British Dressage is excited to announce the latest assembly of top names to be added to an already stellar cast for this year’s ‘Best of British’ National Dressage Convention, supported by leading law firm Harrison Clark Rickerbys. Taking place 21 – 22 November at Hartpury College in Gloucestershire, this year’s event will feature a daily session on para dressage. Britain leads the way where the discipline is concerned, remaining unbeaten in all championships since the 1996 Atlanta Paralympics and top names like Baker, Christiansen, Criddle and Wells will be in action at Hartpury.
On Saturday, Natasha Baker (grade II) and Sophie Christiansen (Grade Ia) will feature under the tuition of Team GBR trainer Michele Assouline. Both will ride their exciting young prospects Sookie St James and Athene Lindebjerg, who made their British team debut in September, with Natasha taking a pair of silver medals while Sophie swept the board with triple gold.
Sunday moves to grades III and IV with Deb Criddle and Sophie Wells in the arena with leading para trainers Angela Weiss and Nina Venables. Through the sessions on both days, delegates will learn just what makes our para riders so special, why Team GBR has over 130 championship medals and what differences there are between para and able-bodied dressage.
We can also release the names of the riders selected on their 2015 LeMieux National Dressage Championship performances who will ride for our guest trainers. On Saturday, international trainer, rider and judge Judy Harvey will put Stephanie Sweet and Laura Woollen through their paces. Stephanie finished second in the Dodson & Horrell Novice Restricted Championships with Dolle Jung, owned by Sarah Banwell, while Laura is our Nettex Elementary Open Champion with Helen Farley-Higgs’ Woodlander Buddy Holly.
Sunday, Olympian Laura Tomlinson takes over the teaching duties with Jayne Turney and Sadie Smith as guinea pigs. Jayne Turney won the TopSpec Medium Restricted title with pocket rocket Cruz III, owned by Charlotte Dujardin, and Sadie Smith partnered her own Keystone Dynamite to take the Equine Construction Advanced Medium Restricted Championship.
So, the timetable is taking shape with Charlotte Dujardin presenting a session on young horses with help from the Mount St John Stud, Laura Tomlinson riding at small tour level and Carl Hester focusing on Grand Prix with help from Judy Harvey, plus our para quartet, their trainers and our demonstration riders. It will be an insightful two days under the direction of BBC presenter Lee McKenzie and Paul Hayler, British Dressage’s Training Director. There are a few more finishing touches to be put to the final article but the full timetable will be released shortly.
Convention supporter Harrison Clark Rickerbys Solicitors, providers of British Dressage’s members’ legal helpline, is looking forward to meeting many of you over the weekend and they’ve put in place an amazing free prize draw. Teaming up with SafeRide, they’re giving you the chance to win a ‘Greenwich Olympian’ saddle worth over £2000. Entry will be online in the run up to the event and you can also enter in person at Hartpury on their trade stand. Full details of how to enter and competition conditions will be announced on their website, the BD website and social media channels soon.
Tickets are selling fast, so make sure you grab yours quick. Click here to secure them today.