us come back stronger. It’s great that the competition is there — we had really tough competition and that’s so good for the sport.”

Britain’s Sophie Wells and Natasha Baker will be in action again tomorrow (Saturday, 22 September), contesting the freestyle championship in grades V and III respectively.

Keep up to date with all the news from Tryon on horseandhound.co.uk

Horse & Hound’s bumper magazine reports from WEG will be in the issues dated 20 September (dressage and eventing) and 27 September (showjumping and para dressage).

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

A fantastic performance from Britain’s Sophie Wells has catapulted Britain into an early lead in the para dressage at the World Equestrian Games (WEG) in Tryon, USA.

Sophie and Charlotte Hogg’s 11-year-old C Fatal Attraction (pictured, above) dominated the grade V division for a second day, topping the leaderboard with 77.23% — the highest grade V team score at a WEG to date.

“I knew I need to up my game for the team today,” said Sophie, who was crowned individual world champion on Tuesday. “He was amazing in the individual but I knew he could go better; we sat down and analysed the video, and I just wanted to get back in there.

“We’ve worked so hard over the winter and he’s come out like a different horse this year. Today was what I came here to do, and this was the best test to do it in — we need it for the team.”

Britain’s Lee Pearson also put in a solid performance for Britain in grade II ranks. He and his nine-year-old home-bred mare Styletta (pictured, above) didn’t get their WEG campaign off to a good start, being forced to retire in their individual test as the mare was unhappy. But they were back on form today, recording 71.6% to add to Britain’s tally.

“I was not worried about the placing today. I rode calmly and passionately in there, and said thank you to her on every transition,” said Lee who, like Sophie, is competing at his third WEG.

“I’m over the moon; it’s not the highest score in the world, and not the way I can ride, but the way I should have ridden today. I do believe that she will be a fantastic championship horse for the future.”

Article continues below…

You might also be interested in:

‘This means such a lot’: Britain’s Sophie Wells crowned world champion in Tryon

Britain's Sophie Wells claims gold on day one of the para dressage in Tryon

Tales from Tryon: ‘This horse has given my life purpose and meaning again’

Meet the former eventer who has put her life back together after a horrific accident

Polly Bryan’s WEG blog: why para dressage is the dream sport

Why H&H’s dressage editor thinks para dressage is such an underrated sport

The team competition will continue this afternoon with the grade IV division, while Britain’s remaining team members will compete in the grade III tomorrow. Natasha Baker will ride her individual silver medallist Mount St John Diva Dannebrog at 10.15am (3.15pm UK time) on Friday, 21 September, and Erin Orford will compete Dior at 11.22am (4.22pm UK time).

Britain sit at the top of the leaderboard at this early stage, with Denmark in silver thanks to a 74.85% grade II test from Stinna Tange Kaastrup and Horsebo Smarties. The Netherlands currently hold bronze, with two riders left to compete, while Germany lie fourth.

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.

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

Witnessing the bond between Australia’s Emma Booth and her 16-year-old Danish warmblood gelding Mogelvangs Zidane is quite special.

The pair finished just outside the World Equestrian Games grade III individual medals in fourth, but the feeling Zidane gave Emma during their test was worth the huge effort involved in shipping him all the way from Australia to Tryon in North Carolina.

“I’m so stoked with how he went; he was focused and with me every step of the way,” said Emma, 27. “His willingness to work and to please is incredible and his cheeky personality makes the job really fun.”

As well as bringing her success on the world stage, the Blue Hors Hertug son Zidane, has also played a huge role in helping the former eventer regain her life after a horrific car accident in 2013, that left her paraplegic after devastating spinal cord damage.

“I was a passenger in the horse float on our way home from an event when we had the accident, which killed both the horses we had in the back,” remembers Emma. “It was a pretty horrific experience.

“But I just knew straightaway that I wanted to get back to riding. Two weeks after the accident I started googling the Paralympics in Rio, and I made that my goal.”

Article continues below…

You might also be interested in:

Tales from Tryon: ‘I had lost my legs but they lifted me back on board my horse’

Meet the brave Brazilian rider who couldn't hold back his emotion when he secured his first medal.

Polly Bryan’s WEG blog: why para dressage is the dream sport

Why H&H’s dressage editor thinks para dressage is such an underrated sport

‘This means such a lot’: Britain’s Sophie Wells crowned world champion in Tryon

Britain's Sophie Wells claims gold on day one of the para dressage in Tryon

It was finding Zidane, sourced by her trainer, that made the Rio dream a reality for Emma, and since finishing fifth individually there, the partnership has gone from strength to strength.

“Zidane played a huge part in my road to recovery after the accident, helping me get my life back on track and giving it purpose and meaning again,” says Emma, with tears in her eyes.

“I can’t thank everyone who has helped us get here enough WEG has been a great experience — I’ve loved having the chance to ride with all the other Aussies here, including the eventers! The whole thing is a pretty amazing turn of events.”

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.

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

I admit, I have a real soft spot for para dressage. The first championship I ever reported for H&H was the Rio Paralympics and even since then I’ve been fascinated by the sport. So far, the para dressage at the World Equestrian Games in Tryon has kept me on the edge of my seat — and we still have the team competition come, in which Britain will be pushed to the very edge as they attempt to maintain their unbeaten run.

But it frustrates me that para dressage often suffers from empty seats at competitions, and that world champions can often go unnoticed by the non-specialist media. It can be a tricky sport to understand and follow, with athletes split into five grades according to their disability, and the individual, team and freestyle championships to make sense of. But those who choose not to get involved are missing out — especially the media. Para dressage is the dream sport for a journalist — our job is to hunt out the very best stories, and convey the drama of the action, and here is a discipline absolutely bursting at the seams with drama, emotion and characterful competitors.

You’re spoilt for choice when it comes to great stories — from the tragedies many riders have suffered, to the triumph over adversity and almighty challenges faced when it comes to riding and competing on the world stage. Para dressage receives little funding in comparison to other horse sport, and so riders are often battling against the odds just to get to a championship, doing everything possible to be able to fulfill their passion.

And then there are the horses. At this level of the sport, the field is full of top quality horses, in every grade, with temperaments to die for and paces that wouldn’t look out of place in a grand prix. For a para rider, finding the perfect dancing partner is such a challenge, not to mention training the horse to respond solely to weight or voice aids, and maintain their balance and rhythm no matter how their rider’s body moves in the saddle. It results in incredible and unmistakable harmony between horse and rider.

The tests are far from easy, too — imagine performing a perfect half pirouette without the use of your legs, or nailing a four-loop serpentine without your sight. Then there’s the unpredictability that comes with having a disability — most of us are lucky enough to be able to predict how our bodies will feel and perform on a given day, but for a para rider, they have to be able to adjust to whatever the conditions and their body might suddenly throw at them in the ring. Watching someone with a disability perform technical movements better than most able-bodied riders can never fails to impress.

Article continues below…

You might also be interested in:

Tales from Tryon: ‘I had lost my legs but they lifted me back on board my horse’

Meet the brave Brazilian rider who couldn't hold back his emotion when he secured his first medal.

‘This means such a lot’: Britain’s Sophie Wells crowned world champion in Tryon

Britain's Sophie Wells claims gold on day one of the para dressage in Tryon

Polly Bryan’s WEG blog: ‘There were many things I expected from my first WEG — Hurricane Florence was not one of them’

H&H's dressage editor and WEG rookie reflects on a dramatic first week in Tryon

I always come away from interviews with para riders feeling hugely inspired, with a valuable dose of perspective on life, and these World Championships are no exception. It’s only day two of the para competition here and I’ve already cried three times. These are people who have been through things most of us are lucky enough not even to be able to imagine, yet are overflowing with excitement, purpose and joy. Their horses and this sport means everything to both the riders and their enormously important support teams, and the para community is one big happy family, that I feel extremely privileged to have an insight into. That’s not to say it isn’t extremely competitive — every rider enters the arena with their game face on, desperate to get on that podium, and it makes for thrilling sport. Just with an extra dose of elation and emotion.

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.

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

British para dressage rider Natasha Baker has landed the silver medal in the grade III individual championship at the World Equestrian Games in Tryon, North Carolina.

The multi-medalled Natasha piloted Emma Blundell’s nine-year-old mare Mount St John Diva Dannebrog to a score of 72.47%, just behind Dutch pair Rixt van der Horst and Findsley, who took gold.

Natasha teamed up with the Don Schufro mare at the end of January this year, and this is their first championship together. Their test was active and rhythmic, with just a little restlessness in each of the three halts.

“Diva is just epic. To go first is so hard, and it was such a long class — I had a painful three hours watching the rest,” said Natasha, for whom this is the first medal since her triple gold at the Rio Paralympics in 2016 with Cabral.

“I can’t believe we’re second best in the world and it wasn’t even a clean test. I’m still getting to know her so it’s all a learning curve, but today will have given Diva confidence for the next few days and I’m just excited to get back in there.”

Britain’s Erin Orford finished ninth in a field of 17 with Amanda Whittet’s 15-year-old Dimaggio mare Dior, scoring 68.85%.

