The 2026 Middle Tour Championships, supported by Sue Carson Saddles, delivered a celebration of dedication, determination and partnership, as riders from across the country showcased the very best of dressage at this exciting stage of the sport. From emotional first championship victories to inspiring comeback stories and ambitious Grand Prix dreams, the competition produced memorable performances across both the Silver and Gold sections, culminating in the crowning of two worthy Middle Tour Champions.
Sue Carson Saddles Intermediate II Silver
Winner: Natalie Tsuchiya and Don King II, 67.402%
Natalie Tsuchiya was our first Middle Tour Champion of 2026 to be crowned aboard her own Don King II (Don Juan de Hus x Sir Scholing), who is known as Donald at home. The combination won 67.402% in front of judges Steph Cooper (E), Andrea Smith (C) and Jane Peberdy (M), taking a commanding lead to win by just over two percent having only competed in a handful of Intermediate II’s before.
Reflecting on their time in the ring, Natalie told us that “it's the fourth Inter II he's done. So, he's still quite green at this level. Initially, he was a little bit spooky in the boards, so he went in and sort of dropped a little bit behind me, but as the test went on, he gained more and more confidence. I was really, really pleased. There were no major boo-boos, which is always a bonus! Overall I was just really pleased with him growing in confidence and ending the test well. It's absolutely brilliant.”
Natalie partnered with Donald when he was just three years old, and has produced him alongside her husband Takeaki, and with the help from her trainer of over 20 years, Gareth Hughes. “It's just been a journey and an enjoyable one”, Natalie explained, “He's very easy. He's very characterful. Don't get me wrong, but he he's an easy horse, and not high maintenance really. He can be a bit spooky at times. If you're riding in high winds, you have your wits about you. And my husband, when we trot him around the fields and what have you, my husband does that – he is an ex-event rider, and I'd rather not do that! I was really pleased that he was well behaved in the prize giving because I didn't know what to expect [as it was so windy], so that was good. I find him focused generally when you ride him, even if he feels a little bit nervous, he tries to stay with the rider.
Looking towards the future for this exciting pair, Natalie has big plans: “Do you know what? I would love to ride a Grand Prix, and so I'd love to think that we can get to Grand Prix. I'd love to think that that would be a possibility!”. Donald is also competed by Natalie’s husband, who has been campaigning at CDI1* in 2025 and 2026 under the Japanese flag.
Nicole Turner finished in second place with her own J’Eton Hit LDS (Eton UDH x Sandro Hit) on 65.196%, and Claire Ballantyne finished in third with her own Dvorak (De Niro x Florestan) on 64.314%.
Sue Carson Saddles Intermediate II Gold
Winner: Abbie Newbury and Tophojs Zackira, 69.216%
Abbie Newbury claimed the second title of the Middle Tour Championships, finishing on a final score of 69.216% aboard Lizzy Sweet’s Tophojs Zackira (Blue Hors Zac x Sorento), who is known at home as Shakira. In front of judges Steph Cooper (E), Andrea Smith (C) and Jane Peberdy (M) Abbie took the win on the 12-year-old mare, with whom she was partnered with at the beginning of the year.
Reflecting on the highlights of their tests, Abbie told us that “I was just really, really pleased. We're still quite a new partnership, and this is actually only the second Inter II we've done together. So I’m super chuffed. We got all of my changes, the piaffe could have had a little bit more energy, but I loved her passage, so overall super thrilled.”
“We did our first show together in at the end of April”, Abbie explained, “she had an injury, so we rehabbed her at the beginning of the year, and then have just slowly built up. Just did some small tour through the season, and then yeah, did one into two together and came here”. Shakira has previously been shown by Anders Dahl and Lewis Carrier, and Abbie made her debut at Prix St Georges level at a local show, where she scored a brilliant 70.29%. The pair then went to the Bicton regionals, where they finished second in both the PSG and Intermediate I, qualifying them for the Nationals.
At home, despite Shakira being nicknamed ‘The Queen’, Abbie described her as “actually very chilled out at home. She really loves her life with us now, so generally she's actually quite chilled out. But when she lights up, she lights up… she never really boils over in training. She's actually very like steady in her mind in the training, which is amazing. She just gets a bit excited when she is out and about!”
Looking towards their next goal, Abbie told us that she plans to “ carry on getting to know each other a bit more, keep developing her, and hopefully get her out for some Grand Prix next year would be amazing. But yeah, we're just taking it day by day and going at her pace.”
Morgan Haerr finished in second place with her own Grolschstar (Arlando x Zeoliet) on 64.461%, and Jessica Davies finished in third with her own Jodan (All At Once x Son De Niro) on 64.216%.
