Carrier and Walker win the 2025 Middle Tour Championships

Two worthy winners earned the 2025 Middle Tour titles, as the championships provided two days of top quality action at Intermediate II level.  

The Middle Tour Championships, supported by North & East regional sponsor Sue Carson Saddles, see two rounds of competition for silver and gold riders on track for Grand Prix. On Friday 3 October, combinations rode the Intermediate II test, before presenting a Freestyle at Intermediate A/B level.  

Middle Tour Gold Championship  

Winner: Lewis Carrier and Rubico  

National Champion and British team rider Lewis Carrier (pictured above) brought two horses to the Middle Tour Championships and made the experience count, securing the top two spots in the Freestyle and Overall Gold ranking.  

Sarah Field and Patricia Baker’s Rubico (Rubin Royal x Stedinger) looked in top form in the Inter A/B Freestyle, with Lewis riding to a fantastic score of 71.584%; the technical elements impressed for 69.500%, whilst the artistic marks brought in great marks for a fantastic programme by Equidance, contributing 73.667% to the overall total.  

Lewis also rode to second place in the Freestyle on board his own and Andrew Carrier’s Alvescot Freestyle; their final score of 70.333% also brought the duo up the leader board, with Richard Baldwin, Sarah Leitch and Claire Ballantyne praising the way of going and artistic elements too.  

“It’s such a fantastic show, the Middle Tour, to bring the horses that I had here was great. They’re both green at the level, both nine-years-old, so to come and do this is a great stepping stone for them on the way to the big stuff. I’m so pleased with both of them, they did a fantastic job both days.” 

“Rubi pulled it out the bag in the freestyle,” Lewis commented on his winning ride’s performance in the music round, “he’s coming on day by day and showing lots of talent for the Grand Prix work. He’s a little more experience than the other horse so he pulled it together for the win, but I’m hoping that both of the horses will step up to Big Tour and take over from Diego eventually.  

“He’s wonderful, I’m so grateful to his owners Trish and Sarah,” Lewis concluded about the chestnut gelding who looks set for an exciting career at the top of the sport.  

Reflecting on his freestyle performance and the elements that brought in the high marks, he continued, “I wanted to highlight his really good bits and do the compulsory movements well. His highlights are his trot work, so I really wanted to show off that. He didn’t have any mistakes, got his one and two tempi changes, and his piaffe/passage was much improved from yesterday.” 

Lewis also offered a word for his second place ride Alvescot Freestyle, known at home as Freddie: “Freddie’s fantastic, he’s done so little and I’ve always wanted to bring him out at the higher levels. He’s showing some amazing talent for Grand Prix so he just needs to keep going out more now and gain experience. Coming here was a fantastic opportunity to see the flowers, and understand what a big show is like.” 

“I couldn’t be more pleased with both horses, they were fantastic.” 

Reflecting on the experience and the journey with two promising horses, Lewis concluded: “Getting a good result is like the cherry on top. Yesterday competing in the wind and rain was really tough, Rubi had the worst of it at the end of the day as he was drawn last. The conditions were much worse then and he did a good job. It was amazing that he could do even beter today in the indoor, to win is just fantastic. I’m excited for the rest of the year, good times ahead hopefully.” 

Gracie Catling and the Friesian gelding Tsjebe Fan e Vesta Hoeve brought in plenty of smiles from the spectators in the Freestyle, as they earned third spot behind Lewis on a score of 69.458%. Gracie and ‘Jeb’ are former Petplan graduates, having progressed through the levels to Middle Tour Gold level; their strong partnership has brought them to title wins over the years, and they looked a picture dancing to brass band tunes, including Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. The combination also earned third overall, with a combined score of 135.585. 

Middle Tour Silver Championship 

Winner: Sally Walker and Wilton Wood Blaze 

Sally Walker and her own Wilton Wood Blaze earned an emotional place at the top step of the podium in the Middle Tour Silver Championship after delivering a title winning test in the Freestyle final.  

