Eventing squad
Rosalind Canter
- Age: 40
- Based in: Hallington, Lincolnshire
- World Ranking: 9
Ros grew up on her family farm in Lincolnshire, where she spent a lot of her time riding around the farm with her parents and two sisters. She has a degree in Sports Science from Sheffield Hallam University, where she also played first team hockey. Since 2011, she has been running her own eventing and livery yard. In 2019, Ros gave birth to her daughter, Ziggy.
After taking part in Team GB's Olympic Ambition Programme at the Rio 2016 Games, Ros made her senior championship debut at the FEI Eventing European Championship in 2017, where she was part of the gold medal-winning team with Allstar B. Earlier that year, the pair finished third at Badminton Horse Trials.
In 2018, she and Allstar B were selected for the team travelling to the World Equestrian Games in Tryon. They put in a brilliant performance to finish on their dressage score, securing team gold and an individual gold medal. The pair were selected for the difficult role of travelling reserves for the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, then went on to secure another team gold medal at the FEI Eventing European Championship in 2021.
Together with new partner Lordships Graffalo, Ros travelled to the FEI Eventing World Championship in Pratoni in 2022. The pair were foot-perfect to finish on their dressage score of 26.2 – the same score as bronze medallists Tim Price and Falco, who was placed ahead of them due to finishing closer to the optimum cross-country time.
Ros and her partner Lordships Graffalo started the 2023 season with a historic win at Badminton Horse Trials. They become only the third combination since 2008 to lead across all three phases, while Ros become only the fifth rider in history – and third British woman – to win both Badminton and the FEI Eventing World Championship. The year only got better when they were crowned team and individual European champions at the FEI Eventing European Championship in Haras du Pin, France. This marked 34 years since a rider had won both Badminton and a European title in the same year – it was last achieved by Ginny Leng and Master Craftsman in 1989. Ros is also only one of six riders to win both a World and a European individual title.
In 2024, Ros finally crossed the Olympic start line, when she helped the team to retain the gold medal. A contentious flag penalty kept them out of the individual medals, but redemption came in the form of winning Burghley Horse Trials just weeks later in convincing style. She ended the year with a runners up spot at Pau CCI5* with Izilot DHI.
Last year was the one of the ‘big Bs’, with Ros taking the winner’s sash at both Badminton and Burghley CCI5*. The Burghley victory was all the more remarkable because not only was by the biggest margin in the history the event, but Ros was five months pregnant! She also added a third CCI5* victory to her CV that year with a win aboard Izilot DHI at Luhmühlen.
Not ones to rest on their laurels, the history-making pair added another added another CCI5* victory to their roster when they became the first combination to win Badminton Horse Trials on three occasions. They did it with by over eight penalties, proving simply untouchable from start to finish, despite the fact that Ros had given birth 16 weeks previously and was still breast-feeding.
In 2022, Ros married long-term partner Chris McAleese, with whom she already shared daughter Ziggy. This February heralded the arrival of a sister for Ziggy, named Senah, who can claim to have ‘won’ Burghley, having been in utero when Ros and Lordships Graffalo claimed the title for a second time.
Previous senior championship appearances
- Paris 2024 Olympic Games (team gold)
- FEI Eventing European Championship 2023 (team and individual gold)
- FEI Eventing World Championship 2022
- FEI Eventing European Championship 2021 (team gold)
- Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games (travelling reserve)
- FEI Eventing World Championship 2018 (team and individual gold)
- FEI Eventing European Championship 2017 (team gold)
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Lordships graffalo
- Known as: Walter
- Owners: Archie and Michele Saul
- Colour: Bay
- Sex: Gelding
- Age: 14yrs
- Height: 17hh
- Bloodlines: Birkhof's Grafenstolz x Rock King
- Breeder: Pennie Wallace and Lordships Stud Writtle College (GBR)
- Groom: Sarah Charnley
Walter is, quite simply, one of the greatest event horses the sport has ever seen. He has been with Ros since he was three years old – she produced him and has done everything with him since, so theirs is a well-established partnership. Tom McEwen briefly took over the ride while Ros was on maternity leave in 2019, then Ros came back and they went on to have two CCI4*-S wins in 2021 after a disrupted 2020 season due to COVID-19.
