Dannie Morgan and the outstanding Fever Tree (Foundation x Dayano) stormed to victory in the Bret Willson advanced medium gold at the 2025 LeMieux National Dressage Championships, scoring an emphatic 77.25%.
Amy Woodhead and MSJ Viva Dannebrog – who edged Dannie and Fever Tree in the seven-year-old class the previous day – finished second on 73.56%, with Kate Cowell and Samarkand third on 71.67%.
“It’s probably the best test I’ve ever done with him, so I’m thrilled,” Dannie said. “He’s a superstar – he’s proved time and time again what a good horse he is, and it puts more pressure on me because I just have to do my bit. I know what he’s capable of.”
The improvement from the previous day was clear. “In the seven-year-olds, he was a little tense in the walk,” Dannie explained. “He has so much energy; he always wants to do more, so I really tried to focus on relaxation today. It was a great help having Carl [Hester] and Sadie Smith there to support me in the warm-up.”
Fever Tree’s growing experience has paid off. “At the winters, he was just coming seven, still a bit green, and he wasn’t quite as established in the changes,” Dannie said.
“This year, he’s done quite a lot – he went out to Verden for the World Breeding Championships and was fourth in the small final. That’s a much harder level, nearly prix st georges [PSG], so he’s well established at the level now.
“I was wowed by the score. It’s really exciting, and a proud day for his breeder, David Stone, who gave me the opportunity to buy him.”
Verden was a turning point in more ways than one. “I loved it,” Dannie said. “It gave me a better understanding of what I need to do moving forward, and the confidence to stand on that world stage and know we can hold our own. A lot of riders I look up to came and gave lovely comments about our partnership – to hear that from people you respect is really nice.”
Dannie already has clear plans. “The idea now is to train him at home over the winter. I’ll start working towards some of the grand prix movements and hopefully come out at internationals at small tour next year.”
Devina B proves unflappable as Sonnar Murray Brown takes elementary gold
Sonnar Murray Brown and Amanda Leadbeater’s six-year-old mare Devina B (De Beau x Validation S) claimed the HorseQuest elementary gold title on 74.79%, edging out Dannie on Freya VII (74.49%) and Bryony Goodwin with SJL Niko (74.27%) in a nail-biting finish.
Sonnar Murray Brown and Devina B at the 2025 LeMieux National Dressage Championships. Credit: Kevin Sparrow
The result was especially sweet for Sonnar as it was his and Devina’s first national championships together. “I’m really pleased – she’s such a lovely horse, but you never know how they’re going to deliver in an environment like this,” he said.
“It’s our first nationals, her first real season of competing. She only did a couple of shows as a four-year-old, and she just kept growing and growing until we felt she was ready.”
Sonnar praised the mare’s temperament throughout the stay-away show. “There’s nothing that really phases her,” he explained. “She gets on the lorry, looks around as if to say, ‘Where am I?’ then just tucks into her hay. That’s really important for the future, knowing she can cope with this sort of atmosphere – especially in these conditions.”
Devina’s quality shone through despite the wind and rain. “I was really pleased with how she stayed with me. The trot felt a little more regular and easy today, and the simple changes were really nice. She’s such a talented mare – I love riding her. She’s still got so much to learn, but she shows you every day that she could be a really great horse.”
For Sonnar, the competitive standard made the win all the more rewarding. “The company was full of really good horses, which makes it even better,” he said. “Everyone here is so talented, and there are so many lovely horses coming through.”
Wildcard winner Laura Hill and Jobarde-E shine at the National Dressage Championships
In another close contest, Laura Hill and Jobarde-E clinched the Bret Willson International advanced medium silver with 68.97% – just ahead of Jennifer Harkness on Inouk (68.81%) and Liam Wattrus on Fürstenvae (68.72%).
Laura Hill and Jobarde-E at the 2025 National Dressage Championships. Credit: Kevin Sparrow
Laura admitted she hadn’t expected to top the leaderboard after qualifying via a wildcard. “We were fifth at our regionals,” she explained. “He did the best trot he’s ever done in that test, but then got so on fire that he picked up two 10s, then started leaping in the canter work, which dropped us right down. So to come here and win is just amazing.”
Their nationals test, she said, was a near-clear round. “I was really happy with it. He felt like he was bubbling, and it could have gone either way, but he got more confident as the trot went on. Our nemesis is the serpentine changes, but they went really, really well today. He even over-tried in the half-pass – he went too steeply sideways – but then regained it and gave me a lovely elastic extended canter.”
Her delight at the score was clear. “I thought it would be around 67–68%, so to get 68.9% was fantastic,” she said. “When I realised I’d won, I was delighted. My aim was just to place, so to come out on top was incredible.”
Jobarde-E, known at home as Romeo, has been with Laura since he was three. “He’s owned by Janice Robson, who very kindly bought me a dressage horse,” Laura said. “We went abroad to try lots, and he was the one we just loved. He didn’t even have a name – I named him Romeo because I definitely felt the love for him. He was a colt at the time, and he’s been such a special horse ever since.”
Romeo has already enjoyed early success, placing at novice level as a young horse, but Laura believes this result shows how far he has come. “We’ve had ups and downs – I had twins, and we missed some consistency in the middle – but he’s come really good again. We’ve just started PSG now, so I’m really excited for the future.”
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