It’s Nationals eve! Tomorrow, action gets underway at the LeMieux National Dressage Championships 2016 (15 – 18 September) with a jam-packed timetable of hotly contested competition, spectator-friendly master classes and trade stands galore – it’s every dressage enthusiast’s dream!
Stoneleigh Park in Warwickshire will welcome the top dressage combinations in the country to compete for coveted championship titles over four days of competition. Classes range from Prelim level to Grand Prix – including the not-to-be-missed Shearwater Young Horse Championships, which exhibits the equine stars of the future, the freestyle finales and the KBIS National Para Championships.
Defending their LeMieux National Dressage Champion title, Charlotte Dujardin and the lovely Barolo will be back in the LeMieux Grand Prix on Saturday. However she faces stiff competition from Olympic team mate, Carl Hester on Coral Ingham’s chestnut gelding Wanadoo, the combination have had a successful year with wins across the continent at this level including a convincing win at Hartpury College’s Premier League in July. Also in contention is Michael Eilberg on Woodlander Dornroeschen, Hayley Watson-Greaves on WG Rubins Nite and freestyle crowd favourite, Steph Croxford on Mr Hyde.
Charlotte will be riding every day at the Nationals, with two rides in the Fairfax Saddles Prix St Georges on Thursday (Mount St John Freestyle and Hawtins Delicato), contesting Mount St John VIP in the Dodson & Horrell Novice Gold Championship on Friday, riding current Shearwater five-year-old champion Florentina VI in the Medium Gold on Saturday and with young horses competing in every year group, she is bound to make an appearance or two in the Shearwater British Dressage Young Horse finals on Sunday!
Other highlights of this yearly dressage extravaganza include the Fairfax Saddles Prix St Georges Championship Gold – which is a who’s who of British dressage! This includes siblings Michael and Maria Eilberg, Gareth Hughes and current Winter Championships Advanced Medium title holder, Sonnar Murray-Brown with his own gelding, Erlentanz. In the inspiring KBIS Para Dressage Gold Championships, 15-year-old Izzy Palmer is one to watch aboard Paralympian Sophie Wells’ London 2012 ride Pinocchio. Sophie even gave Izzy a lesson over Skype direct from Rio in preparation! In the Grade IV, Charlotte Cundall has two horses – The Chenko Artist and KBIS Starchaser.
The Shearwater British Dressage Young Horse finals are always a feast for the eyes with the top young horses in the country vying for these sought-after titles. This year all finalists will compete on the Saturday performing their age-specific tests, then the top four from each age group will go through to Sunday’s final where Eva Möller, who returns as this year’s ride judge, will put the horses through their paces to claim the top prize. Ones to watch are Gareth Hughes and Sintano Van Hof Olympia in the six-year-old class, they beat last year’s five-year-old champions Charlotte Dujardin on Florentina VI at the semi-finals. Across the four and five-year-old sections, as always, the Mount St John Stud will be ones to beat in particular those under stud rider, 21-year-old Lucinda Elliott, who can now only be deemed a specialist at these young horse classes!
On Saturday and Sunday, dressage-great Kyra Kyrklund will be presenting The Royal Equestrian Masterclass in the main arena on Saturday at 16.02 and Sunday at 16.16. Also not to be missed, on Saturday afternoon, is the salute to the 2016 Olympic riders parade and a special musical display from our up and coming Pony riders who will be proving the future is bright for British dressage.
Don’t forget there's a huge range of tradestands present for that little bit of much-needed retail therapy and food outlets for refreshments during your day out. If you haven’t yet got your ticket for the Nationals, don’t worry! Although advance ticket sales are now closed, tickets are still available on each day of the Championships at the gate. On arrival at the showground, don’t forget to get your Show Programme (available on the gate and at the Secretary’s Office) for all the essential reading on the competitors as well as the all-important schedule. For the full Nationals experience, why not purchase a Radio Nationals headset? These pre-tuned headsets (available from the Secretary’s Office), give you detailed commentary on the classes and help keep you up to date with what’s happening and where, ensuring you don’t miss a thing.
And, if you can’t make it to the Nationals, you can keep up-to-speed with all the goings-on, scores, results and more by visiting www.britishdressage.co.uk, www.bdchampionships.com, Twitter and Facebook.
Click here to visit the Championships website for detailed information on the event, ticket prices and schedules.
Thursday 15/09/2016
07:56 1. Backinaction Preliminary Silver Championship
08:00 3. Equine Construction Advanced Medium Silver Championship
10:20 4. Childeric Saddles Elementary Silver Championship
11:49 2. Fairfax Saddles Prix St Georges Championship Gold
14:25 5. Monarch Equestrian Intermediate II Gold Championship
Friday 16/09/2016
07:50 6. Dodson & Horrell Novice Gold Championship
07:55 8. KBIS Para Dressage Gold Championships
11:05 9. Dodson & Horrell Novice Silver Championship
13:15 7. Saracen Horse Feeds Intermediate I Gold Championship
14:40 10. TopSpec Medium Silver Championship
Saturday 17/09/2016
07:50 11a. Assessment & Pre-Judging 4yo Shearwater British Dressage Young Horse
07:50 16. TopSpec Medium Gold Championship
09:05 12a. Assessment & Pre-Judging 5yo Shearwater British Dressage Young Horse
10:25 13a. Assessment & Pre-Judging 6yo Shearwater British Dressage Young Horse
11:40 14. LeMieux Grand Prix Gold Championship
14:59 15. Saracen Horse Feeds Intermediate I Freestyle Gold Championship
Sunday 18/09/2016
07:50 19. Childeric Saddles Elementary Gold Championship
07:50 17. Equine Construction Advanced Medium Gold Championship
11:55 11b. Final 4yo Shearwater British Dressage Young Horse
13:40 12b. Final 5yo Shearwater British Dressage Young Horse
14:25 13b. Final 6yo Shearwater British Dressage Young Horse
15:20 18. Horse Health Grand Prix Freestyle Gold Championship