Walter burst on the top-level eventing scene at Badminton Horse Trials in 2022, when he and Ros finished on their dressage score to take the runners-up slot – despite him being one of the youngest in the field and there on his CCI5* debut. A successful season was capped off by a trip to Pratoni for the FEI World Championships, where Walter showed maturity beyond his years to finish on his dressage score at his senior championship debut, narrowly missing out on an individual medal
Walter returned to Badminton in 2023 with a legion of new fans. Hotly tipped from the outset, he and Ros produced one of their best ever dressage scores to take the first-phase lead, held it across the country in very demanding ground conditions, then jumped clear on the final day to finish 15 penalties ahead of the rest of the field – the greatest margin at a CCI5* event in recent history.
Selected for his second championship at the FEI Eventing European Championship in Haras du Pin, Walter put in a career-best performance to take the individual gold by a 6.7 penalty margin, despite having a fence down in the final showjumping phase.
Unsurprisingly, Walter and Ros headed to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games amongst the medal favourites and were nominated at the anchor pairing. A stunning 23.4 penalties in the dressage not only secured the first-phase lead for Team GB, but by a record margin. On cross-country day, the pair looked to deliver a copybook round and were clear inside the time but, as Ros chatted to the media, news of a flag penalty came through. That ended individual hopes for Ros, but her mission was to deliver a showjumping round that would keep Britain in the hunt for gold. One fence down did just that and the gold was Great Britain’s.
With Walter in peak fitness and Paris taking little out of him, Ros decided he was feeling well enough to tackle Burghley for the first time. In true Walter style, he made little of one of the world’s most demanding eventing tests and won it easily! Some may say it was justice for the Paris incident.
In the spring of 2025, there was just one thing on Ros’s mind… Badminton. She knew that, in Walter, she had a horse that could repeat the feat of two years ago. With the 200,000+ crowd behind them, theyromped to victory, much to the delight of everyone, and joined a very select group of multiple five-star winners.
While many were anticipating to see Ros and Walter defending their title at the FEI European Championship in 2025, Ros had other plans. Pregnant with her second child, she opted for another crack at the Burghley title instead – not only was it running earlier in September than the Championship at Blenheim, but she wouldn't have the weight of a team on her shoulders if she wasn't feeling up to the job on cross-country morning. It proved to be a wise decision because she and Walter were untouchable.
With this unprecedented run of five-star form, all eyes turned to Badminton in the spring of 2026 – could they make history as the first ever three-time winners and confirm their legendary status? Of course they could! While it might have once again looked like child’s play for Walter, though, Ros didn’t have the easiest few days juggling her athlete persona with caring for new arrival Seneh who, at three months old, took priority. However, lack of sleep, hormones, 'baby brain' and breast feeding were all manged expertly by Ros to make victory even more hard-fought.
Ros once said, “A horse like him should be celebrated – I’ve never sat on anything quite like him.” Don’t worry Walter, the world celebrates you for the legend you are.
international Personal bests
| CCI4*/CCI5* dressage score | CCI4*/CCI5* finishing score |
|---|---|
| 21.6 | 22.8 |
| Haras du Pin CH-EU (2023) | Hartpury CCI4*-S (2025) |
Charlotte Fry
- Age: 36
- Based in: Salperton, Gloucestershire
- World ranking: 7
Laura had her call-up to the British Pony team back in 2005 with Noble Springbok, where they won team gold and individual bronze. Following this success, she was then selected to represent Britain on the Junior team in 2006 with Fernhill Sox (team gold and individual bronze), then again in 2007, where she brought home double gold with Rayef.
In 2009, Laura won the National Under-21 Championship title and was also selected to represent Britain at Young Rider level, where she earned team and individual gold titles.
After receiving her first senior squad selection in 2011 with Rayef for the FEI European Championships in Luhmühlen, she was selected for Blair European Championships in 2015 with Grand Manoeuvre. She also competed as an individual at the European Championships in Luhmühlen in 2019 with London 52.
