Day three saw Charlotte Dujardin claim the LeMieux Grand Prix Championship crown, Becky Moody was crowned D&H Intermediate I Supreme Champion, and silver rider Michael Whippey earned his first National Championship title in a day of epic competition.
TopSpec Medium Gold Championship
Dannie Morgan and Fürst Lady III, 72.917%
Dannie Morgan claimed his second title of the week with Rose McMillan’s Fürst Lady III (Fürstenball x Lord Classic), scoring 72.917% to claim the TopSpec Medium Gold title; “it was a really competitive class this year”, Dannie explained, “she’s a super mare. I felt like we could have hopefully given it a good shot, you just want to ride as clean of a test as you can at a championship, there’s not really any room for errors so I was really pleased with the test she did.” As the duo danced down the centre line, the heavens opened and they unfortunately received the worst of the weather, with Dannie recalling that “her head was getting lower where she was trying to duck away from the rain, but she did a really good job. It just shows the good temperament to go round the test and still be on top form.”
Dannie and Fürst Lady III were first partnered in early 2025, with the mare having completed a handful of novice tests; “she’s owned by a good friend of mine, Rose McMillan, and Rose is absolutely obsessed with the horse. She asked if I could have her to ride and at the time I had no space, and she wouldn’t really take no for an answer so that’s how I ended up with her! She came over for a lesson, and I had a go on her and thought ‘oh actually she’s quite nice this one’, so I took her on and she’s been a really successful little horse over the past couple of years. She won the Elementary Freestyle at the Winter Championships, so she’s progressing all the time, she’s a little pocket rocket.”
With Dannie being no stranger to the Championship arena, he explained how “I find with all the horses that this show seems to light them up, there’s quite a lot of atmosphere here. She’s been here since Wednesday as it’s a long way for us and we had quite a few horses to bring up here, so she’s had a few days to settle really. But the first couple of days she was a bit on edge, but the more days she’s been here, the more relaxed she’s been, so it was good she peaked at the right time.”
Speaking about the mare’s future, Dannie’s aiming to continue developing her balance and self-carriage, and move up the levels when she’s ready. “We’re probably going to establish the changes a bit more and hopefully start at Small Tour next year”.
Slotting in just behind Dannie, Bryony Goodwin was hot on is heels, scoring 72.111% aboard Sara Lucas’ SJL Niko (Jerveaux x Florencio), and Lara Butler completed the top-three lineup with Anna Fullerton-Batten’s San Serai ZK (Secret x Don Marcello) with a score of 70.667%.
D&H Intermediate I Silver
Michael Whippey & Genson Blue, 68.235%
Aberdeenshire-based Michael Whippey claimed his first every National title aboard his own Genson Blue in the D&H Intermediate I Silver championship. The duo scored 68.235% in front of judges Alison Duck (E), Gillian Peters (H), Mary Robins (C), Sue Petty (M) and Sophie Dickinson (B). “It feels amazing, a National title is something special… so it has been a long time coming. But I think more importantly on a horse I have trained myself, we brought him as a four-year-old with no expectations of getting to this level, let along winning a National title.
“He has a heart of gold and just tries so hard every single time. I would say the highlights are the extended trots, he just turns onto the diagonal and knows what to do, and I just have to say to him ‘hang on a minute, lets just say together’”
Michael went on to explain that he never intended to keep Genson, he purchased him from the Woodcroft Stud with the intention of selling him on, explaining that he was looking for a specific criteria: a really sweet horse, easy to do, with nice movement and not over the top. “The brain is the most important, and that has been the biggest learning curve with me training him, his brain and his heart are the only reason we got to this level. He is just the kindest soul.
This is not the duo’s first time at Championship level, as they finished fifth and ninth in the Intermediate I and Prix St Georges at the NAF Five Star Winter Championships back in April. They first competed at the LeMieux National Championships in 2022, where they competed in the Elementary Gold. They then competed in the 2023 championships at the same level, but crept up the leaderboard significantly to finish in ninth. In 2024 they qualified for two classes: the medium and advanced medium silver championships, where they finished in 11th and eighth respectively. Michael went on to explain to us that “he always finds the atmosphere here a little bit overwhelming, he is an internal worrier, so you don’t see it. If he is in his stable, he would stand at the back of the stable and when you are riding he would draw into himself. When he was a lot younger, I would have to work really hard just to get him going forward, now he is feeling much more confident and that is probably the first time I have been here after three or four times, that he hasn’t spooked in the arena. But he can be quite explosive if you push him too far, when he feels like that it is a fine balance.
