Charlotte Dujardin added a third national title to her week’s tally at the NAF Five Star Winter Dressage Championships. She scored 76.09% to head a strong leaderboard in the Charles Owen advanced medium gold final, aboard Imhotep.
The eight-year-old Everdale x Vivaldi gelding has only done a handful of shows under Charlotte to date, having previously been competed successfully by Sadie Smith, including finishing fourth at elementary at the 2019 nationals. Owned by Coral Ingham, “Pete” is proving to be an exciting horse for the future, and Charlotte was thrilled with his performance here, as she explained.
“He was such a good boy in there, I was really pleased with him, and it was mistake-free,” said Charlotte. “Pete is a bit of an inward worrier and can get a bit tense, but I can’t ask for much more as he hasn’t got the experience. Doing things like this is so good for him.
“Speaking to other riders, it seems a lot of people struggle with going in that arena – you think there’s not much for them to look at but, but for some reason, maybe the canteen above and the people around, it can be difficult for some horses,” she added.
A Portuguese rider and a sleepy stallion claimed the top spot in the KBIS prelim silver final.
Luis Vilhena piloted the five-year-old Millenium x Voice son Loves Black STH into pole position on a very good score of 74.65%, ahead of Lauren Crowe and Scout in second.
“He was at stud until a couple of weeks ago, so I’m really pleased with him,” said Luis. “He’s a very relaxed stallion; he can be hot if I ask for more from the higher levels – he’s like a different horse – but when I ride calmly he is calm and relaxed. even in the stables he doesn’t call to anyone, he just sleeps. He’ll sleep on your shoulder. He’s just a very sweet horse, and very special.
Horse & Hound Newsletter
Never miss out on the latest happenings in the equestrian world
Luis bought the horse as a two-year-old from the Netherlands and said he was cheeky, and quite small, as a youngster, but has an exciting future.
“He is very talented for the piaffe and passage, and is doing the young horse classes at the moment. I think he is a horse for the higher levels – he can passage and then relax straight away to the walk with no stress, no tension.”
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
