Mari Durward-Akhurst

The Paralympic Freestyle bronze medal winning duo Mari and Diane Redfern, Nick Durward-Akhurst and Romilly Hart’s Athene Lindebjerg will be competing in the Grade I competition.

Mari Durward-Akhurst (32) from Amersham, Buckinghamshire, with Diane Redfern, Nick Durward-Akhurst and Romilly Hart’s Athene Lindebjerg (black, mare 19yrs, 17hh, Gribaldi x Diamant, breeder: Ulla and Kristian Bech DEN).

Currently ranked number one in the FEI Para Dressage World Rankings for Grade I and number three in the Para Dressage World Individual Rankings, Mari has been at the forefront of many of the CPEDI competitions this season. Since making her international debut in 2007 at Junior level, Mari went on to compete at Young Riders and has achieved countless national and international titles, including taking the win at the 2016 Grade III Restricted Winter Championships. In 2019 Mari attended the FEI European Championships held in Rotterdam with Sky O’Hara, where she helped the team come home with a silver medal and finished fourth individually in the freestyle competition.

Mari partnered with Athene Lindebjerg at the start of 2023, and the combination had an exceptional first season, taking a double win at the Wellington Festival of Dressage in the Grade I Grand Prix A and B competition, taking three podium placings at the Hartpury CPEDI3* and finally won at the LeMieux National Dressage Championships. In 2024, the duo kicked off the year at the Addington CPEDI3* where she came home with three second placings, before going to Waregem CPEDI where they won the Freestyle. Following this exceptional year, Mari and Athene were selected for the 2024 Paris Paralympics, where they achieved an Individual Bronze medal in the freestyle. The duo attended the 2025 FEI European Championships, where the team finished fourth and Mari completed three top-three finishes individually. The duo’s current personal best for the Freestyle is 83.87%, which they achieved at the Hartpury Spring CPEDI back in April. They also achieved a personal best score of 78.96% in the Grand Prix B and 78.13% in the Grand Prix A at the 2026 Wellington CPEDI.