The KBIS Four-Year-Old Champion and Fairfax Saddles Prix St Georges Supreme Champions have been crowned, as the next set of Gold and Silver riders complete their laps of honours at day two of the Championships.
KBIS Young Horse Finals: Four-Year Olds
Fiona Bigwood and BPS Supreme Bella, 81.600%
Following an unbeaten campaign season across the Four-Year-Old classes, Fiona Bigwood and BPS Supreme Bella (Sechuan x Don Juan de Hus) claimed their crown as KBIS British Dressage Four-Year-Old Champions. BPS Supreme Bella comes from a truly incredible dam line, as the daughter of Fiona’s 2026 FEI World Championships ride, Donna Bella (Don Juan de Hus x Gribaldi), who is the daughter of Fiona’s 2016 Rio Olympic ride, Atterupgaards Orthilia (Gribaldi x Donnerslag).
Fiona and BPS Supreme Bella made their debut at the Chart Stables Dressage Premier League at Hickstead, where they won on an incredible score of 9.56. The pair then went on to compete at the Wellington Premier League, where they also won on 9.06. In the semi-finals, Fiona made the long journey to Northallerton, where they added to the impressive streak of victories with 8.76. Yesterday, however, Fiona and Bella went on to claim their final crown of the year, impressing judges Spencer Wilton (GBR) and guest foreign judge Øivind Instefjord Oedemotland (NOR). The pair scored a huge 9.0 for the trot, 8.5 for General Impression, 8.0 for way of going, 7.9 for her canter, and finally 7.4 for the walk.
Finishing just behind Fiona, Jezz Palmer claimed both second and third place aboard Spotify Anmore (Las Vegas x Daily Diamond) and Maverick Caledonia Anmore (My Vitality x Floriscount), scoring 80.000% and 78.000% respectively.
BETTALIFE Novice Gold
Lily Laughton and EQP Deidre, 73.194%
Lily Laughton and EQP Deidre (Dreamboy x Danone) won the BettaLife Novice Gold with the highest score of the championships so far, 73.194%. Lily also impressively finished in joint third place this time riding Viva Valentine, with another great score of 71.871%.
After such a successful day Lily reflected, “It was so special having two horses in the top three, especially the one that came third, he is very inexperienced at competing, so this was a big ask this is his first year competing and his first championships. Deidre, I have only been riding for six months now, and I have been getting to know her in a big environment, so to have won is super cool, she is just a star.”
Sharing her favourite moments of her test, Lily commented, “Deidre’s highlights were her extended canter, they were really good today. Her give and retake showed good self-carriage, I was really happy with that as we have been working on it in training. Deidre is more experienced she has been here twice before, this is my second championships with her and this is a bigger atmosphere than the winters, this is outside and more to look out, but she was an absolute pro. She is like a 12-year-old on a six-year-olds shoulders.”
“Vinnie [Viva Valentine] had done nothing when I got him, he was super weak, so I have just been training at home and taking him to normal shows. He won the Regionals which was his first big thing, so for him to come here when he has seen nothing like this before, he is just a show off of and thinks everyone is here for him. He was a little too excited in bits, but a super nice score.”
On the lead up to the Championships Lily kept everything the same for the two of them at home and in training, “They are always out hacking as well as me schooling them, the more stuff I do differently the better they are in the arena. I train with Peter Storr and Carl Hester.”
Lily speaking on her experience at the Nationals said, “I absolute love coming here, it is my favourite show of the year. The atmosphere is always amazing, even for the silver classes next door, there is always people watching like they do for the Grand Prix and Inter II. Everyone is super supportive.”
The two horses are very special members of the yard at home, “Vinnie is like the pet at home, he literally comes in the house, he is a stallion that goes out with the mares, he is more like a pet. Deidre is the same, super chilled, you could put a granny or a five-year-old on her, she is divine, they both are.”
Lily has been riding since she was very young, “my mom got me into the dressage and I just have never stopped. I did a bit a jumping but dressage was always my thing. I have done ponies, juniors and young riders, my first big thing was getting bronze at the Europeans, which is so cool and from that day I realised that is what I am hungry for.” Looking ahead to the future Lily concluded, “I am now 22 and creeping towards doing U25 and then hoping to do seniors. But I think having the younger horses is my favourite thing to do and bringing them up the levels, it is exciting and hopefully they will be my future stars.”