A coveted first CCI5* victory came at Pau in 2021 with London 52, followed by the pair heading to Japan for the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games – they came home with team gold. Thoroughly on a roll, this was soon followed by them taking the Badminton Horse Trials title in May of this year.
After just missing out on a team medal at the World Championships in Pratoni in 2022, Laura and London 52 travelled to Luhmühlen in June 2023, where they added another CCI5* title to their collection with a personal best finishing score of 20.3. This was swiftly followed by selection for the FEI Eventing European Championship later that summer, where they helped the team to a gold medal and individual ninth place.
In 2024, Laura and London 52 were selected for Paris 2024, to defend the team gold medal they won for Team GB at the previous Games. During the dressage phase, they smashed the Olympic eventing dressage record – previously 19.2 and held by David O'Connor of the USA – with a score of 17.5. On the final day, they helped Team GB to retain their title, plus picked up an individual bronze.
On home soil in 2025, the duo was back in British colours for the FEI European Championships at the Agria Blenheim Palace Horse Trials. While fortune wasn’t with the British team, Laura and London 52 flew the flag to take gold – their first individual championship title – on a score of 27.0. Laura said afterwards; “I can’t really say it’s a dream come true because I don’t think I could have even dreamed it!”.
This FEI World Championship marks a seventh consecutive championship call-up for Laura and London 52 – true testament to their partnership and talent.
Previous senior championship appearances
- FEI Eventing European Championship 2025 (individual gold)
- Paris 2024 Olympic Games (team gold, individual bronze)
- FEI Eventing European Championship 2023 (team gold)
- FEI Eventing World Championship 2022
- Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games (team gold)
- FEI Eventing European Championship 2019
- FEI Eventing European Championship 2015
- FEI Eventing European Championship 2011
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London 52
- Known as: Dan
- Owners: Karen Bartlett, Keith Scott and Laura Collett
- Colour: Bay
- Sex: Gelding
- Age: 17yrs
- Height: 16.3hh
- Bloodlines: Landos x Quinar
- Breeder: Ocke Riewerts GER
- Groom: Tilly Hughes
Dan began his competitive career in Germany as a showjumper. Laura spotted him while on a horse shopping trip in 2016, and immediately got on the phone to persuade Karen Bartlett and Keith Scott – who already had horses with her – to help her buy him. He made his eventing debut at the BE100 at Nunny, where he finished on his sub-30 dressage score – a good indicator of what was to come.
Since making his international debut in 2017, Dan has rarely finished outside the top 10. With Laura, he made his championship debut in 2019 at the European Championship in Luhmühlen, where they unfortunately parted company in the water complex on cross-country day. This was nothing more than a blip on the road to top-level success, though – they now hold three of the top five CCI5* finishing scores, thanks to wins at Les Etoiles du Pau (2020), Badminton (2022) and Luhmühlen (2023), and took home team gold at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and FEI Eventing World Championship in 2023.
Of their four international runs in the build-up to Paris 2024, all at CCI4*-S level, Laura and Dan won at Burnham Market and Bicton, finished fifth at Thoresby Park and were leading the first two phases at Luhmühlen before choosing to withdraw before the showjumping. Once they got to the Games, the pair broke the Olympic eventing dressage record on their way to securing team gold and individual bronze for Team GB.
A podium finish came at Luhmühlen CCI5* in 2025, where they led the first two phases but knocked a pole in the showjumping to drop down two placings – the only time they haven't won at the top level of the sport. However, it gave them ideal preparation for the FEI European Championship at Blenheim Palace later that year. While it wasn’t a happy hunting ground for the British team, Laura and Dan showed that they are the epitome of partnership when they won a hugely popular – and long awaited – individual gold.
This season Laura has carefully managed Dan’s preparations, with her eyes firmly on Aachen. They've had just three international CCI4* runs, with a win at Belsay and a second at Bicton as part of the FEI Nations Cup team.
As a character, Dan is very shy and it took Laura a while to give him the self-confidence needed to unlock his phenomenal talent. However, he adores a crowd and firmly believe that they're all there to see him. Laura describes him as her ‘horse of a lifetime’ and says that she’s ‘the luckiest girl in the world’ to be able to ride him.
