Phoebe Peters announced as KBIS Championship Guest Rider

To continue a week of LeMieux Nationals announcements, Phoebe Peters will be the guest rider at this year’s KBIS Young Horse Championships. The Dutch-based British rider will ride the top three horses in the five and six-year-old category, giving a rider’s opinion in the judging to decide the champions.  

Sunday at the LeMieux Nationals is all about the stars of the future, with the audience-favourite ridden finale of the KBIS Young Dressage Horse Championships taking place in the main arena throughout the middle of the day. The five and six-year-old champions will be decided with the input of three judges, an international Young Horse judge, a trainer judge and a rider judge. The international judge and trainer judge joining the line-up for the final will be released in the coming days. 

We’re pleased to announce a history-making Brit as the guest rider in 2025, as Phoebe Peters returns to ride in the UK for the first time in five years, following a move to the Continent in 2021 where her career sees her focused on the training of young horses and stallions. Having ridden for Klaus Balkenhol, Van Olst Horses and Reesink Stables, Phoebe will bring a wealth of experience in producing young horses and competing those destined for the top.  

About Phoebe  

As a Youth rider, Phoebe became Britain’s first FEI European Gold medallist – a feat achieved at the time by only Phoebe and Charlotte Dujardin in the senior ranks. With her history making pony SL Lucci, Phoebe rode to two outright European Champion titles, ending her career in the under 16s category with five gold medals, as well as two silver, one bronze, and three World Records. An appearance on the Junior team would follow, before Phoebe went on to University, where she achieved a first-class degree in Modern Foreign Languages. This experience would set her up for the next stage in her career, where her five spoken languages (French, German, Spanish, Dutch and Russian) would benefit her as riding became the number one priority.  

Phoebe made the move to Germany in 2021 to work with legendary figure Klaus Balkenhol as a stable rider; learning the classical foundations that still can be seen in German riding and training. An opportunity came up for the then 22-year-old to take up residence at Van Olst Stables, as second stable rider behind World Champion Lottie Fry. Phoebe’s time at Van Olst saw her produce stable star Everest from the age of four to six, becoming the first British rider to win a Pavo Cup Final – the Dutch Championships for Young Horses – as well as representing the Netherlands at the FEI WBSFH World Breeding Championships for Young Horses in the five-year-old category. Phoebe also presented Van Olst Horses Inclusive at U25 level, as she progressed towards Grand Prix under the tutelage of Anne and Lottie.  

In 2024, prominent Dutch stallion keepers Reesink Horses presented another exciting career step, which saw Phoebe relocate to become principal rider at Reesink’s Eibergen station. Reesink is known for successful stallions Florencio, Franziskus, Don Juan de Hus, along with countless other successful stallions and sport horses, including Annabella Pidgley’s medallist Vamos Amigos. With the support of Reesink, Phoebe has competed at Grand Prix level and is currently producing a number of future stars, for breeding and sport. She recently produced Reesink’s Kante to become Trakehner Bundesturnier Champion for three-year-old stallions, as well as winning the VSN Trophy earlier in the year with the stable’s top mare, McMary (Mclaren x Ampere).