Danielle Curzon was among the star turns at the first-ever Virtus World Para Dressage Championships, an event for dressage athletes with intellectual impairments, winning team gold as part of the British team, and individual II3 gold.
But behind that success was one of the most unconventional CVs in British dressage — a career that’s swung from Horse of the Year Show winner to Europe’s first televised female cage-fighting referee, with a stint as a celebrity bodyguard in between.
Horses were Danielle’s first world. She began county-level showing at three, with her mum, Karen, producing ponies and her dad financing the dreams.
“I had a lot of good ponies,” she says. “But Bengad Duranta was the stand-out. We won Horse of the Year Show at Wembley in 1992.”
By 12, she’d turned her attention to dressage through the British Young Riders Dressage Scheme, competing in home and small internationals. She added a transatlantic chapter, competing – and winning – at the Ocala HITS Winter Circuit in the USA.
Then, at 21, she walked away.
“I literally woke up one morning and thought, ‘I’m done’,” she says. “I’d lost that competitive spark which drove me. I wanted a change.”
That change took her into the world of martial arts, security, and bodyguarding. She trained in Thai boxing for self-defence as a pre-teen, worked her way up to national kickboxing champion and double world silver medallist, and earned her refereeing licence under world-famous MMA referee Herb Dean in Los Angeles. She became Europe’s first televised female cage-fighting referee, officiating on both sides of the Atlantic.
(Left) Dizzy Rascal and Danielle Curzon at the Virtus World Para Dressage Championships, (right) Danielle and For Pleasure in Cyprus. Credits: Kevin Sparrow
In parallel, she built a career as a door supervisor and close-protection officer, guarding celebrities from Emma Watson to Jodie Kidd. One highlight was a trip to Alton Towers with Emma to celebrate her finishing her GCSEs.
“She preferred a female bodyguard,” Danielle says. “She was lovely – we had a lot of fun.” Not every celebrity was so easy, she adds wryly.
The path back to horses began in 2017, when her health began to fail. Diagnosed with ME and fibromyalgia, she adapted to a reduced workload. But in March 2022, a stroke changed everything.
“I couldn’t even lift a headcollar over a horse’s head,” she says. “Mentally, it destroyed me.”
Seeking a reset, she moved to Malta for three months, based at an equestrian centre. There, she saw Pleasureland AM (Play) walk into the arena.
“My jaw dropped. I thought, ‘Oh my god, I love this horse.’” Only later did she learn he was by Furioso II lines. His owner, finding him unsuited to jumping, gifted him to her.
Play became her therapy horse, standing quietly as she tried again and again to lift her weakened right arm. She also helped the Maltese Prime Minister’s daughter with her riding. “That’s when I fell back in love with horses,” she says.
Back in the UK later in 2022, Danielle was offered the ride on Dizzy Rascal, owned by Victoria Moss and bred by Sandy Senior.
“It’s so important to me that owners and breeders get recognition,” she says. “Sandy’s worked so hard – she even gifted me Dizzy’s elite grading rosette.”
Through a Facebook post, Danielle discovered Virtus. To compete under Virtus, riders must undergo a classification and eligibility application, led by SportExcel UK – who support the teams and are working with British Dressage to strengthen pathways into the sport. The categories are; II1) athletes with an intellectual disability, II2) athletes with an intellectual disability and significant additional impairment, and II3) autistic athletes.
Diagnosed with autism and pathological demand avoidance in 2022, she found the format worked for her.
“A lot of autistic riders struggle with traditional multi-day camps – new people, new trainers, a sensory overload,” she explains. “Virtus offers another pathway.”
Danielle Curzon and her international winner Tysilio Arwr. Credit: Reader material
The classification process took months, but success came quickly. In August 2024, she and Dizzy won the Virtus class at the summer para nationals with over 75%. They went on to top both Virtus international video competitions that autumn, and in March 2025, they claimed both Virtus classes at the winter para nationals.
Her other ride, Welsh Cob Tysilio Arwr (Hank), also delivered. A “massive character” who “would be severely autistic if he were human,” he won an international video class with over 73% and was reserve national champion behind Dizzy. “It’s a reminder you don’t always need a big-moving warmblood to be competitive,” Danielle says.
With coaching from Becky Moody and Cherry Elvin, and backed by a close-knit team – including off-horse fitness trainer Karzan Hughes, transport sponsor George Beston who has loaned her a horsebox, and her daughter Alea who helps keep the horses fit – Danielle began working towards the Virtus World Championships.
“Another big help has been the Equine BioGenie,” says Danielle. “I’ve got such severe allergies that I can go into anaphylaxis just from breathing in cleaning chemicals. Before, I couldn’t risk taking the horses to stay-away shows, but now, because it’s all-natural, I can go anywhere – even with strangles going around – and know we’re safe.”
Her preparation was complicated at the last minute by a family member’s cancer treatment – on the way to the competition, she left an oncology appointment in her competition gear, ran to a waiting horsebox, and drove straight to Arena UK to compete.
“I went into that hospital stinking of horses,” she laughs.
At the Worlds, she hand-grazed Dizzy whenever possible, keeping her circulation good with daily Centropix PEMA treatments. On team day, Great Britain won gold; Danielle also took individual gold. The next day, they won the World Championship individual title with over 80%, earning glowing remarks from judge Jennie Loriston-Clarke.
“She wrote, ‘It was a pleasure to watch’ – that meant everything,” Danielle says.
Standing on the podium, the GB flag raised, she felt the journey had come full circle.
“At the start of 2023, my goal was to get my Great Britain flags back,” she says. “To do it with horses who’ve helped me through so much… It’s hard to put into words.”
For Danielle, Virtus has been more than medals. “It’s given me my competitive spark back,” she says. “It’s shown me that there’s always a way back – even if your route there is a little unconventional.”
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