News
Dressage For All Week 2025
- Written By: British Dressage
- Published: Wed, 03 Dec 2025 12:45
Revisit news, content and interviews shared as part of Dressage For All Week, running from 24 - 29 November 2025. 
From 24 - 29 November we turned our attention to Dressage For All Week, an annual initiative created to shine a light on the pathways and opportunities available for everyone to enjoy affiliated dressage activity. Throughout the week, we met some truly inspiring people, and heard about the positive impact of dressage and the BD community.
Enjoy easy-to-access links below to some of the top stories from the week.
Para Dressage
Meet Harriet Williamson
"Para sport opens doors to opportunities you might never have realised were possible."
Para Academy rider Harriet Williamson is making progress in leaps and bounds with her horse King D; after the first weekend hosted at Sophie Wells Dressage, meet the inspiring rider about her experience to date.
What is the Para Academy?
Learn more about the Para Acadamies with our explainer post.
Vist Facebook to view a gallery of images from the latest Para Academy day, hosted at Sophie Wells Dressage.
New communities
Meet the Urban Coach
In 2025, the second pilot for the BD Urban Equestrian Programme ran in collaboration with Stepney Bank Stables and BD coach Samantha Brown. As part of Dressage For All Week, we caught up with Sam to hear about her experience within the role.
Cool Ridings x British Dressage
Earlier this year, British Dressage was delighted to collaborate with Cool Ridings to run a memorable training camp set alongside a National Academy weekend at the British Showjumping Training Centre in Leicestershire. Read about the day and learn more about founder Lydia Heywood, and her inspiring group.
Young and wise
As we dedicated a Dressage For All day to age, hear from Performance Manager Nina Boex on her vast experience with supporting youth riders, as we aim to understand more about the benefits that international and elite sport can bring to young people.
NINA BOEX TALKS YOUTH DEVELOPMENT
Meet Carrol Simpson
Meet a true advocate for youth participation, Carrol Simpson, who’s introduced many young people to the dressage arena via her group, the West Midlands Dressage Group. On Dressage For All Week, we speak to Carrol about the benefits of getting involved in dressage at a young age and consider the impact on health, well-being, belonging and life skills.
We also ran some fascinating Facebook discussions on veteran riders and managing horses, competing and motivation as you reach a later stage in life. View the post below.
Intellectual Impairment
Virtus and SportExcel UK
2025 saw a fantastic performance by the British athletes at the Virtus Para Equestrian World Championship, showcasing the talent of those with intellectual impairments excelling in the sporting sphere. As part of Dressage For All week, hear from some of the medal winning riders on their experiences.
Find out more about Virtus and SportExcel UK, who offer clear, welcoming pathway for riders with intellectual impairments to shine on the national and international stage. View our handy explainer post below.
Adversity
Meet Saffron Cresswell
Meet Saffron Cresswell – a former international event rider who suffered a life changing fall at Bramham Horse Trials in 2024. This year, Saffron has completed her Level 3 Coaching Certificate with British Dressage, and serves as an inspiration to all that when life throws change and challenge at you, there’s always a path to be found with time, patience and dedication.
There are multiple image galleries and opinion posts to get involved with on Facebook, as well as three useful guides to rider armbands - as we aimed to raise awareness on this topic throughout the week. View the posts below and visit BD on Facebook.
