British Dressage celebrate 20 Years

2018 is a huge year for British Dressage, not only are they unveiling new Championships, sending super seniors and paras to the World Equestrian Games, developing the U21 international teams, launching the BD Youth strategy and focusing on building better foundations for their grassroots riders, but it’s also the official 20th anniversary.

To celebrate the occasion, British Dressage will be holding numerous events throughout the year, with exciting opportunities for all members to get involved in. FREE MEMBERSHIP, will also be up for grabs to the 20th person registering every month this year and any registration is eligible.

Susan Davis from Surrey and Fiona Gillespie from West Sussex, are both winners for January and February.

A brand new logo will represent a fantastic 20 years of training and competing with British Dressage.

A statement from British Dressage;

Looking back at the last 20 years it is incredible to see how far the sport has come in such a short space of time. Back in 1998 we were delighted to even qualify for the Olympic Games, but such are the standards that have been set our expectations are now so much higher.

Our para equestrian dressage team incredibly remains unbeaten over the last two decades on the international stage, from Atlanta in 1996 through to Gothenberg last year, a phenomenal record. The medal haul for our seniors and paras continues to grow with every Championship and we have also won ten medals at Pony level in the last decade alone.

Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro shot to international fame at London 2012 and carried British dressage into the mainstream sport spotlight. Since then BD membership has grown from 13,500 to over 17,500 members. We were granted charitable status in 2014 and established a commercial trading arm to generate more revenue that could be reinvested in the sport. With a record number of well over 250,000 starters in 2017, the sport continues to reach new heights..

Speaking about the big occasion, Honorary Patron Carl Hester said, “Who’d have thought 20 years ago that British Dressage would be at the top of the sport on the world stage? With participation and membership at an all-time high alongside the outstanding performances of our international teams and individuals over the last decade, we can look forward to the next 20 years with great anticipation. May I be the first to wish British Dressage a very happy birthday!”

Competitions will be announced across social media and e-newsletters throughout the year.

Suzanne Ashton

Suzanne Ashton, Founder of Everything Horse (Est, 2012), has a BA Hons in Marketing Management and a Diploma in Equine Science. Suzanne has ridden and owned horses all her life and has twelve years of experience in marketing, writing, design, SEO, and website creation.