“I’m disappointed with the performance, for my team and everyone who’s supported me — it’s not what we came here to do,” said Erin. “She’s a super talented horse and has felt great all year and in training out here so I wanted to show that in the test but unfortunately that wasn’t possible today. I hope that experience will help to build her confidence so that we can perform the test for the team that I know we’re capable of.”

Article continues below…

You might also be interested in:

‘This means such a lot’: Britain’s Sophie Wells crowned world champion in Tryon

Britain's Sophie Wells claims gold on day one of the para dressage in Tryon

Britain tops World Equestrian Games medals table

Britain has already notched up three golds and two bronzes

Tales from Tryon: ‘I had lost my legs but they lifted me back on board my horse’

Meet the brave Brazilian rider who couldn't hold back his emotion when he secured his first medal.

Italy’s Sara Morganti took an emotional grade I victory riding the 13-year-old Royaldik mare Royal Delight (pictured, below).

“My horse was really wonderful and it all came together today,” said Sara, who won gold at the 2014 WEG in Normandy, but suffered heartbreak in Rio when Royal Delight failed the trot-up. “It was quite an easy ride in a way because we were very prepared for this championship. We worked really hard for it and this is just incredible for me — she was beautiful all the way.”

The para dressage team competition gets underway tomorrow, with Britain hoping to continue their unbeaten run. The British team of Natasha, Erin, Lee Pearson and Sophie Wells will be put under strong pressure by the Dutch, German and Danish teams in particular.

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.

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

Britain is in the lead in the World Equestrian Games medals table as the second week of competition in Tryon is well under way.

Sophie Wells and C Fatal Attraction’s gold in yesterday’s individual grade V para dressage took the British tally to five; three gold and two bronze. Germany and the US are also on five each but as fewer of these are gold – two for Germany and one for the US – Britain is at the top.

The other two golds were of course the individual and team medals won by Ros Canter and the British team in the eventing which concluded on Monday, while Charlotte Dujardin and the dressage team took bronze in their individual and team events.

Team GBR’s chef de mission David Holmes said: “It’s a credit to the hard work and professionalism of the athletes, grooms, owners, their home teams and the UK Sport National Lottery-funded World Class Programme support staff, on their WEG campaign.

“All the team have worked with the single goal of creating an environment for success, to enable our athletes to achieve medal-winning and personal best performances.”

The British showjumpers will start their bid to add to this tally this afternoon (19 September) in the speed leg of the competition, from which riders’ penalty scores will be carried to the next stage.

Continues below…

Find out when Britain and Ireland’s riders jump in the individual final at WEG

The individual showjumping final at the World Equestrian Games takes place tomorrow, on the final day of the combined equestrian

Ros Canter’s showjumping clear secures fantastic double gold for Britain at WEG

Britain claimed the team and individual gold medals in the eventing at the World Equestrian Games in Tryon, USA, this

Charlotte Dujardin clinches brilliant dressage bronze for Britain at WEG

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

Britain’s para dressage combinations Natasha Baker and Mount St John Diva Dannebrog, and Erin Orford on Dior are also in grade III individual action this afternoon, with the team competition starting tomorrow. The vaulting competition also continues until Sunday, the last day of the Games.

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

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.

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

Sophie Wells added to Britain’s gold rush with victory in the grade V individual championship at the World Equestrian Games, in Tryon.

The multi-medalled para rider piloted Charlotte Hogg’s C Fatal Attraction (below) to gold with 75.43%, in a test filled with harmony and power. It didn’t get off to an ideal start however, when Sophie and “Jorge” cantered out of their first halt, instead of trotting.

“I think he was a little bit nervous and it would have been helpful not to have a blip, though it does bring you back down to earth. But as we went along it got better and better,” said Sophie, who took gold with the 11-year-old Fidertanz gelding at the Gothenberg Europeans in 2017, but has not had an individual world title since 2010.

“This feels amazing, I’m so chuffed,” said Sophie. “I missed out on gold in Normandy in 2014, and it feels like a long time to get a chance to try again. I’m just so proud of Jorge — it’s been a long journey and this means such a lot. He came out today and he wanted to work and wanted to do it. But I think there’s even more in the tank for later in the week.”

Sophie’s long-time grade V rival, Frank Hosmar of the Netherlands, scored 73.17% to claim the silver medal with Alphaville NOP, while Germany’s Regine Mispelkamp took bronze on Look At Me Now in her first season of para dressage.

There was disappointment for Britain’s Lee Pearson, who retired his home-bred mare Styletta in the grade II individual earlier in the day, after the nine-year-old became unsettled.

“She seems to be struggling a bit with the humidity here. She’s only nine years old; she’s a spectacularly powerful horse and each day she’s been here she’s been feeling like she’s struggling a bit with the weather,” said Lee.

“I didn’t want to retire; I’m passionate about doing my best in the arena for my country but I felt that it was the right thing to do.”

Article continues below…

You might also be interested in:

How to watch the 2018 World Equestrian Games on TV

If you’re not making the trip to Tryon for the World Equestrian Games and are worried about missing out on

Polly Bryan’s WEG blog: ‘There were many things I expected from my first WEG — Hurricane Florence was not one of them’

H&H's dressage editor and WEG rookie reflects on a dramatic first week in Tryon

Tales from Tryon: ‘I had lost my legs but they lifted me back on board my horse’

Meet the brave Brazilian rider who couldn't hold back his emotion when he secured his first medal.

Denmark’s Stinna Tange Kaastrup took her first world title in the grade II, riding the Gribaldi gelding Horsebo Smarties. It proved a tight tussle between Stinna and Austria’s Pepo Puch, with a new championship ride, Sailor’s Boy. But Stinna’s 72.74% was just enough to clinch the title over Pepo, with the Netherlands’ Nicole De Dulk and Wallace NOP collecting bronze.

The grade IV championship went to the Netherlands, Sanne Voets leading from first draw with Demantur NOP, the talented Vivaldi gelding on whom she took freestyle gold in Rio and the European championship title in Gothenberg last year.

Rodolpho Riskalla landed silver for Brazil — his first championship medal — aboard another stunning chestnut, the Don Frederico stallion Don Henrico, while Denmark’s Susanne Jensby Sunesen won bronze with CSK’s Que Faire.

The individual para championships continue tomorrow, with Britain’s Natasha Baker and Erin Orford both in action in the grade III division. Natasha will ride Mount St John Diva Dannebrog at 9.30am (2.30pm UK time), while Erin will compete with Dior at 12.18pm (5.18pm UK time).

The full report on the para dressage from WEG will be in next week’s Horse & Hound magazine, out Thursday 27 September, including exclusive analysis and expert opinion

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

For Brazil’s Rodolpho Riskalla, winning an individual grade IV silver medal with Don Henrico at the World Equestrian Games in Tryon is the euphoric culmination of years spent adjusting to a new life.

In 2015, as a 31-year-old grand prix dressage rider with the Rio Olympics in his sights, Rodolpho relocated to Paris hoping that training and competing in Europe would boost his chances of competing at a home Olympics. But in August that year, he returned home to Sau Paulo to be with his family after his father died, and while there contracted bacterial meningitis.

He spent a month in a coma, lost his right hand and some fingers from his left, and had both legs amputated below the knee.

“Life changed for everyone, but the first thing I asked the doctor when I woke up was whether I would be able to ride,” Rodolpho told H&H. “It was actually when I went to visit my grand prix horse for the first time since my illness, before I had prosthetics and was still in a wheelchair, and his owner asked when I would be able to ride. I joked and said, ‘How about now?’, but then they lifted me on board, and that was such a great feeling.”

Despite having to adapt everything about his riding, Rodolpho returned to France and immediately switched his focus to para dressage. Incredibly, he achieved his dream of riding in Rio just eight months later, at the Paralympics. There, he finished 10^th individually with the horse he describes as “my best buddy ever”, the Weltmeyer gelding Warenne.

He’d had a taste of the world stage and, with Warenne retired after Rio, Rodolpho needed a new horse. Enter the stunning chestnut Don Frederico stallion, Don Henrico (pictured, above), offered to Rodolpho by the German Olympic gold medallist, Ann Kathrin Linsenhoff.

“Henrico is a really sensitive stallion, but I’ve had him for a year now and I really know him,” said Rodolpho, who works for Dior in Paris alongside his riding, and also now competes the 15-year-old Henrico in able-bodied dressage at international small tour.

“This medal means everything, after all the years of work,” said Rodolpho, who couldn’t hold back the tears when he realised his 73.37% was enough for the silver medal. “It shows that you never know what can happen in life, but that good things can always come out of the bad.”

The full report on the para dressage from WEG will be in next week’s Horse & Hound magazine, out Thursday 27 September, including exclusive analysis and expert opinion

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

Two para dressage horses will be re-inspected after being sent to the holding box during this morning’s trot-up at the World Equestrian Games (WEG) in Tryon, North Carolina.

Denmark’s Hoennerups Beebob, who is ridden by grade I competitor Line Munk Madsen, was sent to the holding box, but the ground jury was not satisfied when he was re-presented a short time later. The 16-year-old Danish warmblood gelding, a son of Blue Hors Gertug, will be re-inspected tomorrow morning (18 September).

