FEI European Championships 2026: U25s finish fifth in Team competition

British U25 riders take home fifth place in the U25 team competition at the FEI Dressage European Championships, held at Pilisjászfalu, Hungary (6 – 12 July 2026).

© Lukasz Kowalski 2026

Competing across two days of hot competition the U25 team, comprised of Georgina Nicholls, Lilah Gibbs, Harrison Ashton and Annabella Pidgley, campaigned in tough company to produce fantastic performances for Great Britain. Demonstrating composure, consistency and determination under pressure, the quartet rose to the challenge on the European stage, delivering impressive tests against some of the continent’s strongest combinations and securing a well-deserved team result.

Georgina Nicholls made her European debut aboard Briarwood Notorious (Silas) and completed a confident test to score 66.735% to finish in 27th position. There were lots of promising moments in the tests, including their two-time tempi changes which earned an average mark of 7.0 from the judges Dr. Hans-Christian Mattheinsen (DEN – E), Patricia Wolters (NED – H), Katrina Wust (GER – C), Elisabeth Max-Theurer (AUT – M), Raphael Saleh (FRA – B). “I was really happy. It was an incredible experience, surprisingly I wasn’t that nervous about it! I was really pleased that we managed a clean round, it wasn’t our best test in terms of how I can have him and how I know I can ride him at home but I was happy that I didn’t have any major blips. Silas was feeling very keen and happy to be here and I felt the test was a bit too gung-ho, but I was still really pleased… there’s definitely more to come. The whole team was amazing, they were right where I needed them!”

Harrison was the second rider to go, producing a steady test with Spectre to score 66.323% and finish in 31st position. The duo had lots of positive marks from the judges, including average marks of 6.8 for both the piaffe and passage work, 6.9 for the two-time tempi changes and 7.1 for the collected canter. “I felt my test was a bit of an experience”, Harrison commented upon reflection, “A lack of knowledge of my horse and the limited competition experience that I have had on him, but this has given me the knowledge to go forward to tomorrow knowing what I need to change in preparation for my test. It’s giving me the chance to play with things like a shorter warmup or changing the warmup routine to make sure Spectre feels his best in the test. He definitely felt a bit tired, especially from the travelling and adrenaline that he has had all week… he’s going to have a recovery day tomorrow [Thursday] and hopefully that will help give us more energy for the Individual so I can keep him more up and open in the neck”.

Third to go for the team was Lilah Gibbs and Dude III. Lilah had a super start to the test in the trot tour and canter tour, scoring between seven and eight’s consistently, including an average score of 8.0 for their extended canter. Unfortunately, an expensive a couple of expensive mistakes towards the end brought their score down to 66.882% to finish just ahead of Georgina in 26th place. “There were definitely some good bits” Lilah commented, “I am overall a bit disappointed with how it went, mostly because I couldn’t show off how good Dude can be and unfortunately, he felt like he got a little bit of stage fright I think. Generally, he’s not a spooky horse, but he does tend to internalise any tension, so we have been working really hard to keep him calm but I think it just all got a bit too much for him”.

The final rider of the day down the centre line was Annabella Pidgley and Gio (Pumpkin). Annabella had a fantastic start to the test with the trot tour and start of the canter tour trending on 74%, however a few mistakes towards the end of the test in the tempi changes took a hard hit on the score, dropping them to 70.412% to finish in ninth position. Reflecting on their performance, Annabella stated “My test went well overall, I was pleased with the trot work which was a lot better than it previously has been. We have been working on keeping the energy, especially through the half passes, piaffe and passage, and also his mediums because he is not a horse that has a big medium trot. The walk is something that we are working on because he can be a little bit spooky so I have to watch where his neck is, so his stretch is something we are still working on at the moment. The canter was the weakest part, which was a shame because his pirouettes are normally a highlight. He got a bit behind me in the walk and instead of keeping him on the hind leg I pushed him a bit too forward so it got too long and I lost that energy that we needed for the changes."

Congratulations go to all the riders and their support teams, as well as Chef D’Equipe Tom Hobday as they look towards the individual tests starting tomorrow (10 July).

Team results- top three and British result

1. Germany – 215.412

2. Denmark – 213.235

3. Netherlands – 210.412

5. Great Britain – 204.029

Times for individual test

Friday 10 July

Annabella Pidgley and Gio – 14.03 BST

Lilah Gibbs and Dude III – 14.12 BST

Harrison Ashton and Spectre – 15.44 BST

Saturday 11 July

Georgina Nicholls and Briarwood Notorious – 16.27 BST

FULL TIMES AND RESULTS