The overall championship is decided by the sum of combinations’ scores from the grand prix and the Kudos grand prix freestyle.
Lewis and Diego won the grand prix and held a 0.63% lead over second-placed Gareth Hughes and Classic Goldstrike going into the freestyle. Lewis rode before Gareth and scored 74.85%, with eights for his changes, trot work and choreography.
“The piaffe and passage felt good, the changes came off, and in general he felt really solid,” Lewis said.
“He loves an atmosphere and the halts have been a little difficult because he anticipates the crowd clapping, but today I was so pleased because he stayed focussed until the end.
“We had an uncharacteristic mistake in the canter pirouette so I knew it wasn’t going to be our best score. But I managed to adapt and put another pirouette somewhere else which clawed me back a few marks – but the whole test was so fun to ride.”
Gareth rode a near-faultless test on Goldstrike with the live scoring periodically having them ahead of Lewis and Diego – who’d hung back in the warmup to watch the scores come through.
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In the end, Gareth’s 74.95% was enough to win the freestyle but fell just short of overtaking Lewis’ overall score.
“It was a nail-biting wait,” Lewis admitted. “I was watching the scores come in for Gareth, who was riding a great test, but I’m so pleased, I woke up this morning and I really, really wanted this.
“It’s something you dream of, especially having watched the likes of Gareth and Carl [Hester] do it in the past. And this horse deserves it – I know everyone says this about their horse, but Diego really is one in a million.”
The victory felt even more poignant for Lewis and Diego, who’ve come up through the levels together — from novice to national champion.
Watching Lewis reflect on his career while he held Diego, who was decked out in his winners’ rug and rosettes, standing alongside his now-wife Olivia Robertson-Carrier – it was hard not to be swept up in the emotion of the moment.
“From where we started to where we are now, it’s been an incredible journey,” Lewis said.
“Diego’s 16-years-old now but, honestly, he feels like he’s just coming into his prime. I think over the next couple of years he’s going to get better and better.”
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Oscar joined Horse & Hound in October 2023 and is the magazine’s dressage editor and sports manager, overseeing coverage of equestrian sport. After studying equine science at Myerscough College, he spent four years working for leading dressage rider Emile Faurie, competing at the 2015 National Dressage Championships and travelling with the yard to CDIs including Aachen and Saumur. He holds a master’s degree in Literature from York St John University (2021).