Having taken team silver at last year’s European Championships, Denmark are expected to challenge Britain for gold here in Tryon. The other three Danish horses, Horsebo Smarties (Stinna Kastrup), Davidoff (Caroline Nielsen) and CSK’s Que Faire ( Susanne Jensby Sunesen) were all accepted, although Horsebo Smarties, the 2017 European grade II freestyle champion, was asked to trot twice.

The ride of Italy’s Francesca Salverde, Muggel, was also sent to the holding box. The 11-year-old Carabas gelding, who competes at grade III, was re-presented, but will also be re-inspected tomorrow before the competition begins.

All four of the British horses — Mount St John Diva Dannebrog (Natasha Baker), Dior (Erin Orford), Styletta (Lee Pearson) and C Fatal Attraction (Sophie Wells) sailed through the trot-up.

Article continues below…

You might also be interested in:

BREAKING NEWS: Hurricane Florence forces cancellation of WEG dressage freestyle

The grand prix freestyle will not go ahead at the World Equestrian Games in Tryon

How to watch the 2018 World Equestrian Games on TV

If you’re not making the trip to Tryon for the World Equestrian Games and are worried about missing out on

Time set for showjumping phase of WEG eventing; find out when Brits will jump

The time has been decided for the final phase of the WEG eventing competition, which had to be postponed due

Several other horses were asked to trot twice, including the 11-year-old KWPN mare Coco Chanel M, who won double Paralympic bronze in 2016 with Brazil’s Sergio Oliva. The ride of Britain-based Canadian Bert Sheffield, Bailaor, was also asked to trot again, and generated a lengthy deliberation, but the 16-year-old stallion by Minero VII was accepted.

Para competition gets underway tomorrow at 9.30am (2.30pm UK time) with the grade IV individual championship. This will be followed by the grade II individual, featuring Britain’s Lee Pearson, and the grade V individual, featuring Britain’s Sophie Wells.

Natasha Baker and Erin Orford will get their WEG campaigns off the ground on Wednesday with the grade III individual, after which the grade I will take place. The team competition takes place on Thursday and Friday, with the freestyle for all grades being contested on Saturday.

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.

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 para dressage team that will attempt to continue Britain’s unbeaten championship record at this September’s World Equestrian Games (WEG) in Tryon, USA, has been revealed.

The multi-medalled Paralympian Sir Lee Pearson will return to a championship team for the first time since Rio 2016, this time partnering his own home-bred mare Styletta. Lee and the dainty nine-year-old Sandros Dancer daughter claimed a double grade II victory at the Hartpury international in early July, and while WEG will be the mare’s first championship, it will be Lee’s 14^th.

Sophie Wells MBE also brings plenty of experience to the team, having been selected with her European gold medallist, Charlotte Hogg’s 11-year-old C Fatal Attraction. Grade V rider Sophie also has a reserve horse listed: Jackie and Neil Walker, Valerie Woolford and her own seven-year-old KWPN stallion Gladstone.

Grade III rider Natasha Baker is another multiple gold medallist who took a year out of competition in 2017, but she returns to the British team for her second world games. Her ride is a horse she has partnered for just seven months, Emma Blundell’s nine-year-old Don Schufro daughter, Mount St John Diva Dannebrog.

WEG first-timer Erin Orford makes up the quartet, riding Annabel Whittet’s Dior. Grade III rider Erin and the Dimaggio mare made their team debut in 2017, helping Britain to gold and picking up individual bronze along the way.

Multiple medal-winning para dressage rider Sophie Christiansen announced last week she was withdrawing from the WEG shortlist to give herself more time to develop her partnership with Amazing Romance.

Continues below…

British medal prospect withdraws from WEG team selection

The multi-medalled rider has withdrawn from the WEG team shortlist.

How to watch the 2018 World Equestrian Games on TV

If you’re not making the trip to Tryon for the World Equestrian Games and are worried about missing out on

Get Britain’s vaulters to WEG: squad needs funds for Tryon

The squad is raising money to get themselves and their horse to the 2018 World Equestrian Games in North Carolina

Three more reserves have also been selected: Suzanna Hext with the Lady Joseph Trust and Henrietta Cheetham’s LJT Enggaards Solitaire, Izzy Palmer with the Wells family’s Touchdown M and Georgia Wilson with her own Midnight.

“It’s great to see Erin cement her place in the team after her debut in Gothenburg last year, as well as welcome both Lee and Natasha back with their new rides,” said British Dressage chief executive Jason Brautigam. “Their experience, along with Sophie’s leadership and cool head, makes this quartet a very exciting prospect.”

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

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

Paralympic multi-medallist Sophie Christiansen has made the decision to withdraw from World Equestrian Games (WEG) team selection with her nine-year-old gelding Amazing Romance (Harry).

Grade I rider Sophie and Harry were shortlisted for WEG, but yesterday (20 July) Sophie announced she wanted to give herself more time to develop her partnership with the Danish warmblood, who she has only had since last autumn.

“Harry and I need more time to develop our partnership so we both have the confidence to go into such a big, atmospheric competition. I know this is the right decision for Harry for the long term,” said Sophie.

“A statement that I hear time and time again from people, because of my track record, is ‘But of course you’ll go to [insert location of the next Paralympics here]!’ The fact of the matter is anything could happen in sport, especially equestrian sport, when you are working with another living being who can’t talk to you.”

The pair have had plenty of success in their first months together, with a high-scoring triple victory at the Deauville CPEDI3* in April, but they had a tricky time at the Hartpury CPEDI this month.

They topped the team test despite the fact Harry broke into trot in the walk-only test, but finished down the order in the individual after several moments of resistance, and the issues continued into their freestyle.

“Every test is a learning experience for both of us. It’s safe to say that Harry has given us some new things to focus on in training,” Sophie told H&H at the time.

Having taken a year out of competition after winning triple gold at the Rio Paralympics in 2016, Sophie returned to the sport with not just a new horse in Harry, but a whole new team, including trainer Rob Trowbridge.

Continues below…

‘Heart-wrenching’ final goodbye to Welsh cob who beat the world

‘He was a horse no one expected anything from, but he gave everything’

Sophie Christiansen targets Tokyo Olympics with exciting new horse

The multi-medalled Paralympian looks set to return to competition with a new ride

Tales from Rio: ‘We used to draw our Paralympic horses out of a hat’

Meet Anne Dunham, the oldest athlete at the Rio Games who remembers competing on borrowed horses at the inaugural Paralympic

“I am so incredibly proud of my team for, in less than a year, helping me make the championship short-list again. It’s been a bumpy few months but together we’re moving forward stronger,” she said.

Sophie is now on the hunt for a second horse to compete next year, and to aim towards the Tokyo Paralympics in 2020.

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

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

Details of the horses and riders who have been selected for long-lists, short-lists and confirmed para dressage squads at the World Equestrian Games in Tryon, North Carolina (11-25 September 2018) will be added to this page as they become available.

Teams are made up of a maximum of four riders per nation. Teams must include at least one grade I, II or grade III rider and cannot include more than three riders in any one grade.

Great Britain

• Sophie Wells on C Fatal Attraction (gr V)
• Lee Pearson on Styletta (gr II)
• Erin Orford on Dior (gr III)
• Natasha Baker on Mount St John Diva Dannebrog (gr III)

Germany

• Steffen Zeibig on Feel Good
• Elke Phillipp on Regaliz
• Angelika Trabert on Diamonds Shine
• Regine Mispelkamp on Look At Me Now

The Netherlands

• Sanne Voets on Demantur
• Rixt Van Der Horst on Findsley
• Nicole Den Dulk on Wallace NOP
• Frank Hosmar on Alphaville NOP

Denmark

• Line Munk Madsen on Hønnerups Beebob
• Stinna Tange Kaastrup on Horsebo Smarties
• Tobias Thorning Jørgensen on Bruunholm Caribian
  
• Susanne Jensby Sunesen on CSK’s Que Faire

USA

• Rebecca Hart on El Corona Texel
• Angela Peavy on Royal Dark Chocolate
• Kate Shoemaker on Solitaer 40
• Roxanne Trunnell on Dolton

Brazil

• Marcos Fernandes Alves on Vladimir
• Sergio De Oliva on Coco Chanel M
• Vera Lucia Martins Mazzilli on Ballantine
• Rodolpho Riskalla on Don Henrico

Portugal

• Sara Oliveira Duarte with Daxx Du Hans
• José Augusto Neves with Vendetto C
• Inês Teixeira with Giraldo Sernadinha
• Ana Isabel Mota Veiga with Convicto

Japan

• Sho Inaba with Femme Fatale
• Tomoko Nakamura with Djazz F
• Katsuji Takshima with Emora C VD Wijdewormer
• Soshi Yoshigoe with Brown Sugar

Italy

• Federico Lunghi with Laudario
• Sara Morganti with Royal Delight
• Francesca Salverde with Muggel 4
• Maurilio Vaccaro with Bonaire Van De Mottelhoeve

