Glittering line-up at Wellington International Festival of Dressage

It’s all systems go at Wellington Riding in Hampshire for the 2023 edition of the Wellington International Festival of Dressage (06 – 11 June 2023), which starts today. Visitors can expect a feast of dressage as the leading venue hosts six days of top CDI, Premier League and Para Dressage action.

Spectators can enjoy the CDI, Premier League classes, the Equissage Pulse Para Gold Semi-Finals and KBIS Young Horse qualifiers all under one roof as one of the largest dressage spectacles of the summer sees the battle for team selection and National Championships qualification tickets intensify.

Multi medallists Gareth Hughes (Classic Briolinca), Carl Hester (En Vogue and Fame) and Charlotte Dujardin (Imhotep) feature on the CDI3* entry list, alongside London 2012 star, Laura Tomlinson (DSP Rose of Bavaria and Fallatijn) together with a host of exciting up-and-coming horse and rider combinations to keep an eye out for. Find the full list of British entries here.

Young British stars competing in the CDI Youth classes will also be looking to impress the selectors as the season progresses towards their respective FEI Dressage European Championships, all taking place in July. Annabella Pidgley, also competing here in the CDI3* with Vamos Amigos, will present her 2022 Junior team bronze and individual silver medal partner, Espe, in the Young Rider classes alongside her fellow team medallist India Durman-Mills (Escade), while Sophie Wallace, of the same bronze-winning team, will contest the Juniors with Ursula Bechtolsheimer and Laura Tomlinson’s international debutant, First Light (by Fürstenball) – to name just a few.

Always a date for the dressage enthusiast’s diary is the Wellington International Festival of Dressage Gala Evening. On Friday 9 June, featuring the Wellington Prix St Georges Freestyle to Music sponsored be Nirvana Spa, this is an evening not to be missed.

Owners of Nirvana Spa, located in Berkshire, John and Diana Barley sponsor the gala evening class for the sixth consecutive year, offering a fabulous prize of £2,000 to the winner – the highest level of prize money awarded to a first-placed rider at a Premier League show. The gala evening starts at approximately 7pm, with the following ticket options available: £10 for standing, £20 for seated and £49 for hospitality, plus there’s a range of hospitality packages available throughout the week for the best seat in the house. Find out more.

For times, results and how to watch the action live via Horse & Country, follow this link.