International personal bests
| CCI4*/CCI5* dressage score | CCI4*/CCI5* finishing score |
|---|---|
| 17.5 | 19.8 |
| Paris 2024 Olympic Games (2024) | Burnham Market CCI4*-S (2024) |
Caroline harris
- Age: 36
- Based in: Stroud, Gloucestershire
- World ranking: 26
Caroline grew up in London as part of a non-horsey family. Her dad sent her and her sister to have riding lessons – although not initially keen, a bit of sibling rivalry meant that Caroline stuck with it until she was eventually bitten by the horsey bug. When she was 10, her family moved to the countryside and she got her first pony.
In her late teens, she based herself with Australian CCI5* winner Sam Griffiths at his Dorset yard, where she stayed for 10 years.
Caroline has ridden at the FEI Eventing Young Horses World Championship at Le Lion d'Angers, most notably finishing fourth with Cooley Mosstown in 2023. She's appeared on a number of FEI Eventing Nations Cup teams, including Boekelo in 2023 and Lignieres in 2024 – Great Britain finished second on both of these occasions.
Currently, she's based at Captain Mark Phillips' Gloucesteshire base with Zara Tindall and Kiwi Clarke Johnstone, where she has her own string of around 18 horses. As an additional sideline alongside eventing, she pre-trains racehorses for trainer Jason Maguire.
Caroline shot to prominence with a stellar 2024 season that saw her win the CCI3*-S at Thoresby, CCI4*-S at Lignieres and Mallow, and finish the season with a fantastic win at Pau CCI5* in incredibly wet conditions.
In 2025, she ticked another box off her career card with a spot on the team that headed to the Nations Cup at CHIO Aachen, where she finished seventh individually with D. Day. That performance gave Caroline her first senior championship squad call-up, where they were nominated as individuals. A competitive dressage was followed by an uncharacteristic fall on the cross-country, which ended their hopes of a dream debut.
In true style, the pair has bounced back this season with a win at the Luhmühlen CCI5*, finishing on their dressage score of 31.1, which was decisive in earning them a spot in the squad for their first FEI World Championships appearance.
A win at the end of July in the CCI2*-S with the up-and-coming Cooley Riddle Master at Alnwick shows Caroline is in great from heading to Aachen.
Previous senior championship appearances
- FEI Eventing European Championship 2025
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D. Day
- Known as: D. Day
- Owners: Lucy Matthews, Fiona Olivier, Marie Anne Richardson and Heather Royle
- Colour: Bay
- Sex: Gelding
- Age: 12
- Height: 16.1hh
- Bloodlines: Billy Mexico x Dilum XX
- Breeder: Fiona Olivier GBR
- Groom: Nellie Smith
D. Day earned his name because he was born on 6 June – a date made famous by the D-Day landings on the Normandy beaches in 1944. He was bred by Fiona Olivier, has retains a part-ownership in him, as a happy hacker and hunter for her son's girlfriend at the time. After they split up, he made his way to Caroline, who started competing him in 2019. She saw him as a potential Junior or Young Rider horse who she could produce and sell on, but D. Day continued to climb up the levels and Caroline started to believe he could be made for bigger things.
They stepped up to CCI4* level in their 2022 season, finishing with a 16th place finish in the eight- and nine-year-old class at Blenheim. The following year, he gave Caroline her first Nations Cup appearance at Boekelo, then returned to Blenheim for a fourth place finish in the eight- and nine-year-olds CCI4*-L class.
A CCI5* debut came in 2024, when he and Caroline headed to Luhmühlen and finished in 12th place. Trips to Wellington and Cornbury House followed, before they picked up the win in the Nations Cup class at Lignières. Their final run was the CCI5* at Pau, which turned out to be one of the wettest on record. Despite the mud and heavy rain, they stormed round to take the win in a true underdog story.
Last year, two CCI4* dressage score finishes at Belsay and Bramham yielded top-eight placings, which gave Caroline and D. Day the chance to realise a dream in being selected for the Nations Cup at CHIO Aachen, where they finished seventh in a strong field. Further dreams came true when they were selected for a first senior championship squad call up on home soil at the Agria Blenheim Horse Trials. Competing as individuals, they started brightly with a 34.4 dressage but, on the Saturday, they were one of many to fall foul of Mark Phillips’s cross-country test with a fall – one of only three blemishes on a stellar six-year record.