“I have found that as the work has gotten harder, the more he settles. When he is walking or if I am trotting or cantering on a long rein that is when he is worst, but when I start picking him up and doing to the moves of the Inter I he settles and is focusing on me more than anything else. We have just done our first Grand Prix last month, so the plan is now to consolidate that work and push on. We are planning on going to Aintree High Profile in a months time, so it will be two things: getting him more established in the Grand Prix work, and then asking him to local competitions and then High Profiles and Premier Leagues to (hopefully… fingers crosse) getting an international score.”
Nicole Turner finished in second place with her own J’Eton Hit LDS (Eton UDH x Sandro Hit) with 68.206%, and Charlotte Smithwhite completed the podium with her own Luciano on 68.088%.
KBIS Seven-Year-Old Young Horse Championship Finals
Sadie Smith and River Rise Onassis, 81.167%
Sadie Smith took the win in the seven year old finals with Sue Gerrard’s beautiful grey mare, River Rise Onassis (Glamourdale x Amsterdam). Sadie and ‘Sassy’ finished second in the six year old finals last year, and came back this year with fighting form to take the win by a five percent lead on 81.167%. “I was really pleased with my test today. It's the first time I've come out of a test and actually been really happy with how it's gone for a while. Not just with her, but you always come out and pick bits that could have been better. Actually, I came out today and thought she couldn't have done any better than that.”
Reflecting on the highlights of her test, Sadie explained that “She was just lovely to ride. She felt really responsive, and everything I've been working on at home really came off. She was much more balanced. I could probably have had a bit more length in the frame in the trot, if I was really critical, but she hasn't really done a lot this year. We were all just chuffed to be here and being out and about with her again.”
On the way home from the Nationals last year, Sassy was very sadly involved in an accident when she was on the way home from Somerford with her owner, Sue. The horsebox was struck from behind and ultimately overturned on to its side. Fortunately, both Sue and Sassy came away from the incident relatively unscathed, with Sassy just sustaining a cut on her fetlock: “she took a long time to rehab her from the accident because she basically had like a deep cut on her fetlock. It took a long time to heal, where the joint is always moving, so it was hard. But it's just a testament to her temperament; because she's such a good girl, and we've taken our time to bring her back and get her stronger… she's never even looked at going in the lorry, it’s like nothing had happened to her. She's so good, and she trusts us, and it just means the world to us.”
Sadie and Sassy will now go home to continue training up the levels: “I'd like to do some small tour with her probably next year through the winter, so really we will just work on that. She's progressing really well… so we will keep training her on towards Grand Prix.”
Jayne Turney finished in second place with Lindsey Roberts’ Vienna WD (Vitalis x Elegante) on a score of 76.584%, and Ruth Hole completed the top three lineup with Louisa Prebble-Hill’s 00 Heaven (Imposantos x Charmeur), who scored 74.900%.
BETTALIFE Novice Silver Championship
Isabel White and Sir Quattrohall, 71.742%
Isabel White and Sir Quattrohall were crowned champions in the BETTALIFE Novice Silver Championship. Isabel was quick to praise her six-year-old gelding when asked about her test, “he didn’t make any mistakes, and he was super consistent throughout, so I was chuffed with him. I was really pleased with him, it absolutely chucked it down with rain during the test so I was a little bit soggy, but he was a really good boy.”
Sir Quattrohall was bought as a two-year-old, originally destined to event, before she turned to dressage last December after having a fall. Isabel went on to tell us “the last time I was in this arena eighteen months ago, I had a fall right where the grandstand is and broke my back, hence the change to dressage.” The duo competed at the Winter Championships earlier this year where they achieved third place in the Prelim. Isabel commented “it’s rewarding and to come back here was such a big thing, so to do well was amazing.”
