Winter brings every level to Willinga Park
Dressage@Willinga returned to Willinga Park from Friday 24 July to Sunday 26 July 2026, attracting 324 entries across the three-day competition program.
Friday opened the competition with Test of Choice classes before the official program moved from Preliminary through to Grand Prix on Saturday and Sunday. Para equestrian and Virtus competition formed an important part of the event, while clinics and training earlier in the week gave riders the opportunity to prepare on the grounds before entering the competition arenas.
While Dressage by the Sea CDI is Willinga Park’s international showcase, Dressage@Willinga has established an important role of its own. Held in July, the event brings together riders from Preliminary through to Grand Prix and gives a broader cross section of the sport the opportunity to compete at Willinga Park. For combinations outside the CDI program held earlier in the year, it offers the chance to make the South Coast’s most remarkable destination part of their own competition story.
The result was a program that brought riders and horses across the levels, para combinations, young riders and established Grand Prix partnerships into the same competition week, with progression through the levels as visible as the final placings.
Tupper and Il Mondo rise to the Grand Prix
Sunday’s Grand Prix delivered the headline result as Kodi Tupper and Il Mondo rose to the top on 66.123%.
Il Mondo is a 2013 KWPN gelding by Johnson out of Ra Shell, by Houston, and is owned by Tupper’s mother, Karma Wilson.
Still a new combination, Tupper and Il Mondo finished ahead of Megan Keir and Revelwood Queens County on 65.290%, with Susan Elekessy and Callum Park Geneva third on 63.913%.
The result gave the partnership an important victory at the highest level of the program and provided a fitting conclusion to three days of competition at Willinga Park.
Keir and Revelwood Queens County had already placed second in Saturday’s Intermediate II on 65.588%. Their consistency across the two Big Tour tests saw them named Dressage@Willinga Big Tour Champions.
Rizzuto sets the standard across two levels
Sally Rizzuto emerged as one of the standout riders of the event, winning both official Medium tests aboard BC Memphis.
The combination led Saturday’s Medium 4.2 on 72.095% before lifting to 73.846% in Sunday’s Medium 4.3. Their average of 72.971% was the highest recorded across the Dressage@Willinga champion divisions and earned them the Medium Champion title.
Rizzuto also partnered Quarterland to victory in Sunday’s Intermediate I on 69.706%. The class remained close to the final movement, with just 0.368 percentage points separating the top four. Sally-ann Quigley and Istan de Azul finished second on 69.632%, Maddison Vallender and Isla Bonita 10 placed third on 69.412%, and Kaila Simms and Arnage Total Bliss finished fourth on 69.338%.
Three victories across two levels and two horses made Rizzuto’s weekend one of the most complete performances of Dressage@Willinga.
Simms delivers from Novice to Small Tour
Kaila Simms was the only rider to be named champion in two divisions, producing results with horses at very different stages of their development.
With Arnage Total Bliss, Simms won Friday’s FEI Prix St Georges Test of Choice on 70.294% and followed with victory in Saturday’s Prix St Georges on 69.706%. The Australian bred Hanoverian gelding, by Totilas out of Desiree IMP, was placed first by both judges in the 17 horse class.
Their fourth place in Sunday’s Intermediate I completed an official two test average of 69.522% and earned the combination the Dressage@Willinga Small Tour Champion title.
Simms also partnered Hollands Bend Secret Empress to second place in Saturday’s Novice 2.2 on 66.953% before winning Sunday’s Novice 2.3 on 69.714%. Their average of 68.334% secured the Novice Champion title.
Thompson shows the depth of his team
John Thompson recorded ten podium finishes across the three competition days, with Zaire MI, Finesse MI, MI Toto and Franka MI all featuring in the top three from Elementary through to Advanced.
Zaire MI was unbeaten across the weekend. Thompson and the gelding won Friday’s Elementary 3.2 Test of Choice on 67.875%, Saturday’s official Elementary 3.2 on 71.813% and Sunday’s Elementary 3.3 on an even 70.000% from both judges. Their official average of 70.907% secured the Dressage@Willinga Elementary Champion title.