In June this year, they recorded their second CCI5* win together at the prestigious Luhmühlen CCI5*. Not only were they the only combination to go clear inside the time on cross-country day, but they were a full 18 seconds faster than the optimum. A clear showjumping round added nothing to their dressage score of 31.1, handing them their second CCI5* title. This brought a call up for them to return to Aachen for their first FEI World Championships appearance.
Of her faithful campaigner, Caroline has said; "He’s just a little horse who gives you everything – he might not be big and flashy like some of the others, but he’ll always dig very, very deep and do his best.”
international Personal Bests
| CCI4*/CCI5* dressage score | CCI4*/CCI5* finishing score |
|---|---|
| 26.0 | 29.7 |
| Chatsworth CCI4*-S (2023) | Bramham CCI4*-S (2025) |
TOm Mcewen
- Age: 35
- Based in: Stroud, Gloucestershire
- World ranking: 5
Tom was born into an equestrian family – his mother was a showjumper, while his father and uncle are equine vets. He joined the VWH Pony Club as a child, competing on a number of championship teams in dressage and eventing, before moving on to representing Great Britain in eventing youth teams. Pony team gold came in 2007, followed by two team gold medals at Young Rider level in 2010 and 2011.
Tom was set to make his senior championship debut at the FEI Eventing European Championship in Malmö in 2013, but Diesel sadly failed the first horse inspection. After being short-listed for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, it took another two years before Tom finally secured the coveted team slot – he and Toledo de Kerser got a seat on the plane to the World Equestrian Games in Tryon in 2018, where they helped the team to gold. Tom made his Olympic debut at the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in 2021, coming home with team gold and individual silver.
After finishing third at CHIO Aachen in 2022, Tom and Toledo clocked up a second FEI Eventing World Championship in Pratoni del Vivaro in 2022, where they finished in 12th individually and the British team were fourth. This was also the year that Tom began his partnership with former Nicola Wilson ride JL Dublin.
In 2022, Tom and JL Dublin headed across the Atlantic for the CCI5* at Kentucky, where they finished as runners-up behind home favourites Tamie Smith and Mai Baum. This was followed by a call-up for the FEI Eventing European Championship that summer, where they put in a very competitive dressage test but sadly parted company on a tricky cross-country course.
In 2023, Tom has notched up two second placings at CCI5* – one at Kentucky CCI5* with JL Dublin, in a repeat of the previous year, and again at the Luhmühlen CCI5* with CHF Cooliser.
Tom made his second Games appearance when he and JL Dublin were selected to represent Team GB at Paris 2024. They helped the team achieve gold and finished agonisingly close to the individual podium in fourth – the highest-placed pair to finish on their dressage score.
In front of the home crowd at the Agria Blenheim Palace European Championships, Tom and JL Dublin picked up their first individual medal – a bronze – as a pair. Tom went on to take individual gold at the FEI World Young Horse Championships at Le Lion d’Angers in October with rising star Brookfield Danny de Muze.
In 2026, alongside his busy eventing career, Tom rode at his first international jumping competition, recording three top-12 placings with Kilcannon Mischief in Monte Carlo. With six international eventing wins to his credit already this season, it’s clear that his eventing skill is only benefitting from the extra jumping practice.
Tom married his long-term partner, Harriet, in 2023 and they saw the arrival of their first child, Dougie, later the following year.
Previous senior championship Appearances
- FEI Eventing European Championship 2025 (individual bronze)
- Paris 2024 Olympic Games (team gold)
- FEI Eventing European Championship 2023
- FEI Eventing World Championship 2022
- Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games (team gold, individual silver)
- FEI World Equestrian Games 2018 (team gold)
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JL dublin
- Known as: Dubs
- Owners: James and Jo Lambert and Deirdre Johnston
- Colour: Dark brown
- Sex: Gelding
- Age: 15
- Height: 16.2hh
- Bloodlines: Diarado x Cantano
- Breeder: Volker Göttsche-Götze GER
- Groom: Adam Short
Dubs was born and bred in Germany, where he was found by Nicola Wilson as a four-year-old while she was on a horse-shopping trip with James and Jo Lambert. The Lamberts purchased a half-share in Dubs, with the other half going to Deirdre Johnston, the wife of racehorse trainer Mark Johnston. The JL prefix – which was added because there was already a horse named Dublin registered with British Eventing – stands for Johnston and Lambert.