Belgium

• Manon Claeys with San Dior 2
• Barbara Minneci with Stuart
• Eveline van Looveren with Feleva
• Ciska Vermeulen with Rohmeo

Canada

• Lauren Barwick with Engelbrecht
• Winona Hartvikson with Ultimo
• Jody Schloss with Lieutenant Lobin
• Roberta Sheffield with Bailaor

France

• Estelle Guillet with Magic Des Meuyrattes
• Jose Letartre with Swing Royal ‘Ene HN’
• Cloe Mislin with Don Caruso
• Vladimir Vinchon with Tarantino Fleuri

Hong Kong

• Fleur Schrader with Jockey Club Sarago Raphael
• Tin Chi Timothy Tsang with Jockey Club Cethegus M
• Pui Ting Natasha Tse with Baxo

Finland

• Katja Karjalainen with Dr Doolittle
• Jaana Kivimäki with Legolas
• Pia-Pauliina Reitti with Supremo

Austria

• Pepo Puch with Sailor’s Blue
• Julia Sciancalepore with Heinrich IV

Australia

• Emma Booth with Mogelvangs Zidane

Czech Republic

• Anastasja Vistalova with Dominique

US Virgin Islands

• Lee Frawley with P’S Panta Leone

Saudi Arabia

• Ahmed Sharbatly with Cassandra

Latvia

• Rihards Snikus with King Of The Dance

Mexico

• Ignacio Treviño Fuerte with Batik

Singapore

• Laurentia Yen-Yi Tan with Fuerst Sherlock

Sweden

• Louise Etzner Jakobsson with Zernard

In the meantime, you may be interested in the following:

Bluffers’ guide to para dressage at WEG

Horse & Hound tells you all you need to know to enjoy the para dressage competition at WEG

Who will make the British para dressage team for WEG? H&H’s dressage editor gets out her crystal ball…

The British para dressage shortlist for this September’s World Equestrian Games (WEG) contains a mix of old names and new

Horse & Hound will have reporters working at the Tryon venue throughout the Games keeping our readers up to date with the latest news throughout the competition.

The British para dressage shortlist for this September’s World Equestrian Games (WEG) contains a mix of old names and new faces — there are so many riders deserving of a place on the team this year that it’s very hard to predict who will be selected to make up the team of four.

I would extremely surprised if Sophie Wells was not called up to make her 12th team appearance for Britain. She had her double 2017 European champion, Charlotte Hogg’s 11-year-old C Fatal Attraction, on super form at the Harpury CPEDI3* last week — a crucial show for riders and selectors.

Sophie, 28, had her first taste of being the most experienced team member in Gothenburg last year, and she rose to it superbly, leading the all-female squad to team gold once more and following it up with an individual gold and silver in grade V ranks.

Natasha Baker is the other rider I fully expect to make the team. With Emma Blundell’s sparky chestnut mare, Mount St John Diva Dannebrog (pictured top), Natasha has stormed back to the top of grade III after a year out of competition. She and Diva have barely been beaten since teaming up in January, producing consistent mid-70s scores that will prove invaluable as Britain vie to continue their unbeaten streak in increasingly competitive company.

Last year was something of a transition year for para dressage, as major players such as Natasha, Lee Pearson and Sophie Christiansen took a year out after Rio. But the combinations who stepped up to fill their shoes in Gothenburg did so extremely successfully and, for the most part, are back in contention this year alongside the more established names, meaning it’s tough to predict who might take the final two team spots.

One of those who made her championship debut last year was Suzanna Hext, coming home from Sweden with triple gold. Her medal-winning partner, the Hutton family’s legendary now-18-year-old gelding Abira, is currently out with an injury, but the 13-year-old LJT Enggaards Solitaire has stepped up to the plate this year. The Blue Hors Soprano son is no stranger to the sport — he won medals for Britain at both the 2013 Europeans and the 2014 WEG under Ricky Balshaw — but has had some mixed results with Suz over the past few months, posting scores up to 77% before appearing to divide the judges at Hartpury with some staggering discrepencies. Suz has had the added challenge of adjusting to her new grade II tests, having been reclassified from a III, and this championship could come before the pair have really hit their best at the level. Then again, there’s everything to suggest they could peak in Tryon.

Erin Orford is another who helped Britain to gold last year, and also picked up individual bronze too, a super achievement having been called up from the reserve squad at the last minute with Annabel Whittet’s Dimaggio mare Dior. They’ve been on great form since, with a strong of scores in the 70s during 2018, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they had the chance to represent their country once again.

One of the most exciting horses in action at Hartpury was Lee Pearson’s young home-bred mare Styletta. The pair blitzed the grade II team and individual tests, though had to settle for second in the freestyle after the dainty daughter of Sandros Dancer reacted to the loud music with tension. The grade II section is always highly competitive but Lee is one of the most experienced para riders in the world and has such strong partnerships with his horses as, unlike many riders in his grade, he trains them himself. This talented mare could well be his ticket back onto the team.

Sophie Christiansen is another championship veteran back on the team shortlist after a year away from the sport. She has returned to the arena after a huge, brave life change, with a new horse in Amazing Romance (Harry) and a new trainer in Rob Trowbridge. While she and Harry have had some brilliant grade I results in their first year together, they’re still getting to know each other and it showed at Hartpury, the nine-year-old gelding making Sophie’s life quite tricky at times. At their best, this pair definitely have the potential to bring home the medals Sophie is used to, but the selectors look for consistency and reliability, and there’s a question mark over whether Harry will produce the goods in the highly pressurised setting of the World Games. He might need another year to be ready to show his best at a championship, but then again his other performances this year have been fantastic.

At the other end of the experience spectrum is the 17-year-old grade IV rider Izzy Palmer, who was listed as a reserve for Gothenburg with Sophie Wells’ Touchdown M. It should come as no surprise that Izzy is back on a team shortlist again this year — she and Touch were national champions in 2017 and winter champions earlier this year, before going on to win all three of their classes at Hartpury. Izzy, who is trained and mentored by Sophie Wells, rides with exceptional maturity, and could well be a solid team member if the selectors decide she is ready for the challenge.

Another grade IV rider you wouldn’t be a fool to take a punt on making her championship debut this year is blind rider Nicky Greenhill with the nine-year-old Benetton Dream mare Betty Boo. The pair have just a handful of results under their belt, and Hartpury was their first international together, but they are well capable of scores in the 70s as they showed last week. Nicky would be my outside choice for a spot.

Article continues below…

You might also be interested in:

8 riders you need on your radar in 2018

Our experts pick the riders who have parachuted onto the Horse & Hound readers’ radar in 2017 and are worth

Georgia Wilson, 22, is the final rider to be listed, with her own Midnight Z. The pair, another trained by Sophie Wells, had a super week at Hartpury, banking a win, a second and a third, all with plus-70% in grade II ranks, and look to be serious future team contenders. My feeling is that next year’s Europeans is a more realistic target for them, but they are fully deserving of their place on this shortlist.

It’s a tough task, predicting the four combinations who will be selected to make the trip out to the USA in September but, crystal ball in hand, my choice would have to be Sophie Wells, Natasha Baker, Lee Pearson and Sophie Christiansen, with Suzanna Hext and Erin Orford as reserves. We’ll find out if I’m right in just a few weeks…

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

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

A squad full of exciting new combinations have formed the short-list for the British para dressage team at this September’s World Equestrian Games.

Just two of the pairs listed have been to a championship before — Sophie Wells (grade V) with Charlotte Hogg’s 11-year-old C Fatal Attraction, double gold medallists at last year’s Europeans, and Erin Orford (grade III) with Annabel Whittet’s Dior, who also helped Britain to gold in 2017, picking up individual bronze along the way. Sophie is also listed with a second ride, the seven-year-old KWPN stallion Gladstone, who is owned by Sophie, Jackie and Neil Walker, and Valerie Woolford.

Sophie Christiansen (grade I) is back on a championship short-list after a year out of competition, this time partnering her ride of less than a year, the nine-year-old Danish warmblood Amazing Romance, known as Harry.

Natasha Baker (grade III) is another multi-medallist to be back in team contention after a year off, again on a super exciting new ride, Mount St John Diva Dannebrog (pictured above). The nine-year-old mare, by Don Schufro x Brentano II, is owned by Emma Blundell of the Mount St John stud, and has been with Natasha since January this year.

Lee Pearson (grade II) is another championship veteran to bring forward an exciting new ride in his home-bred nine-year-old mare Styletta, a dainty, black Sandros Dancer daughter.

The 2017 triple European gold medallist Suzanna Hext is once again in contention for a team place, but this time not with her Gothenburg partner, the Huttons’ Abira, who is currently out with injury. Instead, H&H blogger Suz, who was reclassified from grade III to grade II at the start of the year, is listed with the Lady Joseph Trust and Henrietta Cheetham’s LJT Enggaards Solitaire. If selected, this will not be the 13-year-old blue Hors Soprano son’s first championships, however — “Sid” won medals for Britain at both the 2013 Europeans and the 2014 WEG under Ricky Balshaw.