Sue Carson Saddles Intermediate A/B Freestyle Silver
Winner: Sophie Bennett and Vallon du Rock, 69.417%
Our penultimate winner of the 2026 Middle Tour Championships was Gloucestershire-based Sophie Bennett and her own Vallon du Rock (Contendro x Baboubet du Rouet) on 69.417% in front of judges Jenny Ward (E), Jane Peberdy (C) and Sharon Butterworth (M). Sophie danced her way through her Michael Bublé inspired music with Vallon, the 17-year-old jumping-bred mare to take an emotional win that she described us as “a dream come true”.
Reflecting on their test, Sophie told us that “she just had so much energy today. She felt wonderful, and I got cheeky and found that I had a really balanced cancer. So, I did unplanned one time changes through both short sides, and then went one times into two times and back into the ones. So I think that probably helped me on the degree of difficulty! She didn't miss a beat on all the changes, and she made no mistakes. She felt so energetic and happy. She's 17 years old, and I couldn't have asked for it more. She was just amazing.”
When asked about what inspired her music, Sophie told us that “one of my favorite singers is Michael Bublé, and I went singing concert in July, and so I decided to use a compilation of his music. And as it turns out, they fitted her fours perfectly, so she got 7.5’s and 8.0’s for the music. So, the judges obviously liked it as well!”
Sophie and Vallon’s journey has not been a short one, as the mare was gifted to Sophie as a two-year-old; “I didn't think I was going to keep her. I tried to sell her as a four-year-old, nobody wanted her. I tried to sell her as a five-year-old, nobody wanted her, and I just kept training”. When speaking through their competitive journey together, Sophie and Vallon conscientiously climbed the levels together, “she ended up winning the Trailblazers finals as a five-year-old, and then she got to the Area Festivals at every level: novice, prelim, novice, elementary, medium, advanced, medium, PSG and Inter I. She was reserve champion for the summer Area Festivals at advanced medium... we were so close to winning, so she's never actually won a title since Trailblazers. So, for her to win the music here was dream come true, really, because she's getting a bit stiffer now and heading towards retirement. To have a horse that you broke in yourself and then going through every single level right up to PSG and Inter I is a dream for any amateur, really.”
Sophie splits her time between the UK and Spain, where she keeps another horse and does some teaching, and told us that “She’s been two weeks on, two weeks off, probably for the last six months. Which now she's getting older, I think is probably good for her joints anyway… she's had a long break. She's only done a week's work before she came here for first time in a month. So, but she's very established and she knows her job. And there was nothing I needed to teach her. She's just been hacking out and being kept fit while I've been away. So, yeah, she's just pulled it out of the bag today after virtually three weeks off!”
Looking forward now, Sophie’s main focus is keeping Vallon happy and comfortable in her work, and to start focusing her attention on to her very exciting young horse that she also has at home. “I might do another show with her, but this might be her swan song. You never know.”
Natalie Tsuchiya and Don King II finished in second place with 66.667%, and Sally Green finished in third place aboard her own Keystone Fernandina on 66.667%.
Sue Carson Saddles Intermediate A/B Freestyle Gold
Winner: Beau Williams and Ipurus, 73.417%
Beau Williams shot forward in the leaderboards for the Intermediate A/B Freestyle Gold, where she took the win aboard Susan Fortune’s Ipurus (by Travalota’s Nieuwmoed) with a commanding score of 73.417%. The 13-year-old gelding, who is known as Ippy at home, made a gigantic leap forward having finished last in the Intermediate II the day before to take the win by just over a three percent lead in front of judges Jenny Ward (E), Jane Peberdy (C) and Sharon Butterworth (M). “He was so with me”, Beau explained, “and it was just a great feeling because yesterday didn't go so well, and he actually came last. So, it feels amazing for him to come out today and really put his best foot forward.”
Reflecting on the highlights of their test, Beau told us that “He felt really relaxed, and I feel like it's really hard finding that balance of impulsion and relaxation in the Inter II work. So that felt like a real highlight for him.” The pair danced their way around their jazzy medley of music, which Beau described as “a mix of everything. It's… I don't know how to describe it. I think it's quite out there, it's quite funky, but it really suits him because he's quite a funky. He's got quite a funky personality if you got to know him.”
Talking about her story with Ippy, he is described as “the biggest diva… even though he’s a gelding! He's so food orientated, so yeah, to have him on side and giving his all was really cool.” Despite their success in this freestyle, this fantastic partnership’s journey has not been a smooth one. “He's owned by Susan Fortune, but I originally owned him”, Beau told us, “I bought him about three or four years ago, and I was put in a position, sadly, where I had to sell him. I didn't want to – and Susie, I call her my fairy godmother, bought him. Susie rides him as well, but she let me keep the ride on him, which is I'm so grateful for.”
Looking forward to their future goals, Beau will be giving Ippy a short break before cracking on with their winter training, hopefully with the goal of having a go at the U25 Grand Prix next year.
Morgan Haerr finished in second place with her own Grolschstar (Arlando x Zeoliet) on another fantastic 70.125% and Rachelle Hirst finished third with her own Bollinger MS on 69.917%.