Dubs started eventing with Nicola in 2016 and notched up three wins at BE100 level in his first season. He finished second at the Young Horse Championships at Osberton as a six-year-old, before placing fifth at the seven-year-old World Championships at Le Lion d'Angers the following year.
In 2021, Dubs received his senior championship call-up when he and Nicola were selected for the FEI Eventing European Championship in Avenches. They took an early lead on the opening day of dressage with a score of 20.9, before dropping to third behind Ingrid Klimke and SAP Hale Bob OLD of Germany and team mates Ros Canter and Allstar B on day two. A thrilling cross-country phase saw them retake pole position, which they carried through the showjumping to take individual gold and help Britain to team gold.
The following year, Dubs and Nicola head to Badminton for the horse's CCI5* debut. A serious fall on the cross-country course saw Nicola unable to continue Dubs' career, so the gelding moved to Tom's yard. Their first run together was in August 2022, before finishing the season with second place at Boekelo CCI4*-L.
In April 2023, Tom and Dubs headed across the pond to contest the Kentucky CCI5*, where they finished in second behind home favourites Tamie Smith and Mai Baum, after picking up some time penalties across the country. At CHIO Aachen at the end of June, they were the two-phase leaders heading into cross-country, but an unfortunate run-out saw them drop down the order. The unfortunate run of luck continued – they received a call-up to compete as individuals at the FEI Eventing European Championship later that summer, but sadly parted company on the cross-country course.
Keen to put this behind them, they ended their 2023 season at the Pau CCI5* in France, where they finished in third.
In 2024, they came back fighting. Of their three international runs, they won the CCI4*-S at Kronenberg, and finished second at the Kentucky CCI5* – in a repeat of the year before – and Luhmühlen CCI4*-S. This secured them selection for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, where they won team gold and were fourth individually as the highest place pair to finish on their dressage score.
Dubs and Tom finished ninth at Badminton CCI5* last year to prove their form ahead of the FEI European Championships at Blenheim, and headed to Oxfordshire in fine fettle after scoring a win at Alwick CCI4*-S just weeks before. They got off to an ideal start with a dressage of 26.2 to leave them third individually and the British team second going in to cross-country. A now infamous day of bad fortune for his fellow Brits – apart from Olympic teammate Laura Collett – put pay to medals for the team, but the third quickest cross-country round of the day kept Tom and Dubs in the individual hunt. A trademark clear on Sunday clinched the bronze for the duo, marking their first individual medal together.
Tom now knows Dubs inside and out and has carefully, but successfully, orchestrated their 2026 season for selection and now to peak for Aachen. Two CCI4*-S victories at Kronenberg and Bramham were the ideal preparation, topped off by a national Open Intermediate win at Upton House in July.
International Personal bests
| CCI4*/CCI5* dressage score | CCI4*/CCI5* finishing score |
|---|---|
| 20.9 | 23.5 |
| Kronenberg CCI4*-S (2024) | Kronenberg CCI4*-S (2026) |
Gemma stevens
- Age: 41
- Base: Horsham, West Sussex
- World ranking: 17
Gemma was born into a world of horses, with mum Marcelle Tattersall running a riding school. After representing Great Britain at Young Rider level in 2005 and 2006 – returning from both championships with a team gold medal – Gemma went on to complete both Badminton and Burghley in 2007, and was crowned Under-25 National Champion in 2010.
Gemma was named as a reserve for the World Equestrian Games squad in 2014, but received her first senior call up with ex-racehorse Arctic Soul a year later for the European Championships hosted at Blair Castle. The following year, she made her Olympic Games debut in Rio with Quicklook V.
