Meet our equine partners

Gareth Hughes

British dressage rider, European Champion and World Championship medallist

Quick facts

Full Name

Gareth Hughes

Born

1 April 1971, Yorkshire, England

Discipline

Dressage

Base

Hughes Dressage, Warwickshire

Meet Gareth Hughes

Born in Yorkshire and raised in Australia, Gareth Hughes spent his childhood competing across several equestrian disciplines before focusing on dressage. After returning to Britain, he steadily built his reputation as both a rider and trainer, establishing his own yard in 2001. Ten years later, Gareth and his wife, fellow international dressage rider Rebecca Hughes, founded Hughes Dressage at their base in Warwickshire.

Gareth made his senior championship debut for Great Britain at the 2013 European Championships in Herning, winning team bronze with DV Stenkjers Nadonna. The pair returned to championship competition the following year, helping Britain secure team silver at the 2014 World Equestrian Games in Normandy.

A person in riding attire waves while seated on a brown horse in an equestrian arena.

His partnership with Classic Briolinca brought further international success. At the 2019 European Championships in Rotterdam, Gareth was Britain’s highest-placed rider in both the Grand Prix Special and Freestyle. In 2022, they helped Great Britain win World Championship team silver in Herning, securing the nation’s qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

The highlight of their partnership came at the 2023 European Championships in Riesenbeck, where Gareth and Classic Briolinca helped Great Britain claim its first European team dressage title since 2011. Alongside his international career, Gareth has won numerous national titles, including the 2022 British National Dressage Championship, and remains one of Britain’s most respected riders, trainers and producers of Grand Prix horses.

The story so far

1
1 European Championship Gold Medal
Team, Riesenbeck 2023
2
2 World Championship Silver Medals
Team, Normandy 2014 and Herning 2022
3
1 European Championship Silver Medal
Team, Hagen 2021
4
1 European Championship Bronze Medal
Team, Herning 2013
5
1 British National Championship Title
2022
6
1 Olympic Reserve Selection
Tokyo 2020

Key achievements

2013 FEI European Championships, Herning
Made his senior championship debut for Great Britain and won team bronze with DV Stenkjers Nadonna.
2014 FEI World Equestrian Games, Normandy
Helped Great Britain secure team silver with DV Stenkjers Nadonna.
2017 FEI European Championships, Gothenburg
Selected for the British team with Don Carissimo, but the combination was forced to withdraw before competing after the horse sustained an injury.
2019 FEI European Championships, Rotterdam
Britain’s highest-placed rider in both individual competitions with Classic Briolinca, finishing seventh in the Grand Prix Special and tenth in the Freestyle.
2021 Tokyo Olympic Games
Selected as Britain’s travelling reserve with Sintano Van Hof Olympia.
2021 FEI European Championships, Hagen
Won team silver with Sintano Van Hof Olympia and finished 15th individually in the Grand Prix Special.
2022 FEI World Championships, Herning
Helped Great Britain win team silver with Classic Briolinca, securing qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
2022 British Dressage National Championships
Crowned British National Champion with Classic Briolinca.
2023 FEI European Championships, Riesenbeck
Helped Great Britain win team gold with Classic Briolinca, the nation’s first European team dressage title since 2011.

The Horses

Mowgli

Born: 2007

Height: 17.3 hh

Colour: Chesnut

Owned By: Hughes Family and Georgina Wilkinson

Career Highlights: First Year at Grand Prix short listed for the World Equestrian Games

Personality: Cheeky

Favourite Treat: Any food

Why Agria?

“We became a partner with Agria because of what the brand stood for in the equestrian world, the fact that their priority was the horse's welfare throughout their life.”

Gareth Hughes

Agria Partner