LeMieux Nationals 25: Day one

Day one at the LeMieux Nationals saw a sun-drenched morning of high class competition overshadow stormy skies, plenty of returning champions joined some first-time title winners across the opening day opportunities. 

Equissage Pulse Para Gold Championships 

The largest ever Para Gold Championships with a record number of entries; para dressage continues to go from strength to strength in Britain. 

Grade 1: Susanna Wade and Premier Royal Mint, 69.028% 
Susanna Wade and Premier Royal Mint secured the Grade 1 title for the second consecutive year, scoring 69.028% in front of Sandra Edwards, John Robinson and Andrew Bennie.  The 18-year-old gelding is owned by Susanna and they have been competing successfully togeather since 2023.

Commenting on what it’s like to win again this year, Susanne reflected, "I’m thrilled, it’s such a nice way to finish the year after riding at a few internationals and going to Hagen in Germany. To become National Champion for the second year running, I’m over the moon with him.” 

“He was a Small Tour horse with Amy Mclean, Jess Thompson found him for me. We moved to train with Spencer Wilton at Darren Hick’s a year ago last June.” Susanne explained about the transition to para dressage for her super star horse: “We’ve been busy buzzing around to internationals, and we’ve had to retrain him from Inter I to Grade I. I’m paralysed from my chest down, I just have my seat and voice and my two whips, and he’s just amazing. We knew was was sane and sensible and that was a good enough start for us. He soon adapted to it, he’s incredible and looks after me so well.” 

Elan Williams placed second and third with her two rides Temple Ogue and BKS Brandini.  

Grade 2: Georgia Wilson and Faside Got The Love, 70.722% 
Georgia Wilson and her own Faside Got The Love cut an elegant silhouette in the LeMieux arena to claim the Grade 2 title with 70.722% Now a combination of three years, the pair have a super record including international wins at Addington CPEDI earlier this season.  

“He listened to me and I was relaxing, it was really good – I'm really pleased. I loved the mediums, he’s got such an engine,” Georgia said about her test today, before continuing, hHe loves the atmosphere and I can always trust him not to spook or anything.” 

“I got him when he was four-years-old,” she said about her now nine-year-old, “he did some able-bodied tests and I started competing him about three years ago. We’ve been very inconsistent – it can either be very good or very bad! We’ve been trying to get the consistency throughout the year, with the scores quite similar, to come here and get another 70% is really good.” 

“He would literally come and sit with you and watch the TV,” Georgia said of her lovely dancing partner, “he just loves being around people.” Next up, the pair will try and keep pushing on the consistency, building on the scores with the hope of an overseas international in mind.  

Sarah Suddaby and the Bretton Woods-sired Hit Song placed second on 69.666%, whilst Lee Pearson and Breezer took the third spot with 67.667%. 

Grade 3: Erin Orford and LJT Nutbush, 71.722% 
Erin Orford made it a quick dash from the prize giving to the Fan Zone, after taking her lap of honour with Grade 3 winner LJT Nutbush. The handsome bay gelding is a new ride for Erin this season, and they really look a combination to watch for the future. The 13-year-old gelding is owned by Carl Hester, Anne Barrott, Rowena Luard and Henrietta Cheetham.

“I was really pleased with the test, we’re a fairly new combination and he just felt totally with me, really listened and I really enjoyed it. 

I got him in June this year to ride, so I took him out very quickly to get him qualified for the semi-finals to try and come here so this is only our third show. I was really excited to be here, to ride in that environment and to get him out, to build our partnership as well.”  

“He’s absolutely loved it, he really enjoyed the prize giving and the capping. He’s such a pro, he takes everything in his stride and he’s a real gentleman. I really enjoyed the ride today.” 

“I’m based with Sophie Wells, we had Hartpury Semi-Finals not that long ago and it’s just about us as a partnership and fine tuning the communication, just dotting the I’s and crossing the t’s and building that relationship up. He’s got so many gears in his paces, so for me it’s just making sure everything is in the right place, and I can prepare him and set him up for the movements as well as possible just to try and do him justice!” 