In 2017, Gemma became the first woman to win a leg of the Event Rider Masters series, at Chatsworth in May, and went on to take the series title. She and Arctic Soul also finished first at The Festival of British Eventing and third at Burghley, before taking fourth place at Badminton. The same year, Gemma and Quicklook V were selected to compete as individuals at the FEI European Championship, where they finished eight.
In 2018, Gemma and Arctic Soul travelled to Tryon as part of the British team for the World Equestrian Games, contributing to a team gold – her first senior championship medal. The next year, they were crowned British Open Champions at Gatcombe Park. A runners-up spot at Pau CCI5* with Pamero finished off her season nicely.
There was a string of top seven finishes in the following years, before she formed a strong alliance with long-term eventing supporter Chris Stone.
In partnership with Chris and his wife Lisa, Gemma has built up an impressive stable of descendants of legendary eventing stallion Chilli Morning, who was on the same team at Rio as Gemma when he was partnered by William Fox-Pitt. Notable progeny include Chilli Knight, with whom Gemma won her first CCI5* title at Bicton in 2021, and Jalapeno III. Along with Chilli Morning's talented offspring, she also has a direct clone of the stallion in the form of Chilli Morning IV, with whom she won the World Breeding Championships in 2024.
Her 2026 campaign with Flash Cooley got off to a flyer, with a pair of second placings in CCI4*-S classes at Poplar Park and Kronenberg. Selection hopes were further boosted with a win at the new Royal Jump CCI4*-L fixture in France, which proved enough to clinch a place in the FEI World Championship squad for Aachen – Gemma's first team place since 2018 and the culmination of what she's dubbed her 'rebuilding phase'.
Gemma combines a busy eventing calendar with jumping at the very top level, having competed up to five-star level at venues including the London International Horse Show and Hickstead, with a best finish of sixth place in the iconic Derby with Envoy Merelsnest Z.
In 2022, she tied the knot with Gary Stevens, who proposed to her at the press conference following her five-star win at Bicton the previous year.
Previous senior championship appearances
- FEI World Equestrian Games 2018 (team gold)
- Rio Olympic Games 2016
- FEI European Championships 2015
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Flash Cooley
- Known as: Casper (or Cassy to his close friends)
- Owner: Pru Dawes
- Colour: Grey
- Sex: Gelding
- Age: 14
- Height: 16.1hh
- Bloodlines: CSF Mr Kroon x OBOS Qaulity
- Breeder: Jim O’Neill IRL
- Groom: Georgie Driver
Casper started his eventing career in the hands of Liz Halliday-Sharp. They had four seasons together – included a truncated one in 2020 as a result of COVID-19 – and achieved top-5 finished at CCI3* level, before the ride passed to Gemma in time for the 2021 season.
The pair gelled quickly, winning their second event together – a OI at Aston-le-Walls in March 2021. They added a further top-five finishes, including a win at the CCI3*-S at Burgham, to their record for the season.
The strong results continued the following year, with two more wins and their first team appearance together for the Nations Cup at Houghton. As part of Gemma's burgeoning showjumping career, they headed to Hickstead in July to take part in the Eventers Challenge, which combines show jumps with rustic cross-country fences in the famous Derby arena. A blisteringly fast clear round saw them take the win.
Now comfortably established at CCI4* level, their 2023 season saw a second placing at the long-format class at Millstreet in Ireland. They also made their first trip to Aachen, where they finished 24th individually in the Nations Cup class.
Flash Cooley missed 2024 through injury, but returned to Millstreet in 2025 to go one better and win the CCI4*-L class. This was swiftly followed by a third-place finish at CHIO Aachen. Their season finished with a win in the CCI4*-S at Lignieres in France.
A strong 2026 spring season finally cinched Gemma her long-awaited return to the British squad, after appearing on nominated entry lists with Flash Cooley in 2023 and 2025. They finished second at the CCI4*-S at both Kronenberg and Burnham Market, before going to win the inaugral CCI4*-L at Royal Jump in France.
international Personal bests
| CCI4*/CCI5* dressage score | CCI4*/CCI5* finishing score |
|---|---|
| 24.4 | 24.4 |
| Royal Jump CCI4*-L (2026) | Royal Jump CCI4*-L (2026) |