News
Para team power to victory at CPEDI Waregem
- Written By: British Dressage | Maddie Hinchliff
- Published: Fri, 01 May 2026 12:00
It was a truly exciting week as seven of our para riders ventured out to Waregem, Belgium for the CPEDI (24 – 26 April), with riders Lee Pearson, Georgia Wilson, Erin Orford and Sophie Wells making up the team that brought home the win from this World Cup Qualifier event.
Between the seven riders, there was an incredible total of thirteen podium placings had across the three days. This included: five first places, four second places and four third places across the Grand Prix A, B and Freestyle tests that took place.
In the Grand Prix A tests on the Friday, it was Lee Pearson riding his own Breezer who took the first win on 73.586%, and Georgia Wilson following a very close second aboard her own, Sakura with a score of 72.793% in the Grade II category. Georgia also rode her own Faside Got The Love to sixth place with 66.172%. The next podium placing came from Grade III rider Erin Orford who finished third aboard LJT Nutbush, owned by Carl Hester, Anne Barrott, Rowena Luard and Henrietta Cheetham’, with 69.733%. For our Grade IV riders, Nicola Naylor and her own Moulin Rouge took the win by an impressive three percent margin, to finish on a score of 73.889%. Sara Louise Bates also campaigned her own Tango to finish seventh with 66.917%. Lastly, in the Grade V category, Sophie Wells made up yet another podium by finishing third in a very hot class aboard Emma Blundell’s MSJ Gold Standard, with a score of 70.590%. Alice Begg also campaigned a strong test, to finish fifth with her own Kiolita on a score of 67.435%.
Saturday bought forward another incredibly successful day for the riders, with all riders competing in the Grand Prix B test. For Lee it was another win, and by nearly three percent, on a fantastic score of 73.100%. This was closely followed by Georgia, who scored 70.633% to finish second on Sakura , and fifth on Faside Got The Love with 64.767%. Erin Orford also achieved a second place with another brilliant score of 70.833%. In the Grade V, Sophie produced a 71.605% test to secure herself another podium finish of third place, while Alice Begg and Kiolita finished eighth on 66.052%. Adding to the medal tally, Nicola Naylor won the Grade IV Grand Prix B with a compelling leading score of 71.973%, ahead of Dutch rider Sanne Voets who finished second on 70.946%. Sara Louise Bates also completed her test to finish tenth on 63.432%.
The combined efforts of Lee, Georgia, Erin and Sophie landed the team a comfortable win ahead of Germany on a combined total score of 216.154. Reflecting on the victory, Lee said the team were “absolutely over the moon.” He added, “The dynamics across the teams have really shifted- more nations now have much stronger horsepower than they used to, so we’re no longer so far ahead. That makes a win like this all the more satisfying. In my own tests, Breezer came off the lorry a bit like a fire breathing dragon so I was a bit cautious going in to the first test but he actually settled in really nicely to produce some fantastic work. On the Friday, I came away with the second highest score of the day behind Nicola and then it was the other way around on the Saturday so it was just fantastic for all of us to pull together and produce the very best tests we could. It's always an honour to be selected to be a part of the team, and to then deliver a successful a ride on top of that is just fantastic. We are aiming to qualify for the World Championsips later on in the year so hopefully we are all well on our way!"
The Freestyle classes boasted yet another set of top three placings for the riders, with Georgia Wilson taking the win aboard Sakura with a final score of 76.007%. Lee Pearson narrowly missed out on third place, finishing fourth on 72.440%. Fellow Paralympic rider Sophie Wells took her place on the podium for the third and final time of the event, having come second on a tremendous score of 75.780%. Furthermore, Nicola Naylor delivered the final top-tier of the show, finishing third on 73.430%. Erin Orford also competed in the Freestyle, but an expensive blip in the circles meant she was out of the placings and into seventh place on 63.167%. Finally, in a tremendous finish to her first overseas show, Alice Begg finished sixth with 70.040%. When describing the experience, Alice simply said: “WOW. I couldn’t have asked for a better first show overseas… with the best horse, the best team and the BEST weather. It has been an experience I’ll never forget. I loved every minute”.
A huge congratulations to all the athletes and the teams involved as we look forward to the exciting season ahead.