Article continues below…

You might also be interested in:

Gold medallist’s urgent crowd-funding for new Tokyo ride

“I did initially think, ‘Do I just call it a day?’ But I’m not ready to. I live for my

‘Shock’ reclassification for para gold medallist

The European medallist’s condition has been deemed to have deteriorated

‘She has everything I’ve been looking for’: para champion unveils exciting new ride

The Rio triple gold medallist has finally found her potential WEG partner

The remaining three shortlisted riders would all be championship debutants. These include two pupils of Sophie Wells: 17-year-old Izzy Palmer (grade IV), who was also shortlisted for the Europeans last year, riding the Wells family’s Touchdown M, and 22-year-old Georgia Wilson (grade II) with her own Midnight Z.

Grade IV rider Nicky Greenhill completes the shortlist, riding her own nine-year-old black mare Betty Boo, a Benetton Dream daughter bred by Lynne Crowden.

One omission form the list is Julie Payne, triple gold medallist at last year’s Europeans with Athene Lindebjerg, and the only member of that team not to be shortlisted this year. Julie, who has since been reclassified from a grade I to a grade II, has been piloting her own Pandora in competition so far this season, with Di Redfern’s Athene having suffered some soundness issues.

The team of four, which will be announced at the end of July or beginning of August, must include at least one rider from grades I, II or III, and cannot include more than two riders from the same grade.

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

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

European para triple gold medallist Suzanna Hext has successfully teamed up with the multi-medalled stallion LJT Lucas Normark. The 17-year-old Knabstrupper won six individual silver championship medals with Britain’s Anne Dunham, who retired from para competition in 2017 after a glittering 23-year career.

Lucas may not have competed since the Rio Olympics, where he took double grade I silver behind Sophie Christiansen, and team gold, but the Lady Joseph Trust and Henrietta Cheetham’s Ravaldi son proved he has lost none of his talent, banking three wins in two outings with H&H blogger Suzanna.

“Lucas came to Talland to regain fitness after Anne retired; the other day I had a lesson with Pammy [Hutton] on him and it went so well that we wanted to see how we would get on competing,” explained Suzanna, who was re-classified from a grade III rider to grade II earlier this year. “He’s such a pro, and a credit to Anne for all her years of hard work.”

On their debut outing at Summerhouse EC on Friday (22 June), the pair posted scores of 76.8% and 76.2%, before following it up with a whopping 79.71% at Widmer on Tuesday (26 June) — Suzanna’s highest score to date.

Her partnership with Lucas began as her European championships partner, the Huttons’ 18-year-old Abira, has been turned away with an injury.

“I miss not riding Abira, but this is horses for you; he’s happy in the field and doesn’t owe me anything,” said Suzanna, who will campaign for a place on the British team for the World Equestrian Games this September, primarily with the Lady Joseph Trust’s 13-year-old gelding LJT Enggaards Solitaire.

Continued below…

Suzanna Hext completes a golden hat-trick at the European Para Dressage Championships

Suzanna Hext wins freestyle gold for Britain on the final day of the European Para Dressage Championships in Gothenburg

Horse & Hound columnist lends team horse to H&H blogger with paralympic ambitions

Former two-star eventer, Suzanna Hext, will now be campaigning Pammy’s horse, Abira, in para dressage competitions

‘Words can’t express how grateful I am’: para rider meets team who saved her life

The meeting was particularly special for H&H blogger Suzanna Hext

Suzanna continued: “I owe so much to the Lady Joseph Trust and Henrietta Cheetham, and Anne has been incredibly supportive too — always on the end of the phone when I need her. She was my inspiration when I first started para dressage and has been amazing,” said Suzanna, who also recently took part in her first team triathlon.

“I wondered whether I would be able to follow in her footsteps, but Lucas feels really fit and is ready to keep going. He’s enjoying the trot work in the grade II tests, and we scored my first ever 10 for his incredible walk.”

In this week’s Horse & Hound magazine, out on Thursday 28 June 2018, don’t miss our full report from the Hickstead Derby meeting, including all the showjumping and showing action, plus don’t miss our six-page report from Royal Ascot.

We also have a feature on the much discussed whip rules across the disciplines and in this week’s ‘Vet clinic’ we find out how to spot the signs of sand colic.

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

Para multi medallist Natasha Baker has found a new ride that she will aim for the World Equestrian Games (WEG), after 10 months of searching.

The nine-year-old Don Schufro mare Mount St John Diva Dannebrog arrived at Natasha’s base two weeks ago, and Natasha plans to begin their international campaign at the Roosendaal CPEDI3* in May.

“She’s just an absolute dream horse, and takes everything in her stride,” enthused Natasha, whose London and Rio Olympic gold medallist Cabral (JP) was put to sleep suddenly in February 2017 after contracting a bacterial infection.

“I’ve been looking for a new horse since April, and I was pulling my hair out as I couldn’t find anything,” explained Natasha. “Between Christmas and New Year I was desperately sending messages to all my Facebook contacts thinking there just had to be a horse out there. Emma Blundell said she couldn’t sell Diva as she is Mount St John’s top broodmare, but asked whether I had considered a lease.

“The first time I went up to the stud to see Diva it felt like I’d been riding her for months. Mum and I whispered, “She’s perfect” to each other. We had wanted a gelding, certainly not a chestnut mare, but she’s so sweet and relaxed — really cuddly.”

The chestnut Hanoverian mare has been one of the Mount St John’s top broodmares in recent years, with a 2015 colt by the Furstenball son Finest sold to Charlotte Dujardin at just one week old. Diva has produced several embryo transfer (ET) foals since, and is in foal via ET to Vitalis and Charmeur this year.

In between breeding, she has competed successfully up to medium level, including finishing second under Lucinda Elliott at the 2017 winter championships at elementary.

Article continues below…

You might also be interested in:

Two exciting new rides for British Tokyo 2020 hopeful

The rider said it is good to look to the future after a ‘terribly sad’ end to 2017

Bluffers’ guide to para dressage at WEG

Horse & Hound tells you all you need to know to enjoy the para dressage competition at WEG

Rio gold medallist horse dies of bacterial infection

'He has given me memories I will treasure forever. I cannot thank him enough'

“Diva has the most incredible trot and a really good walk, which reminds me a lot of JP and the way he used to flick his toes in walk,” says Natasha, a grade III rider who has no use of her legs while riding.

“We’re working on getting her voice activated — it takes a while but she’s getting better every time. We’re doing lots of work on the lunge using voice, and we’ve ridden through our para tests now.

“I hope to get out competing at the start of March and target a place on the team for WEG. I’m so excited as I had almost resigned myself to another year of missing out — I missed competing so much last year, and just being with the team.

“It takes a long time to build a partnership, but she has every quality I’ve been looking for. And as she’s a gold colour, I’m just hoping she likes gold medals!”

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

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

As we countdown to the FEI World Equestrian Games, we bring you all you need to know about each of the equestrian sports

What’s the format?

Para dressage was first included in the World Equestrian Games (WEG) in 2010. Riders are graded in one of five sections according to their disability, with I being the most impaired and grade V the least.

Teams are made up of a maximum of four riders per nation. Teams must include at least one grade I, II or grade III rider and cannot include more than three riders in any one grade.

The individual championship test is ridden first, from which the individual WEG champion is determined within each grade.

The team test that follows is ridden only by team members, and the scores from this solely determine the team medals.

Finally, on the fifth and final day of competition comes the freestyle. One third of combinations in each grade qualify for it. The results of this test decide the second and final set of individual medals in the WEG para dressage competition.

For individual results, all competitors start with a clean sheet in both the individual and freestyle tests.

How does the scoring work?

Dressage scores are expressed in percentages, with the highest percentage winning.

Scoring over 70% is very good; over 80% is exceptional.

Scores in the individual championship test are usually comparable to the team test, but freestyle scores are often higher as they are marked in a different way and include strong weighting towards the inventiveness of the choreography and for the music.

If a rider makes an error of course in either the team or individual tests, two marks are deducted from each of the seven judges.

Teams consist of four riders and the best three scores count.

Tests are performed in either a 20x40m or a 20x60m arena, depending on the grade.

How many medals are there and when are they awarded?

There is one set of team medals and two sets of individual medals.

Team medal decided: Friday, 21 September

Individual medal decided: Wednesday, 19 September

Individual freestyle medal decided: Saturday, 22 September

Who is representing Britain?

Details of who has been selected for the British squad will be released nearer the time.

Do they have a chance?

In a word, yes. The British team are the favourites to win the team title. They have never been beaten at a major championship and it would be a huge upset if they are beaten here.

When will H&H report it?

The magazine report will be in the issue out on Thursday, 27 September.

We will also carry reports, pictures and video online throughout the competition. Find all our online WEG coverage here >>

For an early look at the WEG venue, turn to p34 of 18 January issue of Horse & Hound magazine. The full WEG preview will be on sale on Thursday 6 September.

We are back from the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG) and I am pleased to say we all survived! To say it ran smoothly wouldn’t be completely true, but a lot of the British team across all the disciplines delivered personal best performances and some of those were from the para dressage riders.

Wrapping horses up in cotton wool

A week before we left for WEG, during a normal training session with Reece (Valerius), he knocked himself, causing localised swelling and making him sore. This was the morning the World Class team came for a home visit to check everything was OK.