Dylan Deutrom riding Norma Jean II were in second place with a score of 71.903% and in joint third place was Lucy Scudamore and Replay VH, scoring 71.871%.
TopSpec Medium Silver
Jack Morris and Quality Always Wins MFS, 70.472%
Jack Morris and his own Quality Always Wins MFS (Quantensprung x Krack C) became our 2026 TopSpec Medium Silver Champions having qualified through a wildcard! The duo won the class with a score of 70.472%.
Sharing how it feels to have won Jack commented, "It feels super, I came here on a wildcard so to come out on top is really cool and a shock to the system. I know he is a special horse but after maybe not the best Regional, this is just super to win my first title.” Knowing that the seven-year-old has a winning test in him, it just wasn’t their day at the Regional, “but a championship is very different again, so it's great that he has pulled through this time. He can be quite spooky, but he was super positive and gave a good feeling throughout our test.”
Jack shared how he found out he had a wildcard for the Medium Silver, “It was my trainer Jo Barry who was the first to message me to say I had gotten a wildcard, I then got another wildcard for another horse and I also won the Semi-Final of the seven-year-old class, so to be in three classes at my first championships is amazing.” Jack trains with Jo monthly, “she has been amazing. She doesn’t let you get away with anything, she sees everything and is on it. It is really informative and beneficial.”
Having owned the 17.2hh bay since he was four-years-old the pair know each other inside and out, “He is a real firework, someday he is completely wired and some days he is just sleeping, you can’t pin it to him! He has just got such a fluctuating character, but he is always sweet, but a pin drops one day, and he is off all fours, but a rocket could explode next to him the next day and he wouldn’t move.”
Having progressed through the levels together their partnership has grown over the years, “He has been super all the way through attitude wise but can be spooky and that gets the better of him. As long as I get through to him, nine times out of ten, he is on my side. I have been the only one to ever ride him so it is really rewarding to be at almost Prix St Georges level now. He has been over to Europe with me, he is my first child even though my partner is expecting our first child now, he is the first horse I ever brought myself.”
Jack has high hopes for the gelding and would like to achieve as much as possible together, “I want to go as far as I can and try and do the best that I can with what I have got, continue working and show what I can do.”
Finishing in second place was Lauren Aston and Free Flo, with a score of 70.427% and rounding out the podium was Charlotte Wood riding Alfred De Niro. Scoring 68.927%.
Fairfax Saddles Prix St Georges Silver
Charlotte Smithwhite and Luciano, 69.265%
Charlotte Smithwhite has earned her first National Championship title with her own Luciano, finishing on 69.265% aboard her own British-bred gelding Luciano. “It’s completely surreal, I can’t believe it really. We had mistakes in our fours which I thought maybe would cost us the title, but I’m really really happy to finally win a national title”, Charlotte told us, “I knew he was capable of doing it, he’s feeling really secure in the PSG work now, and I knew that we could do it if we got a clear round. My trainer Callum [Whitworth], in my last online lesson with him, said that ‘I want a National Title out of you!’, so I’m glad that we delivered that.”
When speaking about her preparations for the Championships, Charlotte explained that her and Lucci have been working towards the Intermediate II and Grand Prix work at home and recently made their Intermediate II debut. “He was green, I was green, I haven’t ridden at that level in seven years, so that was special. But two weeks before, we stopped doing the ones and the piaffe/passage as much and focused on his way of going, keeping from forward and through… and it paid off so I’m very pleased!”
Speaking about their highlights from their test, Charlotte and Lucci were trending on around 72% after their trot tour, but a mistake in their four-time tempi changes brought down their canter score slightly: “the trot has really come on, he feels much more secure, the extensions are better and he stays on his hind legs so much easier now that he’s stronger. He did lovely threes, which I was really pleased with... Overall, I’m just really happy that his way of going – he found it easy – so that’s a win for me.”
Tess Wilson finished in second place aboard Anna Joannson’s Hyatt, where they scored 68.412%, and Beau Williams completed our top three lineup with her own King Liberty on 67.265%.