In preparation for the championships, the duo has been training with Amy Woodhead who has taught her since a young age, Isabel told us, “Amy has been fantastic. We’ve just been to some local shows and getting some mileage, he’s really talented but he hasn’t really seen many atmospheres.” Speaking about the big atmosphere today, Isabel told us “he was really good in the atmosphere today, he was really brave and really rideable.” Sir Quattrohall is described as “a big softy, everyone loves him, he loves fuss and attention.” Looking to the future, “I’d like to see how far we can get in dressage, he’s only young, only six so I’m hoping we go in the right direction.”
Helen Hopewell finished just behind Isabel with 71.516% aboard her own Ototo ASD, and Jack Morris completed the top placings aboard Shirley Robb’s Jaxx-Joker MFS, who was a very close third place on 71.129%.
LeMieux Grand Prix Gold Championship
Charlotte Dujardin and Brave Heart II, 75.044%
Charlotte Dujardin returned to the LeMieux National Championships on Ellie McCarthy’s Brave Heart II (Bordeaux x Ankie), winning the LeMieux Grand Prix Gold Championship with a score of 75.044% in front of a packed stand of spectators on day three of the Championships. Charlotte and the 12-year-old gelding performed a near foot-perfect performance, earning a nine from one of the judges for their second canter pirouette, and an 8.5 for their piaffe. The international panel of judges, consisting of Sven Rothenberger (E – NED), Nick Burton (H – GBR), Isobel Wessels (C – GBR), Øivind Instefjord Oedemotland (M – NOR) and Sandy Phillips (B – GBR), all awarded the duo greatly throughout, with their scores remaining completely unanimous throughout.
Talking us through her test and her time with Brave Heart, Charlotte explained that “I feel like my canter work was definitely be my highlight, and the pirouettes. He's just getting more and more confident with me in the arena. When I first had him and started, I definitely knew there was much more to come from him, but it's just being patient to find that development and get him strong. He needed to physically get stronger with all the work, and my expectation with him was probably quite high compared to what he was used to. I find as a rider it’s much harder to take over a horse that I haven't trained. So, I've had to go back to go forward. And we're still fairly new, we've probably done seven or eight shows really so it's very little that we've done, so it's just been developing and getting him stronger for the work.”
“This show is one that every rider through the year tries to work hard to qualify for, and to come and be here. It's just a great atmosphere. It's like no other show really. You don't have as much going on and as many people around and it's just lovely to give the younger horses that opportunity because obviously the classes start from the young horses at four years old, and from an early stage they get to experience these exposures of shows… it's so hard if you've got horses that are a little bit shy or need this exposure, the only way you can do it is by coming to these shows. So, it's great that you have that opportunity.”
Outside of the arena, Charlotte described Brave Heart as being “like a cheeky pony”, going on to explain that “even when he gets a bit shy in the arena and he goes in himself, he's still got that cheeky personality, he just wants to please you, so I think as a rider that gives you a lot of hope.”
Furthermore, Charlotte talked to us about juggling her riding and parenthood, explaining that “when I had Isabella, my life changed because then my life became about Isabella and putting her first. And you don't just get up and just get out of bed now. You have to get up and sort your child and put them first before you do anything. Then when the second child came along, I was like, ‘wow, this is like multitasking’, but in another level. And to be a mum, to be a full-time athlete, to be coaching, to be doing all of the other things that you have to do to be in this industry, it's tough. It is tough. Before, I'd always ride the horses first, but now I don't, I put the kids first, and I have to make sure those the kids are actually okay, and that I can then leave them to go off and do what I do and you know my life has changed dramatically having my kids but I wouldn't change it for the world.
“It's taught me real life, when you have a bad day in the office here at a competition or whatever, I'd be at home like drilling myself giving myself a hard time that I should have done this and I should have done that, whereas now I'm like I've got my kids I don't care. This is my real life, and this is what's important to me, and I love it. I'm so lucky… Isabella loves riding so she's there every day asking ‘Mummy can I go riding? Can I go riding?’ So, I love that, and now that's another part of me that I can you know give her. She's three years old doing walk, trot and canter around, so it's crazy. She's so brave and I'm taken back with watching her ride. I get emotional watching her and William, I'm sure he's going to be talented in doing something because he's on the go all the time. So, my kids are everything now.”
