2RRA4CM Riesenbeck, Germany. 07th Sep, 2023. Equestrian sport: European Championship, Dressage, Grand Prix, 2nd half of the starting field (team decision). The legs of a horse can be seen on the dressage quadrangle. Credit: Friso Gentsch/dpa/Alamy Live News Pressure continues to mount on the FEI to tackle the issues facing modern dressage. Five-star judge, vet and head of the International Dressage Officials Club (IDOC) Hans-Christian Matthiesen is the latest senior figure to argue that the current competition format for dressage is outdated and needs change. Among his recommendations are upd ..read more

Ruby Kelly and Sir Nunn’s Just Rudi at the 2024 Petplan Winter Area Festival Championships. Although national titles were on the line at the 2024 Petplan Winter Area Festival Championships – and riders were doing all they could to vie for top honours – the supportive and encouraging environment really re-focussed attention for this writer on why we compete in dressage, and what draws us to the sport. Namely, that deep connection and trust with the horse that riders can feel between the boards – which, at its best, allows us to set aside our real-world struggles. This sentiment was perfectly e ..read more

British grand prix dressage rider and trainer Anna Ross shares her thoughts on the recent winter championships and suggestions for changes to the sport Dannie Morgan and Fever Tree at the 2024 NAF Five Star Winter Dressage Championships. Addington was a roaring success for the NAF Five Star Winter Dressage Championships. The excellent organisation from Show Direct carried the championships seamlessly over from Hartpury, with more space to ride and a stunning feature arena. A bonus this year was the combination of live scoring and expert commentary by Judy Harvey, which brought the championship ..read more

FEI Dressage World Cup™ Final, Riyadh 2024,Saudi Arabia The World Cup Finals is an elite stratosphere, for the best riders of the world, the most valuable horses. But now and again, a story emerges to warm the cockles and allow all of us to dream. Lithuanian rider Justina Vanagaitė brought her horse to Riyadh in Saudi Arabia for this year’s FEI Dressage World Cup Final (16–20 April). If enthusiasm could win a class, Justina would be in a league of her own. The 34-year-old had already made history in Doha earlier this year as the first CDI5* dressage rider to compete without spurs. In Riyadh, s ..read more

Rotterdam, pictured during the 2019 European Championships, is among the shows to have withdrawn from the 2024 FEI Nations Cup dressage series. Two further fixtures have followed Aachen in withdrawing from the FEI Dressage Nations Cup series this year, in favour of running their own team competitions. The news means that the 2024 FEI series is down to three legs, from its original six. The remaining legs are Wellington in the US, which took place in February, Compiegne in France (2 to 4 May) and Pilisjászfalu in Hungary (8 to 12 May). Aachen, Falsterbø and Rotterdam will all go ahead with thei ..read more

Gracie Catling and Fraithwens Wytske Fan Ter Lune at the 2024 NAF Five Star Winter Dressage Championships. Gracie Catling and her Friesians are becoming regular features at the NAF Five Star Winter Championships, and they caught the eye once again this year – bringing drama and bombast to the freestyle classes, finishing in the top four, four times. We caught up with Gracie to reflect on her championship experience, and what it is about Friesians that makes them so well-suited to a career between the boards. Gracie’s highlight was coming second on nine-year-old Fraithwens Wytske Fan Ter Lune ..read more

Patrik Kittel and Touchdown, the World Cup Final winners Patrik Kittel won the dressage World Cup Final freestyle at the ninth time of asking, riding Touchdown. This competition went to the wire, as the top three were the last to go – and were covered by just over 0.25% in the final reckoning. But Patrik’s brilliant James Bond routine stole the show, with Denmark’s Nanna Skodborg Merrald second aboard Blue Hors Don Olymbrio, and Isabell Werth third on DSP Quantaz. Patrik, 47, remembered being a spectator when his compatriot Louise Natthorst – who trains him now – won the World Cup Final 24 yea ..read more

Lottie Fry and Everdale after winning the FEI World Cup Final grand prix in Riyadh. The hot favourite Lottie Fry was eliminated from the dressage World Cup Final in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, after her stallion Everdale was judged to have blood in the mouth prior to starting her test. The grand prix winner Lottie was first into the ring from the final quartet in the deciding freestyle, but the judge at C, Hans-Christian Matthiesen, stopped her before she’d trotted round outside the boards once, had a quick word, and Everdale left the ring on a long-rein walk. “That’s one of the very difficult parts ..read more

H7HR4H Detail, dressage riding One of the titles at the PetPlan Winter Area Festival Championships has changed hands as it has emerged the original winner was ineligible to compete, and had more than one British Dressage (BD) profile. BD has confirmed that the elementary bronze title, awarded on 11 April, has changed hands, as after the championship had finished, BD was “made aware that the rider who won this class was ineligible to compete”. “After further investigation and subsequent checks of the member’s duplicate record, this was confirmed by our head office team, and the rider was duly ..read more

Lottie Fry and Everdale topped the leader board on 75.38% in the grand prix. Britain’s sole representative in the dressage World Cup Finals won the grand prix in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The reigning world champion Lottie Fry, riding her second string Everdale, headed the field by more than 2%, scoring 75.38%. Sweden’s Patrik Kittel was runner-up with his European Championship ride Touchdown on 73.29%. Lottie goes down in history as the first international dressage winner to be crowned in this country. Bar a slight blip where Everdale took his eye off the ball before the rein-back, Lottie’s test ..read more