“He’s one of the favorites on the yard, he’s just a gentle giant, he’s a pure gentleman. One of the judges called him Anton Du Beke because she could imagine him with his bow tie! He’s just so polite and kind, you can’t help but love him. He puts a smile on everyone’s faces.” 

“We’ve got Wellington at the beginning of September and fingers crossed we can come out next year and start a campaign for the Worlds at Aachen, then hopefully look towards LA.” 

Vicky Earnshaw and Prince Pepe were worthy runners up, followed by Isabella Benfield and Lamborghini III.  

Grade 4: Laura Scott and CEI Summer Days, 70.630% 
Laura Scott earned a first ever title at the LeMieux National Championships, securing the Grade 4 win with her own gelding CEI Summer Days. The duo earned a winning score of 70.630%.  

Laura and her black gelding also placed 20th in the HorseQuest Elementary Silver, completing a super day in Somerford.  

He was a really good boy,” Laura said after her prize giving, “He hasn’t ever been to a competition like this before so I didn’t know how he would take in the atmosphere. He stayed really relaxed and stayed with me for the whole test; there were a couple of little spooks but nothing too major. I’m really happy.” 

“He’s got a big canter and it’s taken a lot of work, to get some good scores was great and he feels really confident in that pace now,” said Laura reflecting on her performance.  

“We worked up from Prelim and Novice and this summer has been our main competition campaign, he’s gone from strength to strength. It’s really exciting, he takes everything in his stride and he’s amazing.” 

Sara Bates claimed second and third with her two riders Tango VII and Solo Hit 2.  

Grade 5: Alice Begg and Nalique, 68.684% 
Alice Begg and her Ferdeaux-sired mare Nalique won the Grade 5 Champion title with a lovely performance for 68.684%.  

“She was really good, she took over which was really nice – I felt like I could just sit back and ride it. It was nice to be able to enjoy a test, sometimes you go in and you’re so concentrated on what you’re doing that you get to the end and think, ‘wow that was quick’. I really enjoyed today’s test.” 

“The second place horse is a little older, we’re a new combination and we’ve only been together six months. She’s got a lot more power than I’m used to, so we’re working with that. She’s also had a little stage fright over the last six months; to go in and her not feel like that, having confidence and staying with me was really good. Unfortunately for me I made a rider error but we got a really strong score and I’m so positive that she actually enjoyed herself as much as I did.” 

Speaking about her winning horse ‘Nellie’, she continued, “I have had her for coming three years,  she is only seven and is one of a kind horse. She just takes everything in, she is a horse of a lifetime. She has a lot more strengthening to do, so what she did today was the best she could do at this moment but I know there is a lot more in there.”  

“Her attitude to life and to work is so exciting.” 

Alice enjoys having the two horses to run alongside one another and concluded: “Future goals for me would be that I would love for them both to do really well and get onto teams with both of them. It would mean the most to me if we could get on a team, from where we have come from in a short space of time. For my second place horse, it would be bigger scores and some scores at internationals.”  

HorseQuest Elementary Silver  

Winner: Lauren Aston and Free Flo, 70.272% 

In the HorseQuest Elementary Silver, Lauren Aston and her mare Free Flo repeated their 2024 success in the Novice Silver, achieving a win at the level above this time with a superb 70.272%. 

“I’m really pleased with her, after our first Nationals last year winning the Novice Silver, to come back I was just not expecting that at all. I’m just so happy with her,” Lauren shared after her prize giving.  

“She’s lovely, I’ve had her since a two-year-old and we’ve worked our way up together. She’s training at Advanced Medium level at home now. We’ve got the Medium tomorrow and it’s a been a lovely journey together.” 

“She can be quite hot-headed but she’s really chilled here, asleep within an hour like she’s at home. She does rise to the occasion, there’s a lot more going on here than at a normal show with the flags and the banners, but I can keep a lid on it,” the Somerset-based rider reflected on her eight-year-old mare, who’s by Fürst Romancier and out of a Sandro Hit mare.  