And it was a star-studded podium as Gareth Hughes finished in second place with his own and Georgina Wilkinson’s Mowgli-Olympia MC (Rousseau x Rubin Royal OLD) on 70.457%, followed by World Championship team combination Fiona Bigwood and Donna Bella (Don Juan de Hus x Gribaldi) who scored 70.000% to take third place.
D&H Intermediate I Freestyle and Supreme Champion
Becky Moody and Magic Dream, 76.950%
Having finished sixth in the D&H Intermediate I Championship yesterday, Becky took the win in the Freestyle with a whopping 76.950% aboard Jo Cooper’s Magic Dream (Governor x Electra JB). The nine-year-old mare impressed judges Richard Baldwin (E), Fiona Wilson (H), Clive Halsall (C), Sue Petty (M) and Jane Peberdy (B), earning a scoresheet of 7.0s, 7.5s and 8.0s, with one of judges giving the combination 9.0s for their choreography and interpretation of the music. “I was just really pleased with her, yesterday was not our best Inter I ever, I feel like I have made a big step forward in her training. We have had so little time competing with her this year that I honestly, just yesterday, felt a little bit ring rusty with her in that situation. We had a couple of costly and silly mistakes on my part. Today, I felt that we were in sync and ready, so she was really cool and we both love that freestyle.”
Magic Dream took home the KBIS Seven Year Old Champion title back in 2024, and Becky spoke to us about the development of this mare through the levels from the Young Horse Class up to Inter I, stating about how she values the longevity and experience of the horses over pushing them to reach Grand Prix before they are ready: “Every horse takes you on a different journey, and every horse has strengths and weaknesses. She is now very confident with this level, and she is now playing around the with the Grand Prix movements, she has a real talent for it, but we are really working on developing her confidence doing the piaffe and passage work.
“It is interesting, because in some ways I have had… if you take Bomb for example, when he won the seven year olds, by the time he was nine he was reserve for the European team, and went to London to the London international at the end of his ninth year. She is quite a long way behind where he was, but it’s just a good example of the different journeys these horses go on. She is taking a little bit more time to get strong and get really confident in the work. One thing we learn about from this work is that they do have to be confident in it otherwise it just makes it really hard, so you’re better spending that little bit more time trying to get that than putting them in a situation that makes them wobbly. So, if I’m honest, at the start of this year, I hadn’t planned on doing in the Inter I but thought she would do some Inter IIs, which she has played with and done some low-key ones, but she wasn’t ready for it in this environment so we just did the Inter Is just to work her through, which is where she qualified. So, I just thought I would bring her here to experience the bigger environment and work her here. So, for me, this is great, and its great experience for the horse.”
Becky also explained to us that since she returned from the World Championships in Aachen just three weeks ago, she hasn’t actually been at home a lot. “I couldn’t tell you where I have been!”, she exclaimed, “it sounds ridiculous to say I felt ring rusty when I’ve just been out in Aachen, but it’s a different horse and a different situation. It’s not about me, it’s the combination of me and that horse. So even though we had taken a big step forward in the training, we hadn’t had any time to put that training into a competition environment. It’s why I think I didn’t capture the feeling that we have been getting at home yesterday, but that’s just life… it is what it is! Bomb and the World Championships have been my priority this year, and the year was built to get him there in the best shape possible. But I also had my Youth rider who was out at the European Championships and another client who is heading out for the Asian Games, so it’s not just Bomb, it’s trying to split it between everything.”
Behind Becky, Gareth Hughes and Flamboyant Dressage Stud’s Morricone III finished in second with 74.275%, and Dannie Morgan finished in third with his own Fever Tree on 73.400%.
Furthermore, Becky also claimed the D&H Intermediate I Supreme Champion prize, finishing on a final score of 146.744. This was closely followed by Gareth Hughes and Morricone III on 144.893, and finally Matt Frost on Keeva Dedicoat's Lenika with a final combined score of 143.368.