D&H Intermediate I Gold
Laura Tomlinson and Ostmarks Digal, 71.971%
Laura Tomlinson claimed her second title of the 2026 Championships aboard her own Ostmarks Digal. This remarkable duo carried on their victorious streak from Thursday’s Fairfax Saddles Prix St Georges Gold, scoring 71.971% in front of judges Andrea Smith (E), Nick Burton (H), Sven Rothenburger (C), Isobel Wessels (M) and Richard Baldwin (B). Reflecting on their performance, Laura commented that “he was a little bit more sparkly coming out today having done the mounted prize giving yesterday, which I haven't done with him before yet either, so I could tell he was a bit more like ‘Ooh, I've been in there and it was a bit of a party!’. But no, I felt like the trot work was possibly even more sparkly than yesterday. In the canter there were bits that felt greener than they actually looked when I looked back on the video. We had just that one mistake in the first change after the first pirouette, but other than that, it was a pretty clean test again. I have to say that I thought that even when he got a little bit insecure, he responded really well when I sort of coaxed him round and gave me all the all the right feelings for what I want for a future star.”
Speaking about how Digal felt in comparison to his fantastic performance on Thursday, Fiona explained how she tried him in the double bridle for this test, whereas he wore the snaffle bridle in the Prix St Georges. “I just wanted to feel the difference and see where he's at. I think it's really good education at shows like this to see what works and things. And obviously in the future he's going to have to be in a double, but I felt like he was with me. I'd say in the canter less a little bit less than yesterday, but we still got away fairly unscathed. Whereas in the trot, I felt like he had even a bit more power today than yesterday [Thursday]. I mean, I was happy with yesterday's trot, but today I felt like even more power and still lots of control, which I really liked.” Despite qualifying for the Freestyle, Laura opted out of the third test for him: “we made the decision even before we came here, regardless of how we went, that three tests at this stage is unnecessary for him… I think it's a little bit greedy, and he's had a really good time. I don't want him to go in tired and then sort of wonder why I'm asking more of him than he can give right now.”
Looking forward to today’s LeMieux Grand Prix championship, Laura has got her two homebred geldings Full Moon II (Furstenball x Goldika) and Forest Hill (Furstenlook x Uschi) who are due to go down the centre line. When asked about what her favourite part of the LeMieux Dressage Championships are, Laura explained to us that “although it's not an international, and I haven't gone abroad, it's far enough away from home that I have to stay here, which means I just I get to fully switch off from home. I mean, obviously, I'm on the phone all the time, but I am not, trying to fit a million things in between school runs and stuff. I'm able to really get in the zone and focus on my horses and give them my full attention, which is, really nice for me because it's not it's not how it is in day-to-day life. I have to really fight to carve out the time for myself and the horses when I'm at home, and here I get to just totally be all about them all day long, which is great. It’s always a lovely show, and a lovely atmosphere. And so far, we've been quite lucky with the weather. So, fingers crossed!”
Gareth Hughes finished just behind Laura in second place aboard Flamboyant Dressage Stud’s Morricone III (Milennium x Rubin-Royal OLD) on 70.618%, and Amy Woodhead completed the lineup with Emma Blundell’s MSJ Viva Donnebrog (Vitalis x Don Schufro) with 70.559%.
Fairfax Saddles Prix St Georges Freestyle Gold Championships
Dannie Morgan and Fever Tree, 71.575%
Dannie Morgan and his own Fever Tree (Foundation x Dominica) claimed the Prix St Georges Freestyle Gold Championship title, scoring 71.575% in front of judges Clive Halsall (E), Claire Deithrick (H), Sandy Phillips (C), Øivind Instefjord Oedemotland (M) and Mary-Anne Horn (B). “I'm relieved to be honest”, Dannie explained after his test, “it's nice to go in and give the horse a good ride. He is an absolutely amazing horse and I think he's shown that this season – he’s been very consistent all the way up.
“He's never had a bad test and this week hasn't all totally gone to plan. I think I made a bit of error a few weeks ago – I changed our curb bit, and he'd been going really well at home. But I think in this environment, maybe the bit was not the right one. He had some contact issues in the Prix St George and got his tongue over the bit. I changed the bit back to our old snaffle or old kerb bit, and he was much more confident today. So yeah, you live and you learn. It was a shame to make the error of this show but at the same time it was nice to then finish today with him feeling really confident and having a good test.”
