News
Guest rider and judges announced for the KBIS Young Horse Championships
- Written By: British Dressage
- Published: Sun, 16 Aug 2026 12:00
British Dressage is excited to announce the panel of experts who will be evaluating the finalists of the Young Horse Championships at the LeMieux National Championships (10 – 13 September).
© Adam Fanthorpe 2025
The KBIS Young Horse Championships are always a highlight of the LeMieux National Championships, where we have a guest rider riding the top three horses in age category to help the judges decide their champion.
The five- and six-year-old champions will be decided with the input of three judges and the opinion of the guest rider. This year, we are excited to announce that Dutch-based British rider Phoebe Peters will be returning to the UK as our guest rider, and to experience some of our most exciting young and upcoming talent. For our Final judging panel, we are delighted to be introducing 2016 Olympic Silver medalist Spencer Wilton as the trainer, BD List One and FEI judge Isobel Wessles as our British judge, and former Olympic medalist Sven Rothenberger as our guest foreign judge.
Phoebe Peters
Originally from Warwickshire, Phoebe was Britain’s first FEI European Gold medalist as a Pony rider. With her pony SL Lucci, the pair danced their way to two individual gold medals, two silver, one bronze medal and three World Records. Phoebe was also a member of the Junior team, where she finished ninth individually in the Freestyle competition aboard Denford Sunrise.
After university, Phoebe made the move to Germany in 2021 as a stable rider for Klaud Balkenhol where she learnt the classical foundations that is still evident through German riding and training. A year later, Phoebe was offered the incredibly opportunity to take up residence at Van Olst Stables, acting as second stable rider behind Lottie Fry. During her time at Van Olst, Phoebe produced Everest from the age of four to six and became the first British rider to win a Pavo Cup Final (Dutch Championships for Young Horses), as well as representing the Netherlands at the FEI WBSFH World Breeding Championships. Phoebe also went on to compete for Britain at U25 level, where she presented Van Olst Horses Inclusive.
In 2024, Phoebe was presented with the opportunity to relocate to Reesink Horses in the Netherlands as their principal rider. This exciting career trajectory has allowed Phoebe to continue competing at Grand Prix level whilst producing young horses for the future. More recently, Phoebe represented Great Britain at the WBFSH World Breeding Championships abpard Reesink Stallions’ McMary (Mclaren x Ampere), where she qualified for the final and finished in fifth.
Spencer Wilton
Based in Gloucestershire, Spencer’s first riding love was eventing. As a young rider, he represented Great Britain as an individual at the Pony European Eventing Championships, and was a working pupil for Ruth McMullen, Lucinda Green and Mark Todd upon leaving school. However, after a chance meeting with the one and only Carl Hester, Spencer made the career change to dressage and worked with Carl for the next 13 years. Since then, he has gone on to win 13 National titles, represent Great Britain at the 2016 Olympic Games, 2017 European Championships and 2018 World Equestrian Games, where he helped the team finish with a bronze medal. At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Spencer was a part of the silver medal winning team with his own and Jen Goodman’s Super Nova II. In 2018, Spencer married his long-term partner and fellow dressage rider Darren Hicks, and the pair are currently based in the Cotswolds.
In 2025, Spencer finished second at the LeMieux National Championships with Samantha Britton’s Woodcroft Django Mon Ami. The pair contested in the Intermediate II class having had a hugely successful season, taking two wins at the Hartpury Premier League, and another win at the Vale View High Profile show. At the end of 2025 the pair stepped up to Grand Prix, and have been building momentum throughout the season, finishing second at the Chard Equestrian Premier League, and fourth at the Chart Stables International Dressage Premier League at Hickstead.
Sven Rothenberger
Despite being German by birth, Sven competed under the Dutch flag after his marriage to his wife, fellow Dutch Dressage rider Gonnelien Rothenberger (nee Gordijn). Prior to his marriage, Sven represented Germany at the 1990 Stockholm World Championships, where the team brought home gold. He also gained three European Gold medals, twice in 1991 for the team and freestyle event, and again as a gold team medal in 1993. That year he also claimed silver in the freestyle.
After making the change to compete under the Dutch flag, Sven went on to achieve four European Championship medals, two World Championship medals and two Olympic medals at the 1996 Atlanta games. Since then, Sven has worked his way up the judges rankings to an FEI5* judge, officiating worldwide across FEI events, including the World Breeding Championships. Sven is also the father of Germany’s prominent Olympic medal winning rider Sönke Rothenberger.
Isobel Wessels
Alongside Sven, fellow 5* FEI and BD List One judge Isobel Wessels will be rounding off our judging panel, offering her invaluable insight and knowledge surrounding our future talent. Isobel is one of Great Britain’s most highly regarded judges, trainers and riders. With more than three decades of experience in international dressage, she has successfully combined careers in competition, coaching, and officiating at the highest levels of the sport. Inspired by dressage while living in Vienna as a teenager, she trained under influences connected to the renowned Spanish Riding School and later developed a successful competitive career in South Africa and the United Kingdom.
As a rider, Wessels won numerous national and regional titles, trained multiple horses to Grand Prix level, and represented Great Britain internationally. She became an FEI International Dressage Judge in 2000 and was promoted to the elite FEI 5* status in 2011, qualifying her to officiate at major championships around the world.
Beyond judging, Wessels is an internationally respected educator and coach who has worked with riders across Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. Known for her emphasis on harmony, correct training, and horse welfare, she has served as a course director, seminar presenter, and high-performance dressage coach.
We feel exceptionally fortunate to have such an incredible panel of experts for our championships this year and would like to wish our riders the very best of luck.
Book your place
For spectators who wish to watch the championships, tickets are still available so make sure you secure your spot today! Your ticket price includes:
- Entry to the showground
- FREE parking
- Access to the ringside Grandstand seating
- Access to watch the warm up arenas
- Masterclasses (find out your hosts here)
- Children aged 15 and under go free
- 25% discount on tickets for young people aged 16-24
Don’t forget to visit the link below if you’re a BD member to access your exclusive 15% discount code too! Book your ticket’s now via the buttons below.