Thankfully as the team vet and osteopath were with us when it happened, we could act quickly to apply cold compress. We also got my local vet Matthew Barlow to come and scan the leg, just to make sure nothing else had happened.

Thankfully that went well and after a few days the swelling had gone down. He was feeling good, so we slowly built his work back up for the rest of the week before heading to France.

You hear of everyone wrapping their horses up in cotton wool in the weeks leading up to championships. It is so true, you feel so paranoid, but you can only do your best to prevent accidents happening.

The horses travelled as usual on the team lorry, captained by Mark Perry. They arrived in Deauville to stay overnight, before heading to Caen and the venue the following day.

The weather really didn’t make a good start to the trip — apparently it was the most rain Caen has seen in 25 years during August — brilliant timing!

Because the para venue has been built on the racecourse, which is built on marshland, it’s fair to say the rain didn’t really have anywhere to go. Smart planning from Mark and the BEF office meant pallets were used to raise everything in the tack room off the floor, and the organisers did try hard to get the water away, but the arenas suffered. They were fairly solid sand surfaces that didn’t have much give. The warm-up arenas turned into something resembling rice pudding in all the rain and the competition arena became a pond.

Thankfully as the week went on, the weather improved. We had seen the weather forecast before we left, so a quick call into my sponsors and team sponsors Toggi meant we had ordered some extra waterproofs to see us through.

I had the massive honour of being flag bearer for the British team at the opening ceremony. There was a great atmosphere in the D’Ornano stadium where the dressage and showjumping was held, and the roar when the French team walked in was incredible. It was at that point that I wished we had gone to the Paralympic opening ceremony in London.

The trot-up of our horses went well, and Reece managed to keep all fiour feet on the ground, thanks to his ‘bouncers’ — Mark and Ian Hughes the team farrier. They were both very helpful walking him in hand every day, which I was very grateful for. Karen the equine physio worked with Reece daily to maintain his body and Lucy Bell, our team physio, also did a great job keeping my body going too!

I was told I was on the team, who, as we are always being reminded, have never lost team gold at any major championships. Pressure indeed, but, as Angela always reminds me, I can only do my best for myself, and that should be good enough for the team — we can do no more.

Team test day came, and we had a bit of a rubbish draw — third to go and early in the day, but once I had thought about it, I was quite relieved. I had watched the first day of competition where we had Ricky Balshaw and Lee Pearson (1b), and was itching to get my competition started. I’m not a fan of waiting all day, so by 9am we had done our test, which I was pleased with. A solid start, with 74.595%, a good score for the team, and room for improvement for the rest of the competition. It was good to watch the rest of the class, and to find out we led the way until the end.

The individual test came two days later, which was my better test of the two, with more lateral work, which Reece enjoys. We went around the arena and a big applause was heard as our name was read out. Reece had a little scoot for two steps and then was straight back with me to go down the centre line. Not long ago that would really have distracted and upset him.

The test went well, better than the team test. I could present him a little more in the frame, and ride it a bit more. We had one questionable step at the end of my extended canter to collect transition, but apart from that, I was really happy with his test. He concentrated throughout and really had so much powerful energy in there that I could just tilt my pelvis and he would extend — an incredible feeling to be so in tune yet controlled and harmonious. I came out the arena so happy with him, and I could tell Ange was too.

Michele George from Belgium, who won gold in London, had gone in just before me, so everyone was on the edge of their seats watching the running scores. While I was having my tack checked, my score flashed onto the big screen (74.333%) and into second by 0.5%. That realisation of losing our world title was sinking, but I couldn’t have done any more with Reece — he gave me his all and that’s all I can ask.

I was almost teary in the media zone talking about him. I have ridden and owned him for nearly eight years, and for him to produce that test when it was needed was such a heart-warming feeling of pride. It was such an honour for me to ride him, and try and show him off at his best for my country. Of course there was disappointment that we didn’t clinch the world title that I won on Noki in Kentucky in 2010, but there are some things you can’t control.

The freestyle came and we had another chance. It was the last day of the class and of the whole para dressage competition, and I wanted to make it count — we had nothing to lose. I love my music and it suits Reece so well. I love riding him to it and I just wanted to go in that arena and really show that.

The test went so well, his frame was at his best and in true self carriage. I loved it and I think he did too. We rode every step of that test and left nothing in the arena — that was all I could do.

Unfortunately again it was not meant to be. 0.6% off the gold with 78.050% which was more than 2% off our personal best, but the test was definitely the best we have ever done. The only frustrating thing was the difference in scores, the lowest technical score was 69.5% and the highest 78%, the lowest artistic score 78% and highest 86.5% which is massive, but again that is dressage, and happens at all levels. Quite simply it is the nature of the sport that we love.

Masterful dressage riding

We were very fortunate to be able to witness some fantastic performances in the dressage, with some masterful pieces of riding from our team members. One I will remember the most was Michael Eilberg’s grand prix special test. He rode every step and nailed it, getting the most he could from his horse Half Moon Delphi — especially after a difficult ride the previous day. Carl and Charlotte were brilliant as usual, Carl cementing the fact he is the ‘dressage God’, who all can admire, and Gareth (Hughes) rode a brilliant test on a hot Nadonna and was very unfortunate to not get through to the grand prix special.

The whole competition ended with Team GBR at the top of the medal table for the second WEG in a row, which is great news for our training systems and all the team that work so hard to make it happen. I am very proud of the Union Jack we wear, and it is such an honour to be part of a great network and team.

I must say a massive thank you to all of my team that helped me in France, to my home team that give me daily help, and my big team of sponsors and supporters for their continued support. I hope we represented you well and have done you proud.

Sophie

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 sport of para dressage has exploded — the classes at these games were huge. We haven’t seen many of the competitors since the Paralympics. The difference in their teams’ standard is massive — they have high quality horses and they have more riders.

But in Britain we still have a very strong team and we are lucky — other countries do not have the financial backing we do. They have problems recruiting riders too, whereas ours start out with the Riding for the Disabled and we consequently have a large pool of riders to choose from.

The sport is also becoming more professional. A lot of riders own their horses now, or have owners — the days of the borrowed horse are over. Once the rider has the time to develop a long-term relationship with a horse, it works well and they are able to achieve their goals.

With all these countries improving and catching up on our standard, what we need to do to secure future success is very simple. Firstly, competition riders need two horses. Horses are not machines — they get injured. It’s the rider who qualifies, not the horse, and riders are more likely to keep their place with back-up.

Secondly, we need to maintain the depth of riders in Britain and have more riders than we need — we should always be able to put together two teams.

There must be opportunity for new riders to come through, too, and that’s where World Class Development matters.

Here, we have qualified for Rio, which was our main objective. We won team gold and individual gold and silver medals, yet some of our riders were disappointed. The riders are very competitive, they want to be the best and they want to win gold; we’ve been at the top for a long time, always unbeaten. Our job now is to maintain the quality. We knew the competition was catching up. Now they are here.

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

Friday was freestyle day at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games and Lee Pearson showed that he is not to be intimidated. Last to go, he rode into his test looking very confident, though he said afterwards that he didn’t feel like that. He scored an affirmative 80.05%, the highest score of these para games to show that he is still “the godfather” of para dressage.

“The standard has really gone up since London, and two judges still had me as second, but Zion has been amazing,” he said afterwards.

The audience love Lee’s music, it expresses his flamboyance and emphasizes the paces of his horse as well as throwing down the gauntlet to the judges. It includes Queen’s We Are The Champions and Fame and always makes the spectators smile.

“I just like the pumping rhythm of the music, and it’s fun.” he said.

Lee’s rival Austria’s Pepo Puch, on Fine Feelings, also rode a flamboyant test to great music and scored 78%, with the Netherlands’ Nicole Den Dulk on Wallace third with 75.15%.

The Italian camp let rip with screams of joy quickly followed by tears when Sophie Christiansen and Janeiro 6 were once again beaten by the impressive Sara Morganti on her nine-year-old Rheinlander mare Royal Delight in the grade la.

“I can’t believe it, it’s like a dream come true!” she said.

It shows how determined our para athletes are that Sophie was disappointed to go home with silver.

In the grade IV Sophie Wells and Valerius also had to contend with coming second again, to the determined and talented Belgian Michele George on FBW Rainman, and in grade II Natasha Baker suffered more bad luck when Cabral was very spooky and shied several times leaving her with an uncharacteristically low score of 65.5%.

The class was won by the Dutch rider Rixt van der Horst on Uniek, giving her a total of two gold medals to take home from these championships.

Today’s video interviews

WEG para dressage: H&H talks to Lee Pearson [VIDEO]

H&H's Madeleine Hill talks to Lee Pearson at the World Equestrian Games (WEG) about what it means to be a

WEG para dressage: Sophie Christiansen talks to H&H [VIDEO]

H&H interviews British para dressage rider Sophie Christiansen after she claimed silver in the grade Ia freestyle at the World

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

It went right up to the wire, but Britain’s para dressage team remain World champions after four tough days of competition in Normandy.