“I owe all of this success to him,” she continued, crediting the win to her coach Calum Whitworth, “he really knows us as a pair, what works and doesn’t work.” 

Lauren, who works in marketing, hopes to continue progressing through the levels with Advanced Medium on the horizon: “We’re having lots of fun training the changes at the moment! She’s teaching me and I’m teaching her, we’ll see where we go.” 

NAF Five Star Winter Championship title winning combination Lauren Burrows and Elizabeth Frampton-Hobbs' Beaux Lyon placed second this time around with 69.333%, whilst Millie Mcbride and Falcone earned 69.273% for third. 

The Centre Line Preliminary Silver  

Winner: Amy Ward and MS Broadway M, 75% 

Amy Ward and the impressive MS Broadway M earned an remarkable score of 75% in the Vector Arena, claiming The Centre Line Preliminary Silver in convincing fashion. The five-year-old chestnut gelding is owned by Amy and Adrienne Ward.  

Amy, who came to the LeMieux Nationals in 2024 as part of Jezz Palmer’s support team, saw the show, set her goals, and came back to complete them in winning fashion in 2025.  

“This is my first year at the National Championships,” said Amy reflecting on her win, “it’s taken a year of build-up and anticipation to get here. You never really know what that’s going to mean for you when it is your first time here but absolutely thrilled with how the test went today.” 

Speaking about her winning horse, she continued: “Broadway is five-years-old, he’s got so much class and presence when he’s in an arena, he’s a big horse and I’m fairly small so it’s a partnership we’ve been working on together but I couldn’t have asked for any more from him today so I’m really happy.”  

“He absolutely rises to it, he’s competing on Saturday in the five-year-olds as well with Jezz Palmer. We train with Jezz, we’re based with Anmore Dressage. We bought him the week of Christmas and he came to us early January. I found him accidentally on a Facebook advert, I wasn’t supposed to be horse shopping! I drove four hours up the road and fell in love. My mum bought him so it’s our journey together. We’re relativity new in our partnership, the first time I competed him was April so we went straight out to get our qualifiers done, and then to Hartpury for the Regionals. It’s been a fast journey but we’re learning a lot together, but we’re having a great time.”  

“I’ve got high hopes for him, hopefully people will have seen today and will see on Saturday, he’s such a showman, such a powerhouse horse! He’s got so much to offer and he is still only five so the excitement of what he could deliver over the next couple of years, is something I’m really looking forward to. Everyone wants their horse to go all the way to the top right, so that’s the dream.” 

Amy’s story is an inspiring one too, having made the long journey back to action from a serious skiing accident: “I had knee reconstruction and learned how to walk again – I realised during recovery that I could never ride again, that was my motivation to get walking again. A year later I sat on a horse again to see if I could, and now I’m here – fast forward four years and it’s amazing, I’ve only been back in the game two or three years really. Having an injury like that really puts things into perspective, I think that’s what I’m now able to really enjoy it.” 

Helen Hopewell and Ototo ASD claimed the reserve champion spot on 74.333%, and Emma Williams rode Dolce Signorian to 72.467% to complete the podium.  

Stuebben Intermediate II Gold  

Winner: Becky Moody and Jack Diamond, 72.118% 

Becky Moody earned her twelfth National title on day one at the 2025 Championships, with the handsome Jack Diamond owned by Jo Cooper, producing a superb winning performance in the Stuebben Intermediate II Gold. 

“I am super pleased with him actually,” Becky said about her title winner on day one, “he is 11-years-old and an incredibly talented horse, we have had him since he was three. He is huge moving and it has taken a long time to get him to find his strength to do this kind of work, he is really good example of how each horse is an individual, that needs to take their path.” 

