National Dressage Championships: Carl Hester and En Vogue triumph

At the 2023 LeMieux National Dressage Championships, Carl Hester and Lady Anne Evans’ exceptional En Vogue led the LeMieux grand prix gold championship.

(Image credit: Kevin Sparrow)

At the 2023 LeMieux National Dressage Championships, Carl Hester and Lady Anne Evans’ exceptional En Vogue claimed the top spot in the LeMieux grand prix gold championship.

The prolific 14-year-old Jazz gelding led second-placed Becky Moody and Jagerbomb by over 4.5%, with a score of 76.74%.

“The national championships signals the end of the season and I was looking forward to giving Vogue something to do. At the Europeans, Fame got all the glory he deserved, but Vogue has been on an equal footing all year and I’m glad he got to come here and prove himself. He deserves every moment of this and I wanted to give him his best chance today. Winning with him here was one of my end-of-season goals.”

Carl had little time to turn around ahead of this year’s National Dressage Championships after his success at the Europeans last week: “We drove home through the night on Sunday, landing back home at 3am. I then had six horses to ride on Monday morning, before I had four lessons to teach. Then, I’ve been teaching lots of people ahead of the nationals. I haven’t had time to stop yet, but it’s all fine as I’m going on holiday next week!”

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Born and raised in the Lake District, Alex has grown up on the showing scene. She has qualified and competed ponies at the Royal International, Horse of the Year Show and Olympia and has first-hand knowledge of the current issues in the showing world as well as the horses, ponies and riders who compete in the sport. Alex joined H&H in January 2018 as showing editor, cementing its place as the leading equestrian publication for both showing reports and current showing news in the UK. She moved on in October 2024 to pursue other opportunities, but continues to write for us on a freelance basis.

‘He deserves every moment of this’: Carl Hester ticks off his final goal of 2023

Carl Hester on his National Dressage Championships winner

“The best thing about him is his canter work. He’s so secure and strong in that pace. His pirouettes were also brilliant today. Overall, he was a pleasure to ride.

“Fame has the technical edge, but they’re both brilliant horses who want to work. They’re not horses you can just get on and do a grand prix with; they are both full-time jobs but they’re brilliant, talented horses.

“I couldn’t pick which one I prefer to ride,” Carl added. “They both have the same work ethic which is ‘let me do it, let me do it’ so it’s just a case of steering and calming, which suits me as that’s how I like riding.”

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