Riding in front of Claire Ballantyne, Richard Baldwin and Sarah Leitch, Sally and ‘Blaze’ emerged as the only combination in the Silver category to soar about the 70% barrier in their Intermediate A/B Freestyle test. Their test winning score of 70.084%, combined with their Intermediate II test score of 64.117%, was enough to give them the title on a total of 134.201.  

“It’s amazing, I’m so emotional it made my cry,” Sally said after her prize giving, “he’s really special. It’s taken a lot to get to this stage, but he’s really a character.” 

“The Freestyle is made for the other horse I’ve got but I’ve really been practising it the last two weeks. I haven’t practiced the Inter II as much as I have this test, so I’m so pleased I really pulled it off!” 

“This horse was the wildest thing I’ve ever had to back in my life,” Sally explained about the journey with the Hackney-sired gelding, “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to throw myself off him because I was that scared of him bolting! It’s been a really steady journey with him, he’s 13 now. To get him to this level and be able to produce that work in the actual test, I’m just over the moon and overwhelmed.” 

“I know him so well,” Sally said emotionally, commenting on how her partnership shone through, “he’s just so quirky!”  

Emily Perry and her own 17-year-old Dondersteen showed superb consistency across the two rounds of Middle Tour competition to place as runners-up in the overall. The duo earned second in the Inter II test with a score of 64.412%, followed by another uber-consistent second place in the Freestyle with 67.042% - a great mark to conclude their show.  

Inter II test winner Rhiannon Hinton earned third in the overall ranking with her former Area Festival Champion Quaikin Horatio (Hotline x Dimaggio). Whilst Claire Ackerman and Woodcroft Heinrich – another combination who’ve earned titles through the Area Festival Championship pathway – stepped onto the podium in the Freestyle to earn third with 66%.  

British Dressage thanks host venue Arena UK and Sue Carson Saddles for her generous support of the BD Middle Tour Championship prizes. 

Results – top five 

Intermediate II Silver  
1. Rhiannon Hinton and Quaikin Horatio, 65.049% 
2. Emily Perry and Dondersteen, 64.412%  
3. Sally Walker and Wilton Wood Blaze, 64.117% 
4. Claire Ackerman and Woodcroft Heinrich, 63.088% 
5. Kate Warner and Don Divo, 60.882% 

Intermediate A/B Freestyle Silver  
1. Sally Walker and Wilton Wood Blaze, 70.084% 
2. Emily Perry and Dondersteen, 67.042% 
3. Claire Ackerman and Woodcroft Heinrich, 66.000% 
4. Julia Walker and Rodhea, 64.500%  
5. Rhiannon Hinton and Quaikin Horatio, 64.500% 

Silver Championship 
1. Sally Walker and Wilton Wood Blaze - 134.201 
2. Emily Perry and Dondersteen  - 131.454 
3. Rhiannon Hinton and Quaikin Horatio - 129.549  
4. Claire Ackerman and Woodcroft Heinrich - 129.088  
5. Julia Walker and Rodhea - 125.039 

Intermediate II Gold  
1. Jenny Martell and MVL Esquadra, 69.1185 
2. Lewis Carrier and Alvescot Freestyle, 66.568% 
3. Alex Hardwick and Joie De Vivre Prins, 66.275% 
4. Gracie Catling and Tsjebe Fan e Vesta Hoeve, 66.127% 
5. Joseph Bright and Fame, 65.931% 

Intermediate A/B Freestyle Gold  
1. Lewis Carrier and Rubico, 71.584% 
2. Lewis Carrier and Alvescot Freestyle, 70.333% 
3. Gracie Catling and Tsjebe Fan e Vesta Hoeve, 69.458% 
4. Jessica Davies and Jodan, 68.709% 
5. Joseph Bright and Fame, 68.542% 

Gold Championship  
1. Lewis Carrier and Rubico - 137.368  
2. Lewis Carrier and Freestyle - 136.901  
3. Gracie Catling and Tsjebe Fan e Vesta Hoeve - 135.585  
4. Joseph Bright and Fame - 134.473  
5. Alex Hardwick and Joie De Vivre Prins - 134.359