Jeanette Benzie Dressage

National Champions and Rugs. Some exciting results for Dressage and Event Riders alike.
Bates National Dressage Championships saw India Crowhurst and her pony GF Top Secret become Novice Pony Champions with three wins for three tests. Georgia Newton and Mr McCloud had a wonderful show finishing Reserve Champion Elementary Pony.
Sharlene Mitchell and her ever consistent Diarnimo added a National Title Rug to their resume, taking out the CCN95 at the National One Day Eventing Championships at Matamata.
Recent eventing places also for Sarah Fisher (4th) and Sharlene Mitchell (2nd) at Te Teko Horse Trial. Louise Leonard (4th), Maggie Allan (4th) and Jessica Sutherland (3rd) at Brookby Horse Trial. Congratulations all 😁
Photos are India, Georgia and Sharlene

Well if the last two days are anything to go by, no one can say that Dressage Riders are only fair weather riders! The NZPCA Dressage Champs held at Clevedon were wet, wet, wet. Undeterred by the rain and having great results were Maggie Allen a 3rd in the Preliminary and 5th in the overall championship, Coco Huggins a 1st in the Preliminary, India Crowhurst a 5th in the Novice and 5th in the overall championship, Elsa Perron a 4th in the Novice, and Georgia Newton a 1st in Elementary and 2nd in the overall championship. Georgia also won Best Performing Secondary School Senior and Best Performing Newcomer to Champs. Georgia and India were part of the Auckland Team which were 4th in the North Island Championship and 6th in the NZ Championship. Maggie and Sam were members of the Franklin Thames Valley Team that won the Overall NZ Championship. Congratulations all 😁
A day of travelling to Taupo tomorrow for these riders as they compete at the DNZ National Young Rider Championships. Hopefully they will have safe travels and nice weather for their next event. Photos are FTV Team, Auckland Team and Georgia.

Congratulations Maggie Allen and Sam Jones😁

Breaking news

Congratulations to Franklin Thames Valley, winners of the Dressage Team Award for 2026.

Well done to all riders, coaches, supporters and volunteers who contributed to this result.

https://nz.nominate.com.au/scoreboard/results/mob/NationalDressageTeam.aspx?EventID=15078

Merry Christmas to all, hope your day is magical and 2026 is a successful and happy year 🎄🎁

This post is a bit of a long one, so you might want to grab a cup of coffee 😝. November and December have been really big months for both the Dressage and Event riders - AMDG and Waitemata Champs, and Brookby and Puhinui Horse Trials. There is no doubt that this sport that we all love is absolutely full of challenges. It is really hard work, it is very expensive, it seems to have more lows than highs, and to top it off we have to try and keep our equine partners sound and happy. And yet it never ceases to amaze me, how truly dedicated the riders are that I get to work with on a day to day basis. Sometimes it’s not about winning but meeting personal bests and goals. Here are the results from the last few shows, plus some lovely photos that have also been shared.
AMDG Dressage Champs, an open championship only (Amateur and Young Rider Champs in April). Placings for India Crowhurst (Novice), Georgia Newton (Elementary), and Tannah Johnson (Advanced).
Brookby Horse Trial - Elsa Perrow 3rd (CCN65), Karyn Blake 2nd (CCN80), Tabitha Thomson 2nd and Aimee Chave 4th (CCN105), Sam Jones 3rd (CCN1*)
Waitemata Dressage Champs - Merran Perrow Champion Preliminary Bronze, India Crowhurst Champion Novice Pony, Georgia Newton Reserve Champion Elementary Pony, Elsa Perrow 3rd overall Elementary Pony.
Puhinui 3 Day Horse Trial (at Taupo) - Sharlene Mitchell 2nd (CCN95), Jess Sutherland 1st and Tabitha Thomson 6th (CCN105), Sam Jones 3rd (CCN1*)
Lovely to see Lauren McKinlay straight back out into competing at horse trials after a year off having a baby. Sarah Fisher taking her own baby (horse not human 😄) out to his first horse trial, and Anaya Fairhall who, after overcoming a lot of setbacks, got her pony to its first horse trial. Maggie Allen who is only 12 years old, footing it with the adults and being very, very close to a placing at Horse Trials this season.
All of us who ride know the huge amount of dedication gone into all of these results, congratulations to everyone, and I hope the next half of the season is just as much fun for you all. Merry Christmas and thank you for sharing all your photos.
Photos Merran and Elsa, India, Georgia, Sam, Maggie, Lauren, Anaya, Jess

Our beautiful rose ‘Grand Prix Special’ in full flower 🌹

Another rug, and another win from start to finish for Sharlene Mitchell and Mr D. Hard to be overtaken when you start 4% ahead of everyone else. Congratulations Sharlene 😁

Congratulations to Sharlene Mitchell and her much loved Diarnimo, winners from start to finish at Arran Station Horse Trial last weekend. Worth the long trip South 😁

Kerry Currie was the backbone of Auckland Pony Club, and on Saturday at Clevedon they held the inaugural Kerry Currie Dressage Teams Event, held in her memory. The winners of this first time Event were Coco Huggins, Georgia Newton and India Crowhurst, representing Totara Park Pony Club. Congratulations to the three of you 😁

For all of those I teach that get reminded, ‘the other left’ 😁

Big smiles from mother and daughter combo, Merran and Elsa Perrow at the last dressage show of the season. Merran won the AMDG Unregistered Preliminary Series and Elsa won the Novice Pony series. A lot of hard work has been done by these two in winning this series. A trip to Wellington is on the cards for several riders who will be attending the DNZ National Series prizegiving. Georgia Newton - Champion Preliminary Pony in the Pony & Young Rider Top 10 League.
India Crowhurst - Reserve Champion Novice Pony in Pony & Yr Top 10 League. Coco Huggins - Auckland champion Elementary-Advanced Medium Pony & YR Top 10 League. Samantha Jones - Auckland winner Novice horse Pony & YR Top 10 League. Tannah Johnson - Champion Advanced Medium in Pony, YR and Youth Performance League, Reserve Champion Adv Medium Pony & YR Top 10 League.
In Eventing, Jessica Sutherland was 4th overall in the ESNZ Young Rider Series, and to finish off the Eventing season Sharlene Mitchell was second at the Taupo Horse Trial.
Hopefully the winter will be mild as everyone now has a break and then prepares for the 25/26 Season. 😊
Photos are Merran and Elsa

Sharlene Mitchell’s goal was to win from start to finish with her horse Diarnimo at the Hawkes Bay Horse Trial last weekend. The determination paid off and with every phase coming off perfectly she got the win she set out to get. 😁. It’s really nice when it all goes to plan 🥇