Sue Carson Saddles Middle Tour Silver Champion
Winner: Natalie Tsuchiya and Don King II, 134.069
Natalie Tsuchiya and Don King II took the overall win of the Middle Tour Championships on a combined score of 134.069. Donald, as he is known at home, pulled out another consistent score in the Freestyle to score 66.667%. When speaking about how it felt to be crowned the Middle Tour Silver Champion, she simply said “Amazing. Absolutely amazing. I was really pleased with his test yesterday, he got really spooky today, so it would have been nicer if we did our best test today but I was really, really happy.”
Natalie, who has never ridden a Freestyle to Music test above novice level before, told us that “it’s my first time riding to music anywhere near this sort of level, and it’s quite a different concept because you’re trying to keep with the queues of the music, and my music is brand new. I just had it made literally a week… the USB stick literally arrived today! It was made by Equidance, and they’ve done an absolutely fantastic job, I absolutely love the music… but maybe I needed a bit more practice at keeping to the queues of the music, but I managed to finish in the right place. I started in the right place and finished in the right place… so what more could I ask for!”
Looking forward to their goals next year, Natalie described Big Tour as “that is my dream. I would love to do it… so we will just have to see if we can make it! We will keep working towards that goal, and hopefully one day we will get there with that.”
Nicole Turner was our reserve Middle Tour Champion aboard her own J’Eton Hit LDS on a final combined score of 131.238, and Claire Ballantyne completed our top-three lineup on her own Dvorak with 130.314.
Sue Carson Saddles Middle Tour Gold Champion
Winner: Abbie Newbury and Tophojs Zackira, 137.883
Abbie Newbury was our final Champion crowned of the Middle Tour Championships, taking the title of Middle Tour Gold Champion with Lizzy Sweet’s Tophojs Zackira on 137.883. Abbie and Shakira had a fantastic time in the Intermediate II, taking the win on 69.216%. Talking about her Freestyle test, Abbie told us that “the test didn't actually really go completely as planned… the highlights were probably the passage. She had an unscheduled poo break before the pirouette, so that was not so ideal!”
Talking about riding to their music, Abbie and Shakira have only been a partnership since the start of the year, and Abbie told us that “It was my first time riding her to the music. It was new music and our first freestyle together, and although there was lots to improve on, I was still pleased. We rode to Shakira because her name is Shakira… so we couldn't not! But yeah, it was really good fun.”
Talking about the run up to the Championships, Abbie told us that “We probably didn't have the perfect prep. I would have liked a little bit more practice but just trying to keep the work really good and trying to listen to my music as much as I can off the horse and sort of hoping it came together on the day. We haven't been together long, so still finding our feet together, but she was really good.”
Abbie came up from riding at the Area Festival Championships when she was younger, telling us that “it's just such a great way to get that really good championship feeling and it definitely prepares you for the bigger championship feels. So it really is such a good way to experience the bigger atmosphere and the championship feel – it really prepares you to go on and go up through the pathways.”
Following her fabulous performance in the Freestyle competition, Beau Williams was our reserve champion with Ipurus on 134.642 and Morgan Haerr completed our top three on Grolschstar with a final combined score of 134.586.
Results – top five
Sue Carson Saddles Intermediate II Silver
1. Natalie Tsuchiya and Don King II, 67.402%
2. Nicole Turner and J’Eton Hit LDS, 65.196%
3. Claire Ballantyne and Dvorak, 64.314%
4. Claire Ackerman and Woodcroft Heinrich, 63.676%
5. Frances White and Tango X, 62.402%
Sue Carson Saddles Intermediate A/B Freestyle Silver
1. Sophie Bennett and Vallon du Rock, 69.417%
2. Natalie Tsuchiya and Don King II, 66.667%
3. Sally Green and Keystone Fernandina, 66.667%
4. Claire Ackerman and Woodcroft Heinrich, 66.625%
5. Nicole Turner and J’Eton Hit LDS, 66.042%
Middle Tour Silver Champion
1. Natalie Tsuchiya and Don King II, 134.069
2. Nicole Turner and J’Eton Hit LDS, 131.238
3. Claire Ballantyne and Dvorak, 130.314
4. Claire Ackerman and Woodcroft Heinrich, 130.301
5. Sophie Bennett and Vallon du Rock, 129.417
Sue Carson Saddles Intermediate II Gold
1. Abbie Newbury and Tophojs Zackira, 69.216%
2. Morgan Haerr and Grolschstar, 64.461%
3. Jessica Davies and Jodan, 64.216%
4. Elder Klatzko and Hawtins Fiorino, 63.530%
5. Abbie Newbury and Seagry Firstamour, 62.657%
Sue Carson Saddles Intermediate A/B Freestyle Gold
1. Beau Williams and Ipurus, 73.417%
2. Morgan Haerr and Grolschstar, 70.125%
3. Rachelle Hirst and Bollinger MS, 69.917% (coll. 68.333)
3. Mary Pritchard and Koeka Matcha JCS, 69.917% (coll. 68.000)