Results- Top three and British results
24 April
3* Grade II Grand Prix A
1. Lee Pearson and Breezer, 73.586% (GBR)
2. Georgia Wilson and Sakura, 72.793% (GBR)
3. Loes Cevaal and Happy Hero, 70.173% (NED)
6. Georgia Wilson and Faside Got The Love, 66.172% (GBR)
3* Grade III Grand Prix A
1. Barbara Minneci and Freiherr Von Nymphenburg, 70.467% (BEL)
2. Emma Vercammen and Odin, 70.467% (BEL)
3. Erin Orford and LJT Nutbush, 69.733% (GBR)
3* Grade IV Grand Prix A
1. Nicola Naylor and Moulin Rouge, 73.889% (GBR)
2. Sanne Voets and Demantur, 70.806% (NED)
3. Anna-Lena Niehues and Vive L’Amour, 70.055% (GER)
7. Sara Louise Bates and Tango, 66.917% (GBR)
3* Grade V Grand Prix A
1. Regine Mispelkamp and Highlander Delight’s, 73.539% (GER)
2. Regine Mispelkamp and Pramwaldhof’s Bayala OLD, 72.795% (GER)
3. Sophie Wells and MSJ Gold Standard, 70.590% (GBR)
5. Alice Begg and Kiolita, 67.435% (GBR)
Saturday 25 April
3* Grade II Grand Prix B
1. Lee Pearson and Breezer, 73.100% (GBR)
2. Georgia Wilson and Sakura, 70.633% (GBR)
3. Gianna Regenbrecht and First Florentine XT, 69.733% (GER)
5. Georgia Wilson and Faside Got The Love, 64.767% (GBR)
3* Grade III Grand Prix B
1. Tessa Baaijens-Van De Vrie and Happy Grace, 72.100% (NED)
2. Erin Orford and LJT Nutbush, 70.833% (GBR)
3. Barbara Minneci and Freiherr Von Nyphenburg, 70.100% (BEL)
3* Grade IV Grand Prix B
1. Nicola Naylor and Moulin Rouge, 71.973% (GBR)
2. Sanne Voets and Demantur, 70.946% (NED)
3. Melissa Janssen and Lets-Go, 67.487% (NED)
10. Sara Louise Bates and Tango, 63.432% (GBR)
3* Grade V Grand Prix B
1. Regine Mispelkamp and Pramwaldhof’s Bayala OLD, 73.632% (GER)
2. Regine Mispelkamp and Highlander Delight’s, 73.553% (GER)
3. Sophie Wells and MSJ Gold Standard, 71.605% (GBR)
8. Alice Begg and Kiolita, 66.052% (GBR)
FEI Team Classification
1. Great Britain, 216.154
2. Germany, 212.268
3. Netherlands, 211.363
Sunday 26 April
3* Grade II Grand Prix Freestyle
1. Georgia Wilson and Sakura, 76.007% (GBR)
2. Gianna Regenbrecht and First Florentine XT, 74.933% (GER)
3. Loes Cevaal and Happy Hero, 72.973% (NED)
4. Lee Pearson and Breezer, 72.440% (GBR)
3* Grade III Grand Prix Freestyle
1. Tessa Baaijens-Van De Vrie and Happy Grace, 75.673% (NED)
2. Emma Vercammen and Odin, 73.680% (BEL)
3. Barbara Minneci and Freiherr Von Nyphenburg, 72.760% (BEL)
7. Erin Orford and LJT Nutbush, 63.167% (GBR)
3* Grade V Grand Prix Freestyle
1. Regine Mispelkamp and Pramwaldhof’s Bayala OLD, 77.370% (GER)
2. Sophie Wells and MSJ Gold Standard, 75.780% (GBR)
3. Isabell Nowak and Ellis NRW, 74.395% (GER)
6. Alice Begg and Kiolita, 70.040% (GBR)
3* Grade IV Grand Prix Freestyle
1. Anna-Lena Niehues and Vive L’Amour, 77.715% (GER)
2. Sanne Voets and Demantur, 75.380% (NED)
3. Nicola Naylor and Moulin Rouge, 73.430% (GBR)