Until the last rider left the arena, and it was confirmed Sophie Christiansen had won the gold on Janeiro 6 in the Grade Ia, there were still anxious looks being exchanged. But Sophie managed to beat the two riders who pushed her into bronze earlier this week to ensure Team GBR claimed the gold.

With the freestyle still to come tomorrow (Friday 29 August), the British para dressage squad currently hold two individual golds and two individual silvers, plus team gold.

“I’m over the moon,” said Lee Pearson, who won the grade Ib championship yesterday. “There’s been so much pressure this week, it’s been a real battle. I feel it’s the toughest team gold we’ve ever acquired.”

Sophie Christiansen agreed: “It’s been such a tough championships. I feel we had to really fight for it.”

“I’m massively proud of the team,” said chef d’equipe David Hunter, “We needed a medal to get to Rio and we’ve achieved that in great style.”

Grade IV individual test

It was so close – there was less than half a percentage point between them – but Belgian rider Michelle George on her own FBW Rainman beat Sophie Wells and Valerius (pictured top) to gold. The Dutch combination Frank Hosmar and Alphaville N.O.P were a close third.

A clearly disappointed Sophie scored a fraction less than she had in her team test despite a very expressive test, although her horse was slightly unsettled to start.

“He’s very noise sensitive and reacted to people clapping as we went in,” explained Sophie, “but a year ago he would have freaked. He felt amazing in the test and I couldn’t be more proud of how he went.”

Winner Michelle George was London 2012 champion and Michelle and Sophie often share the podium. “Sophie is always very strong,” said Michelle, “And the horse is new to me so I didn’t know what to expect, but it’s good for our sport that the medals don’t just go to the Brits!”

Grade II

There was also disappointment for Natasha Baker in the Grade II. Although she rode a superb test and Cabral looked soft and willing, he was spooked three times by noises and flags at the C end of the arena. So despite managing an impressive 71.42%, Natasha was beaten by the championship debutante from the Netherlands Rixt van der Horst, on her new ride Uniek.

View the full results

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

Madeleine Hill keeps us to date with today's action from the grade Ib and grade III classes at the La Prairie Racecourse in Normandy

Lee Pearson and Zion scored 77.138% to win the grade Ib championship putting him back on top of the world.

“I feel elated, after not going to the Europeans, and putting my trust in this horse, and getting other people’s trust in this horse. I’ve had lots of support from friends and family and he’s just an amazing horse. I had a tough time in London and a tough time the past couple of years, so to come back on a different horse and to win is just amazing. ”

Lee beat his great rival, Austria’s Pepo Puch, by a safe two per cent. He rode a very fluent test with consistent cadence throughout which really showed off Zion’s lovely rhythmical trot. Having ridden early in the class, Lee had to be patient before his championship win was declared.

“Pepo went before me and I watched his test,” explained Lee. “I thought it was an absolutely beautiful test, but he had a bad transition and perhaps was not always engaged enough. I thought that’s a beatable score. Watching him gave me confidence.”

Lee was thrilled with his horse’s performance even before he knew he had won. After his test, he said: “What a horse! He gives me everything. He stayed really relaxed today. He was still aware of the arena, but warmed up perfectly, long loose and round, and when I asked for some engagement we got that big loose trot that he offers. His walk was really strong today too.”

British individual Ricky Balshaw was disappointed to come 7th, although it means he still goes through to the freestyle on LJT Enggaards Solitaire on Friday, and he’s hoping for a stronger performance then. “It’s just one of those things, he nearly had me off before we went in, but hopefully he’ll settle. Just got to go back and work on things.”

Grade III

The talented German rider Hannelore Brenner won the Grade lll championship on her chestnut Hannoverian mare Women of the World.

“She was wonderful today, so good, she really wanted to win,” said Hanna, “She really is a championship horse, when she comes into the arena she just grows.”

Hanna, a former event rider, before she had an accident in 1986, just beat the Dutch rider Sanne Voets on Vedet PB N.O.P. by less than one per cent. That’s the closest the gap has ever been between the two.

Sanne intends to keep chasing her rival and catch up with her – preferably in the freestyle later this week. “Last year we won the silver in Herning but the difference between me and Hanna was quite big, but I am getting closer all the time,” she said.

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

Madeleine Hill brings you up to date with the action on the second day of the para dressage competition in Normandy

Grade IV para dressage rider Sophie Wells (pictured top) rode a confident test this morning (26 August) to continue the British run of good scores and won her class with 74.59% on Valerius.

Sophie said: “I’m pleased. It’s his biggest competition so far, having done two Europeans but not a Worlds or a Paralympics. We’ve been working hard at home on the different parts of the test. He’s shown improvement and we can now build on that for the rest of the competition.”

The 12 year-old Dutch warmblood gelding (Flemmingh x Heidevrouwe) was a little spooky before he went into the arena, but soon settled down.

“He’s capable of a high score with his paces, but the challenge is getting it right all on the one day,” said Sophie. Horse & Hound’s blogger will be hoping to add to the team gold and two individual silvers she won at London 2012, plus triple gold at the 2013 European Championships in Denmark.

Grade II

One of the most glamorous para dressage riders on the circuit, Natasha Baker rode a very obedient Cabral to win with a score of 73.647%. The pair were the last to go, but Natasha was aiming for a safe round for the team.

“He warmed up really well, but I probably did too much so I knew I’d really have to work in the test. But he just found energy from nowhere as he usually does!” said Natasha, who has established a strong partnership with the 12-year-old Polish-bred gelding. “It’s our fourth championships together. I know just what to do when he’s like that. He was totally with me and listening; just a good boy.”

Grade Ia

The triple gold medallists from London 2012 suffered a surprise defeat in the grade Ia competition. Sophie Christiansen and Janeiro 6, who have proved very hard to beat on many occasions, were pushed down into third place here. Italian rider Sara Morganti on Royal Delight took the win with Laurentia Yen-Yi Tan representing Singapore second on Ruben James 2. It was close though, with Sophie scoring 74.261%, less than two percent behind the winners.

“It wasn’t easy in there today,” admitted Sophie, even before she knew she was beaten. “While I was walking round, before we went down the centre line, a fly started following us and it followed us right up the centre line! He tried to shake it off; these things happen!

“I like to watch my test on video before commenting, but I’ll say he felt like he went up a gear in there. He was relaxed and rhythmical, but maybe lacked the consistency for a better score. But I’m happy that way, it gives me something to work on for Thursday, which helps me to focus.”

The individual tests count towards the team result, so the team medal positions won’t be known until after Thursday’s competitions come to a close. Can Britain retain their unbeaten run at international championships? Time will tell…

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

Lee Pearson, the multi-gold medallist and elder statesman of the British para dressage squad, was the first Brit to face the challenging wet conditions in the para dressage competition at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in Caen, Normandy.

Lee returns to the team after a couple of years off, but he is back with a vengeance and went straight into the lead in the Grade Ib competition. He is riding the 10-year-old Flemmingh gelding Zion, owned by Lee with his parents Lynda and Dave Pearson, and Gillian Chin.

The test was a little tense at times as Zion (known as “Kevin” at home because he’s so laid back) “doesn’t like plastic” and the constant rain meant plenty of stewards, officials and volunteers were wearing plastic capes.

While there was some tension on show, Zion held it together in the walk and also produced some lovely trot work.

“There was far too much atmosphere,” joked Lee afterward., “what with the rain and the music and quad bikes, and a lot of plastic around! He has been quite settled, but he is only 10 years old and it’s his first major championship.”

Ricky Balshaw also produced a strong test, looking very polished apart from a mistake when LJT Enggaards Solitaire jogged for a few strides between the walk and trot movements. Otherwise his test looked very impressive and scored a more than respectable 71% to finish in eighth place.

In the Grade lll test, where Britain doesn’t have a rider competing, the talented German rider Hannelore Brenner came out on top on her Hannoverian mare Woman of the World scoring 72.47%. Dutch rider Sanne Voets took second place very close behind with Vedet PB NOP.

With another two days of team competition to come it’s too early to call, but Team GBR look to be in a strong position.

More para-dressage from WEG

Sophie Wells’ dressage blog: It’s wet at WEG

Find out how our para-dressage blogger is settling in at WEG in Caen, Normandy

Bluffers’ guide to para dressage at WEG

Horse & Hound tells you all you need to know to enjoy the para dressage competition at WEG

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

So we have arrived in Caen for the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. Unfortunately the weather has taken a turn for the worse, so here’s hoping the forecast improves!

The venue is lovely here on the racecourse, and the facilities are OK. The surfaces are quite hard to ride on, but overall things are going well.

I don’t compete until Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. But Lee Pearson and Ricky Balshaw kick it off today for the Brits in the para-dressage competition.

As the venues are fairly spread out for the para-dressage, the reining and the dressage, it’s difficult to get around to see the other British riders, especially if the times are tight. I have a feeling we will be relying on the TV to watch the other sports.

This is a shame as in Kentucky in 2010 it was really easy to scoot to each arena to support everyone. That’s the bonus of having one massive park where the Games can take place.