Speaking to Dannie about how he bounced back mentally from their performance yesterday, he explained that “I think I'm much better at that now because at the end of the day we're all competitors and we all want to do well… I try and think, well, it means a lot to all of us, and it's not going to change my life for doing a bad test. I'm very lucky to have a fabulous horse and I absolutely love what I do. So, you just take it as it's one of those: it wasn't my day and then you just go again.”
The music that Dannie chose for this Freestyle was complimented by their highly technical floorplan where the pair danced their way round their tempi changes on a circle. “I try and do a clean test and present him in a nice way, then that's really what I aim to do. And I think for the most part it was pretty consistent in there today”. The Dinosaur-themed music has followed this pair all the way through from Novice level, with a few tweaks along the way, “he's been very successful with this music. I probably should change it, but I just love it. And Tony and Kelly at Equidance sort my music for me. I did actually change my Intermediate I freestyle, which is Avatar. But yeah, I love this music. So it's just nice to go in and ride to that.”
Gordon will now have a bit of break while Dannie is off training riders in Tokyo for the Asian Games, and then the duo are due to compete at the Horse Of The Year Show, where they will complete the Intermediate I Freestyle. “I'm lucky to have fabulous trainers in Carl Hester and my friend Sadie Smith – we’ll just keep developing him at his own pace really. He's such a talent and we definitely want to try and progress in the right way and just hopefully we can continue on to Grand Prix.”
Matt Frost and Keeva Dedicoat’s Lenika finished just behind Dannie with 70.500%, and Gracie Catling finished in third with Gaynor Morris’ Fraithwens Wytske fan ter Lune with 70.100%.
Fairfax Saddles Prix St Georges Supreme Champion
Matt Frost and Lenika, 141.029
Following on from their success at the Hartpury CDI1* and their win in the Fairfax Prix St Georges Gold, Matt Frost was crowned the Fairfax Saddles Prix St Georges Supreme Champion aboard Keeva Dedicoat’s 10-year-old mare Lenika (Foreign Affair x Lord Sinclair). This formidable duo topped the leaderboard with a combined score of 141.029, having finished second in the freestyle with 70.500%. “I mean, she's such a powerful horse”, Matt beamed, “I've only had her since March this year, so we're still getting used to each other. I just love her power and her athleticism – she tries so hard all the time. So, like with the pirouettes, actually, she tends to over-sit. So today, I was really delighted that I had better control of those, and I just love every part of her. She's just such a cool horse and never spooks, and is just really laid back about life, which is great.”
Reflecting back on their brilliant season of success, and their first international win at Hartpury, Matt reminisced that “Yeah, that was a big shock. Yeah, I wasn't expecting it. I'm at the stage in my career where I just try my best because I have put too much pressure on myself in the past to try and achieve a goal and not made it and got disappointed. So now I just try and enjoy my horses every single day, and I've got a really nice group of horses that I compete now. So yeah, every day is a bonus.” Since Hartpury, Matt and Lenika have been consolidating their Grand Prix at work: “I’m just sort of choosing windows where I can do that [consolidating the work]. Just generally, I gave her a bit of a holiday as well because you know it's been such beautiful weather after Hartpury, then picked her back up again. I've just been training a bit with Carl before this, and didn't really have any expectations. So yeah, she surpassed anything that I'd imagined that she'd do, and to become supreme champion was amazing.”
Looking forward to the next stage of Lenika’s career, Matt explained that “I want to do a couple of international shows abroad with her towards the end of this year, and then she'll be ready when she's ready for Grand Prix. She's showing everything that she could do it, so it’s just keeping her on side, and hopefully we'll do some Inter I’s and some Grand Prix’s next year with her.”
Bryony Goodwin was the runner-up in this Championship, finishing on a final combined score of 139.530 with Antonia Brown’s Krack DE. Dannie Morgan’s win in the Freestyle brought him in to third place, leaving him on a final combined score of 138.516 with Fever Tree.
