Charlotte Dujardin Wins the Grand Prix Gold Championship at the National Championships Riding Brave Heart II

In the United Kingdom, they are a seasonal highlight: the National Championships—or “the Nationals,” for short—are the official British national dressage championships. Over four days and across three arenas, more than 700 horse-rider pairs are expected to compete in Gold and Silver divisions—ranging from beginner level to Grand Prix—contending for approximately 25 titles. The tournament will be held at the Somerford Park Farm facility. Here is a selection of the title winners.

Cheeky Pony Defeats World Championship Pair

Brave Heart II, a 12-year-old gelding by Bordeaux, is owned by Ellie McCarthy and has been ridden by the three-time Olympic champion since the beginning of the year. The pair has already enjoyed several successes on British soil and was also in the running for the World Championships in Aachen. However, Fiona Bigwood and her home-bred horse, Donna Bella, were given the nod instead. They were the discard for the British silver-medal-winning team in Aachen.

Now, Dujardin/Braveheart and Bigwood/Donna Bella faced off at the Nationals—a match that ended in a landslide victory for Dujardin and Braveheart. With a score of 75.044 percent, the international panel of judges (Sven Rothenberger, Nick Burton, Isobel Wessels, Øivind Instefjord Oedemotland, Sandy Phillips) placed the pair at the top. Among other scores, they received a 9 for their second canter pirouette and an 8.5 for a piaffe.

Second place went to Dujardin’s longtime teammate at championships, Gareth Hughes, riding Mowgli-Olympia MC (70.457 percent). The World Championship pair of Fiona Bigwood and Donna Bella took third place with exactly 70 percent.

Dujardin emphasized that Brave Heart II is still building strength and confidence: “He’s simply gaining more and more confidence with me in the arena. When I first got him and we started out, I knew for sure that there was much more potential in him. You just need patience to foster this development and let him gain strength. He had to get physically stronger through training, and my expectations of him were probably pretty high compared to what he was used to before. I think, as a rider, it’s much harder to take over a horse that you haven’t trained yourself. So I first had to take a step back in order to move forward. We’re still pretty much at the beginning—we’ve competed in maybe seven or eight shows so far, so not very many yet.”

He can be a bit shy at competitions. But he’s actually quite different—more like a “cheeky pony.” “Even if he gets a little reserved in the arena, he still retains that cheeky personality. He just wants to please you—and I think that gives a rider a lot of hope for the future.”

First the kids, then sports

Charlotte Dujardin’s year so far in 2026 has not been an easy one. In March, her warm-up routine at the World Cup event in Amsterdam sparked heated debates about animal welfare and riding methods —not the first controversy of this kind in her career. Then, in April, she sold her Grand Prix mare Alive and Kicking to the Oatley family, but has already shown, with the seven-year-old stallion Secret Agent, what a promising young horse she has up her sleeve.

At the Nationals, the 41-year-old spoke openly about how much her priorities have shifted since the birth of her daughter Isabella (3, who already rides at a walk, trot, and canter) and her son William. The children come first. Setbacks in sports have taken on a different meaning since then.

Sassy’s Second Life

A completely different story, but just as dramatic: Sadie Smith won the seven-year-old final with the mare River Rise Onassis—nicknamed “Sassy”—a daughter of the now four-time world champion Glamourdale out of an Amsterdam dam, owned by Sue Gerrard, with an impressive score of 81.167 percent, giving her a clear lead over Jayne Turney on Vienna WD (76.584 percent) and Ruth Hole on 00 Heaven (74.900 percent).

The previous year, Sassy had placed second in the six-year-old division. So far, so good. However, on the way back from that very tournament, an accident occurred that could have cost the mare not only her career but her life. The trailer carrying Sassy was involved in a rear-end collision. The trailer tipped over. Miraculously, both the horse and the driver survived the incident.

One downside: The mare suffered a deep tear in the pastern. Since this is an area that’s constantly in motion, the healing process took a long time and required an endless amount of patience from everyone involved. But now—there’s no trace of it left, neither physically nor mentally.

Sadie Smith says: “That just shows what she’s really like. Because she’s such a great horse (…). She hasn’t hesitated even once to get into the trailer—it’s as if nothing ever happened to her. She’s so well-behaved and trusts us, and that means the world to us.”

Smith has big plans for the elegant gray mare: “I’ll probably start her on the ‘Small Tour’ this coming winter. That’s what we’ll focus on. She’s making really good progress … so we’ll continue training her toward the Grand Prix.”

You can find more information about the “Nationals” here.