Finesse MI finished second in each of the three Medium tests across the weekend, scoring 68.716% on Friday, 71.622% on Saturday and 71.154% on Sunday.
At Advanced level, Thompson won Friday’s Advanced 5.1 Test of Choice with MI Toto on 71.171%, then placed third in Saturday’s official Advanced 5.1 on 68.514% and fourth in Sunday’s Advanced 5.2 on 66.118%. Franka MI placed second on Friday with 65.991% and returned to finish second in Sunday’s Advanced 5.2 on 67.171%.
Khloe MI also remained among the leading Medium combinations, sharing fifth place on Saturday before tying for fourth in Sunday’s Medium 4.3 on 70.641%.
Across five horses and three levels, Thompson’s results showed the breadth of his team at Dressage@Willinga.
Vallender claims Young Rider honours
Maddison Vallender arrived with a recently imported mare and a partnership shaped through months of training in Germany.
Isla Bonita 10, known as Ivy, is a 2017 Hanoverian mare by Asgard’s Ibiza out of Sangora, by San Amour I. After trying more than ten horses in Europe, Vallender felt the right connection from their first ride.
Finding Ivy prompted her move to Germany, where she spent several months based with Australian Olympian William Matthew. The time allowed the pair to train, compete and establish their partnership before the mare travelled to Australia.
At Dressage@Willinga they placed second in Saturday’s Prix St Georges on 68.676% and third in Sunday’s Intermediate I on 69.412%. Their average of 69.044% earned Vallender and Isla Bonita 10 the Dressage@Willinga Young Rider Champion title.
Vallender also campaigned Ronan R in the Big Tour, placing fourth in Saturday’s Intermediate II on 63.015% and fourth again in Sunday’s Grand Prix.
Wins across the upper levels
Robbie McKinnon recorded victories with two horses at different stages of the upper-level program.
McKinnon and SPH Fortino led Saturday’s Intermediate II on 69.779%, placing first with both judges. Their test received 71.912% from the judge at C, while the judge at E awarded a nine for the extended trot.
With Woodside Quebec, McKinnon placed third in Saturday’s Prix St Georges on 67.132% before winning Sunday’s Advanced 5.2 on 69.013%.
Deon Stokes also featured across Advanced and Medium. Stokes and Freycinet II won Saturday’s Advanced 5.1 on 71.419% and placed third in Sunday’s Advanced 5.2 on 66.908%. Their average of 69.164% earned the Dressage@Willinga Advanced Champion title.
Stokes also placed third in both official Medium tests with MP Phoenix Rising, scoring 71.351% on Saturday and 71.026% on Sunday. He also partnered Onwies EB to fourth place on Saturday and equal fourth in Sunday’s Medium 4.3 on 70.641%.
Celeste Amezdroz and SF Austin were named Dressage@Willinga Medium Tour Champions with a two-test average of 67.382%. Their weekend included victory in Saturday’s Intermediate A on 68.750%, ahead of Susan Elekessy and Callum Park Damascus on 64.044% and Linda Krogh and Fame on 61.618%.
Competition runs deep through the levels
Beyond the headline results, the Preliminary and Novice classes produced their own closely contested performances, while Friday’s Test of Choice program gave combinations an additional opportunity to establish their form before the official Saturday and Sunday classes.
Pamela Bice and Bloomfield Flamenco won Saturday’s Preliminary 1.2 on 71.071%, ahead of Kelly Ralph and KL Resignation on 69.286% and Katie Ferguson and Greenwood Cosmic Dancer on 68.482%. Ralph and KL Resignation then placed fourth in Sunday’s Preliminary 1.3 on 67.604%, with their consistency producing a two test average of 68.445% and the Preliminary Champion title.
Jessica Robinson and Macarthur Secret Star won Sunday’s Preliminary 1.3 on 69.063% and also finished second in the Novice 2.3 on 69.286%. Katie Ferguson and Greenwood Cosmic Dancer finished third in both Preliminary tests and also placed third in Saturday’s Novice 2.2.
Saturday’s Novice 2.2 went to Rachael Simmons and Malrose Fleurette on 68.203%. Friday’s Novice 2.2 Test of Choice had been won by Charlotte Byrne and TS Lady Ashberry on 69.375%, marking a successful first visit to Willinga Park for the young rider from Burradoo.
