Honouring the greatest rider of the year, who is a hero and an inspiration to others, and whose ability is a blessing for both their horses and our sport.
Which of these six pros – who have each delivered glittering performances on the world’s biggest stages – takes your vote in the annual Horse & Hound Awards?
Zoetis Professional Rider of the Year 2025 shortlist
Scott Brash
Double European silver medallist and winner of the world’s richest showjumping prize
The world number three has had an unforgettable 2025. Scott Brash, 39, and Hello Jefferson have long been regarded as one of the greatest partnerships of all time, but with the help of some exciting new horsepower now soaring up the ranks, the ice-cool Scotsman’s fortunes have risen. He’s ticked off an astonishing list of achievements this year, bagging six five-star grands prix – including the world’s richest prize at Spruce Meadows – and he won both team and individual silver medals at the European Championships.His most recent accomplishment was sealing victory for Great Britain in the Longines League of Nations Final in Barcelona just two days after heading the city’s prestigious grand prix. Top that 2026!
Ros Canter
Badminton and Burghley winner
Ros Canter, 39, won three five-stars this year, taking Badminton and Burghley on Lordships Graffalo and Luhmühlen on Izilot DHI. She has now won six five-star titles in total. There was particular pressure at Burghley as Ros had revealed beforehand that she is pregnant with her second child. “There was a lot at stake, all eyes were on me and rightly so,” said Ros, who admitted she felt “bodily self-conscious” at the start of the week. “I know I’m bigger than I was, but the moment I’d done my dressage test and I felt I rode well, I pretty much had no doubt that I’d be running cross-country.”
Craig Kiddier
Leading show producer
Craig Kiddier produces horses for the show ring and for the showjumping arena, and has become a tour de force in the working hunter ranks. He’s found a formidable partner in Susan Tennant’s Mulberry Lane (Obi). The pair lifted the working hunter championship at Royal International for the third consecutive time, and went on to score back-to-back supreme titles. Craig also steered Obi to win the middleweight flat class at Horse of the Year Show last term, and cemented his place as a leading show producer by securing the supreme title there, too.
Laura Collett
European eventing champion
It’s 16 years since Laura Collett was young rider European champion and her first individual senior title this year, on home soil at the Blenheim Europeans, represents a huge amount of learning, heartbreak and sheer hard graft as she’s moved from teenage prodigy to established professional rider. Nine times an under-21 medallist, this was her fifth senior medal with London 52, after a second Olympic team gold and individual bronze in Paris last year, when they were beaten to the gold by Michael Jung and FischerChipmunk FRH, who took individual silver this time. “I came so close in Paris, and to come back and have another head-to-head with ‘Michi’, it’s what makes this sport so special,” said Laura, 36.
Harry Meade
Eventing world number one
October marks Harry Meade’s fifth consecutive month as eventing world number one. “It’s a great honour and a real milestone,” said Harry when he stepped up to the rank in June. “It’s particularly rewarding for the wider team behind me – they are so invested, and their hard work and support has led to this. I’ve followed eventing since before I could walk. It’s the sport I love. There are still mountains I want to climb, but for a brief moment in a life where you rarely stand still, we’ll take a moment to pause, look back, and feel some pride in what everyone has achieved.” Harry, 42, has had seven top-10 finishes at five-star this year, from seven starts.
Becky Moody
European team silver medallist and dressage’s world number four
Becky Moody’s meteoric rise with Jagerbomb shows no sign of slowing. After making her championship debut at Paris 2024, she and “Bomb” led the charge for Britain at this summer’s Europeans. A dominant force on the national circuit, Becky is now a regular on the world stage – sharing podiums with Isabell Werth in Aachen and battling it out with Lottie Fry and Glamourdale at World Cup shows. Through it all, she’s embraced her growing fame as a role model with enthusiasm, humour and a down-to-earth charm. “I’ve become the poster girl for ‘don’t ever give up’,” laughs Becky, 45. “It goes to show – keep on learning, and sometimes dreams do come true.”
Voting closes at 5pm on Thursday 30 October and the winners will be revealed at a star-studded ceremony on 26 November, and featured online, on social media and in the following week’s magazine (4 December). Read the H&H Awards 2025 terms and conditions
Previous Professional Rider of the Year award winners
Previous winners of this award include:
- 2024: Ros Canter, Olympic team gold medallist and Burghley winner
- 2023: Ros Canter, Badminton winner, European champion and world number two
- 2022: Laura Collett, Badminton winner, adding a second five-star title to her win at Pau in 2020, plus Tokyo Olympic eventing team gold
- 2021: Tom McEwen, winner of Tokyo Olympic eventing team gold and individual silver medallist
- 2020: Charlotte Dujardin, who was selected as professional rider of the decade (2011-2020)
- 2019: Piggy French, who won Badminton for the first time among a record 14 internationals, including Blenheim CCI4*-L, was second at Burghley on Vanir Kamira and took European team silver with Quarrycrest Echo
- 2018: Ros Canter, who became eventing individual world champion at the World Equestrian Games in Tryon
- 2017: Nicola Wilson, who took team gold and individual bronze at the European Eventing Championships
- 2016: Charlotte Dujardin, who added a second individual Olympic gold at Rio 2016 and helped the Brits to team silver
About the Horse & Hound Awards 2025
The Horse & Hound Awards are celebrating their 10th year, being held in partnership with NAF and Agria.
As ever, the Horse & Hound Awards winners will be nominated and voted for by you, with the exception of the Horse & Hound Lifetime Achievement award, which is decided by a Horse & Hound panel. We will recognise both the big names who have made 2025 special and the unsung heroes who make it possible for all of us to enjoy equestrian sport and our horses, at every level.
The ceremony will take place at Dallas Burston Polo Club in Warwickshire, where some 300 people, including stars of this summer’s European Championships, will enjoy a glamorous evening of champagne, winner reveals, Oscar-style speeches and dancing on Wednesday 26 November.