Feeling at home in the rain

I have a training day today, which is going to be outside in the rain, as we have no under cover space. It’s a good thing we are use to riding in the rain at home! I’m on at 8.48am tomorrow (French time, which is one hour ahead of the UK) so it will be nice to get in and done early in the day.

I also had the great honour of being the flag bearer for Team GBR at the opening ceremony. This was such a special moment which I will cherish. It was made even better with no disasters (such as tripping or dropping the flag) which did cross my mind!

Wish us luck! Paws and hooves crossed…

Sophie

How to watch the 2018 World Equestrian Games on TV

If you’re not making the trip to Tryon for the World Equestrian Games and are worried about missing out on

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

Get ready to baffle your friends with some fun facts ahead of this month's World Equestrian Games (23 August-7 September), from youngest to oldest, biggest to smallest, sibling rivalry and husband and wife team mates

Eventing

1. Jean Teulere of France will be the veteran competitor in Normandy at 60 years of age.

2. Conversely the youngest competitor is Ben Vogg of Switzerland, younger brother of Felix Vogg, making these two the only siblings in the eventing competition.

3. Will WEG prove to be marital bliss for husband and wife combo Tim and Jonelle Price? Both part of the New Zealand contingent, they have a strong chance of a medal.

4. Impressively WEG will be William Fox-Pitt’s 17th cap for Team GB — the most capped rider in the eventing at this year’s games (pictured above at WEG 2010).

5. Portersize Just A Jiff will be the smallest horse whizzing round the cross-country course for Ireland’s Camilla Speirs — he comes in at a mighty 15.1hh.

6. WEG 2014 will mark 36 years since Mark Todd‘s first ride in a championships — the first being in 1978 at Kentucky.

Dressage

7. Hans Staub of Switzerland is the oldest dressage competitor at 55 years-old.

8. The youngest British team member is Michael Eilberg at 27-years-old. He also rides the biggest horse on the British team, 17hh Half Moon Delphi.

9. The youngest rider is 18-year-old Brazilian João Victor Marcari Oliva who rides the 16 year-old Signo Dos Pinhais.

Showjumping

10. The youngest showjumping competitor will be the huge talent of Bertram Allen who is just 19-years-old.

11. The oldest competitor is 67-year-old Ian Millar of Canada. Maybe there is still time for all of us to make it onto a team one day…

12. Britain’s youngest horse on the team is Joe Clee‘s Utamaro D’Ecaussines who is 10-years-old.

13. We dread to think of the total cost to WEG who have to fork out for the last four horses used in the “swapping” final — the organising committee must insure the horses and state in the programme the amount each horse is insured for.

14. Britain’s youngest rider will be 21 year-old Spencer Roe.

Para-dressage

15. The oldest para-rider this year will be 63 year-old Brazilian Vera Lucia Martins Mazzilli.

16. At the other end of the age-scale is 16 year-old Russian, Sergey Kulikov who is already ranked an inpressive 17th in the world.

17. Finally, we think Lee Pearson’s mount for WEG, Zion wins the best stable name award — Kevin.

 Find out how to watch the World Equestrian Games on TV

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 past couple of weeks have been crazy! In my last blog we were packing and on our way to Hickstead, with six horses, two lorries, two grooms and our trainer, Angela [Weiss].

Reece (Valerius) contested the para grade IV summer championships, which was also part of our selection for the World Equestrian Games (WEG). He’s had a bit of time off with a few niggles, so we didn’t go into it feeling the most prepared. In fact he was like a fire breathing dragon on the first day of training, so he was clearly feeling better. He got 74% in the team test — a fairly average performance for him — he wasn’t at his best, but he did what he needed to do to win the class.

We worked on his trot for day two to get it more connected and forward while maintaining the cadence. We had torrential rain and a horrible thunderstorm just before I got on; the thunder and lightening felt like it struck one of the stables.

However, Reece is quite use to the rain, and splashing through puddles. Deb Criddle told me seven years ago when I was new to the performance side of the sport: “Use mother nature to your advantage — ride in the rain, wind, hot sun, you don’t know when you will have to during competition”. Very good advice!

Although I thought Reece’s second day of competition was better than the previous, despite the weather, the judges didn’t agree and gave us 69%. But later we checked and the sheet had been added up wrong. So we got 71% — better, but still not what we wanted.

Jorge (C Fatal Attraction, pictured top having a snooze) was super at the show. The more we do, the better our relationship is and our bond is getting stronger. He went well on the first day in the team test to gain 71% and second behind Reece. Then on the second day, he wasn’t so keen on the lake at the C end of the arena or the rest of the arena being fairly under water, which resulted in some understandable tension. However he came out with 69% and the same score as Reece, apart from collectives, which was a bit bizarre!

You live and you learn

I had a tricky show at the Hickstead Premier League. David (Forever Himself) was not a fan of the arena and all the distractions. He was very tense in the prix st georges (PSG) so I decided to retire him in the canter work. It’s not something I do very often, but he got to the point where it was getting worse and it wasn’t fair on him to carry on. The next day in the inter I he was tense, but he was manageable. It was far from his best test, but he got through it and learnt from it hopefully.

Noki (Pinoccio) didn’t feel himself. He had little energy and I was worried about him — we made quite a lot of mistakes and lacked energy in both the inter II and grand prix. I got our team vet to check his heart, which was normal for him, which was a relief, and got his bloods tested when I got home.

Hartpury here we come

On to Hartpury. This was Jorge’s first international, which was exciting and a proud moment. The same team were supporting us, two different grooms to get experience, and the World Class team were also there. It was my first senior international at big tour — very exciting but also very scary! It was also the final selection for the paras for WEG too, so pressure was on.

Reece showed his lack of work the past month or so, and was quite looky in the first test. Jorge was very concentrated though, so I thought he might have the edge and take the lead over his stable-mate. But Reece won with 72%, followed by Jorge on 69%.

In the individual Reece was getting better, and his mark improved to 74% as did Jorge’s to break that 70% barrier. Reece qualified through to the freestyle, which was moved to just before Noki’s grand prix. I was so nervous for the grand prix that I had to really focus on Reece and try and put it out my mind. It worked and Reece was back to form, gaining 80%.

Quick Swap: paras to grand prix; horses and bridles

A change of jackets and horses, and I was immediately warming up for the grand prix. Noki was quite strong and forward in the warm-up, so I struggled to get him together. I had to get him listening and hope the movements came off!

Quick swap into the double bridle after my first part of warm up in the snaffle (as I struggle to cope with all the reins). I got through the test and didn’t know how it felt; it was a bit of a blur because I was so nervous!

I didn’t expect to qualify for the freestyle, as all the riders that had got there were better than we were, so I was happy if I could do a good test. 63.8% I was happy with, and even happier the head judge at C gave us over 66% and two other judges 65%. We qualified for the freestyle in 11th place, so I was over the moon.

Dancing Shoes On

The rest of my para team decided they would stay and support me, which was nice, so we all stayed in the lorries and had a chilled day before the freestyle in the evening. I stretched the other boys, and watched the inter I class of the international before I started to prepare for my test, listening to my new music. It was hard to find something to follow Noki’s Pinocchio music I used for the Paralympics and small tour. But I love it.

The freestyle went OK. We had a bit of a miscommunication at the start, as he likes to know where he’s going, so being our first grand prix kur, it was a bit new, but the canter work came off and it mainly fitted to the music! The German judge Peter Engel gave us 71% for second, but overall we finished 6th with 66%, which I’m so happy with.

We left just after 11pm and drove home getting back after 2am at which point we had all five horses to put to bed!

Next Stop World Equestrian Games

The WEG team was announced after that weekend, and I’m delighted to say Reece and I have been selected, with Noki & Jorge as my direct reserves. I’m so proud of them, and it’s a real testament to what we have been trying to do building up a strong string during the past few years.

A big big thank you to Team Wells, all my sponsors and supporters, owners that continue to support my dreams, and friends and family. It’s much appreciated! Thank you!

Sophie x

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 British para dressage squad for the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games (WEG) has been named:

• Grade II: Natasha Baker with Mr and Mrs P Baker, Mrs Alder and Mr Christian Landolt’s Cabral
• Grade Ib: Ricky Balshaw with The Lady Joseph Trust’s LJT Enggaards Solitaire
• Grade Ia: Sophie Christiansen with her own Janeiro 6
• Grade Ib: Lee Pearson with Mr and Mrs D Pearson, Mrs Gillian Chinn and his own Zion
• Grade IV: Sophie Wells with her own Valerius

The non-travelling reserve is:

• Grade II: Erin Orford (25) from High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire with Clare Porz’s Candi KA
• Sophie Wells is also selected with Dr Neil and Dr Jackie Walker’s Pinocchio and Charlotte Hogg’s C Fatal Attraction, as direct reserves.

Britain’s para dressage team are the current and undefeated World, European and Paralympic champions.

Chef d’equipe David Hunter said; “After a good final competition at Hartpury last week, I’m delighted for the five riders who’ve been selected to go to this summer’s Games.

“We look forward to heading to WEG with a strong team to defend our reputation and achieve the main aim of qualifying for Rio 2016.”

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