“There is so much more to get with him, when I’m training he’s probably the horse with a piaffe closest to a ten that I have ever had. The piaffe-passage was alright in the test but nothing like he can do. He is just really exciting because there is so much more to come. So we will go away now and chip away and hopefully be ready for big tour next year, I’m excited for the future.”  

The LeMieux Nationals week is always a busy one for Becky as she spoke about her time at the show: “We have got nine horses from the yard and lots of clients here, but I have got seven that I am riding, Anna has two, but we are both riding the four-year-old. So we have got a very busy week, today was actually our quietest day and everyone is knackered! So I am not quite sure how we are going to make it through, but we will because we have got an amazing team.” 

Having come straight off the back of the Senior European Championships, Becky’s top team have been key to her preparation: “It has been an unusual preparation because obviously I was just away with Bomb at the Europeans for over a week, so that wasn’t ideal. But we make it work, I have a really good team around me, which is important in a situation like that. There is a lot of lists and a lot of planning, the logistics of getting horses back and forth is again a massive team effort.” 

“It is great,” she concluded, reflected on the experience at the LeMieux Nationals, “it is always such a lovely show here at Somerford, with amazing facilities and it still wins the competition for the best showers, for the horses and the people I think! It is lovely to bring some of the young horses out and let them experience this kind of atmosphere. I think it is going to be a steep learning curve for some of them who have never seen anything like this before. I am really excited to be here.”  

Spencer Wilton and Woodcroft Django Mon Ami finished in second with 71.441% and MAtt Frost with Helga were closely behind in third scoring 71.147%.  

Fairfax Saddles Prix St Georges Gold 

Winner: Sarah Higgins and Geniaal, 73.294%  

Sarah Higgins earned the Fairfax Saddles Prix St Georges Gold victory for the second year in a row, topping a competitive rendition with Sarah Rao’s Geniaal. 

“It felt like one of the best tests I have ever done with him,” said a delighted Sarah after her lap of honour, “there was a little moment at the end of our extended walk where he felt a little bit tense and tight but other than that he was a total pleasure to ride.” 

“I knew I had to do a really good test today, it was a big class, really high standard and so many amazing riders. I came out thinking I don’t think I could do much better and hoped it was good enough, but with Mike going right at the end it was a nervous wait!”  

Sarah overcame precarious presentation to deliver the goods in the arena, stating: “Yesterday I had the worst ride I have ever had on him, probably because I was a little bit nervous so I was having a stressed ride and he really picks up on that as he is quite a nervous horse. But to ride he feels a rare combination of power and softness, when he is right like he was today it feels super easy.”  

Having returned to the show as a double winner in 2024, Sarah commented on whether or not she felt the pressure of doing the job again: “I definetly felt the pressure, just the same as last year he is predominantly Sarah Rounds owners ride, who is in China at the moment preparing some horses for the National Games, so I have only ridden him three times since I rode him at Hartpury. I just didn’t want to mess this up so there was absolutely a bit more pressure, but when I got in there he felt so lovely, all I could do was ride the very best test I can.”  

“I think most of us are quite hard on ourselves, it is something you have to try and get over really, both my coaches Richard Davison and Hannah Moody are really good at that and fill me with confidence as they have a positive outlook on things.”  

As a local lady, Sarah earns something of a ‘home win’ in the North & West region and commented: “It is great for me that it is so close, but it is such an amazing venue to have the National Championships, and the main arena is an amazing arena, especially for the freestyles on the weekend. It is a really nice place to be with a supportive atmosphere with my fellow competitors.”  

The duo now head for Friday’s Freestyle: “I am not a very good freestyle rider, Amy Woodhead is staying with me and last year I forgot my music and had to borrow hers. So I messaged her last night and asked if the music I used last year if I could borrow again. That is a big weakness of mine and something I need to work on, maybe that can be a winter project.” 

Michael Eilberg gave Sarah a nervous wait right at the end of the class, producing a superb second place ride with Nicky Hannam’s MSJ Encore scoring 71.647%; third place belonged to Becky Moody and Magic Dream, who notched up 70.735%.  

FULL RESULTS