Friday’s Test of Choice program also saw Katharine Farrell and Aber Fashion MI win the Medium 4.2 on 69.797%, while Susan Elekessy and Callum Park Geneva took the Grand Prix.
A comeback that meant more than the scores
For Victoria Davies and Sonnensterne, the weekend carried a significance that extended well beyond the scoreboard.
Sonnensterne arrived after two months out of work, while Davies had completed only six short rides before Dressage@Willinga. With no expectations placed on the weekend, they left Willinga Park as the Dressage@Willinga Overall Para Champions.
Competing in the FEI Grade II Para Grand Prix on Sunday, the combination scored 70.690% in Test A and 70.417% in Test B. One judge awarded them 73.103% in the opening test, while their two test average of 70.554% placed them at the top of the overall para standings.
Davies had spent seven months recovering from multiple leg fractures, managing ongoing pain and learning new ways to move and ride. She had also lost Eddy, the PRE stallion Andaluka Elegido, only days before the competition. He had been part of her para dressage career for more than a decade. The trip to Willinga Park was meant simply to be a day with her husband Michael and Stella, doing something they loved and allowing competition to feel enjoyable again.
Sonnensterne is a 2017 Warmblood mare by Sun and Fun out of LL Tarandra. She represents an important new chapter for Davies, who represented Australia at the Tokyo Paralympic Games with Celere and finished ninth in the Grade II Individual Test.
The para program spans four grades
Beyond Davies and Sonnensterne’s Grade II championship, four more combinations completed the para program across Grades III, IV and V.
Amylie Hines and River Park Sienna contested the FEI Grade III Para Intermediate tests, scoring 66.548% in Test A and 63.548% in Test B.
Heidi Ford and Rikaardt H improved across their FEI Grade V Para Grand Prix tests, moving from 65.256% in Test A to 66.579% in Test B. Ford bought Rikaardt as a rising three year old and produced him herself. The Friesian gelding later became central to her return to riding after cancer treatment, with the combination named to the Australian High Performance Para Dressage Squad in 2025.
Chelsea De Jonge and Finch Farm Washington also built across the weekend, recording 60.804% in the FEI Grade V Para Intermediate Test A before returning with 63.182% in Test B. De Jonge brought considerable Grade V experience to the partnership after previously winning consecutive Australian championships with Don Dancier.
At FEI Grade IV Para Novice level, Brooke Jones and Freemans Lodge Cheerleader produced two closely matched performances, to win the championship.
Five combinations completed ten tests across four grades, bringing performance, progress and some of the most personal stories of Dressage@Willinga.
Champions decided across two official tests
The Dressage@Willinga Champions were determined from the average of two official tests contested on Saturday and Sunday. The format rewarded combinations able to reproduce their best work across both days.
- Preliminary Champion: Kelly Ralph and KL Resignation
- Novice Champion: Kaila Simms and Hollands Bend Secret Empress
- Elementary Champion: John Thompson and Zaire MI
- Medium Champion: Sally Rizzuto and BC Memphis
- Advanced Champion: Deon Stokes and Freycinet II
- Small Tour Champion: Kaila Simms and Arnage Totil Bliss
- Medium Tour Champion: Celeste Amezdroz and SF Austin
- Big Tour Champion: Megan Keir and Revelwood Queens County
- Overall Para Champion: Victoria Davies and Sonnensterne
- Young Rider Champion: Maddison Vallender and Isla Bonita 10
EBM Group, a strong supporter of dressage at Willinga Park, provided cash prizes to each champion combination.
Across the program, the results showed the role Dressage@Willinga plays within Willinga Park’s annual dressage calendar. It allows riders to bring horses through the levels, gives
combinations room to build experience and places performances from Preliminary through to Grand Prix within the same event.
From Tupper and Il Mondo’s Grand Prix victory to Davies and Sonnensterne’s emotional return, and from the highest scoring Medium combination to the champions decided across ten divisions, Dressage@Willinga brought together the range of performances and partnerships shaping Australian dressage.
Source: Willinga Park press release
