Matt & Scrappy’s Unforgettable Success at the RDA National Championships 2026!
10th July - 12th July 2026
I am delighted to make my return to competing at the Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) National Championships 2026, held at Hartpury University & College alongside Scrappy, as one of the competitors representing Scropton RDA Group, which has been an incredible feeling to be competing again since 2018!
After building a year of impressive partnership with Scrappy, we were both really excited to compete over the weekend: RDA Show Jumping Level 3 plus (60cm) and the RDA Grade 3 Dressage Championship classes, as we are hoping for a successful weekend together, repeating the success I had from the RDA National Championship with Womble eight years ago.
We started the weekend with our RDA Showjumping Level 3 plus class, which included nine jumps set at 60cm. We were warming up and ready to begin the show jumping course on Saturday afternoon. It was a solid round for us, although we knocked down a pole at fence six because Scrappy went too fast after fence five. We rode very well towards the end, finishing joint third with a score of 78% and two penalties. We are proud of this achievement shared between us. Additionally, it was our new personal best score, breaking the previous record from North Midlands RDA Regional Show Jumping Qualifiers a few months ago with a score of 72.33%, so we are delighted to achieve this too.
RDA Show Jumping Level 3 plus (60cm)
3rd place - 78%
Following the success of RDA Showjumping, we rode down the centreline for the RDA Dressage Grade 3 Championship class the next morning, in front of judge Moira Richardson. During the test, we noticed a few errors and corrected them quickly, especially in the second 20m circle when Scrappy went to canter, but we delivered outstanding trot work, which earned some 8s from the judge, very well deserved for both of us. I feel very proud to have scored a cracking 71.18%, which we won the class, and becoming overall class champion was the best thing we could get from the weekend. Scrappy and I also broke the personal best score record of 69.70%, set at the North Midlands RDA Regional Dressage Qualifiers a few months ago at Belvoir Vale RDA - it was brilliant to achieve it too!
RDA Dressage Grade 3 Championship Class
1st place - 71.18% and overall class champion
We were also proud to be featured on the Stable Podcast livestream aired by RDA, showing some action of us in Showjumping, and some behind the scenes shots of us getting ready in the stables on Saturday. I also did some volunteering as a Championship volunteer on Friday, capturing some photos.
I could not be prouder of Scrappy after everything we’ve build as a partnership and coming to the championships with some fantastic results showing how brilliant we are. Thank you to the team at Scropton Riding for the Disabled Group for helping us get to where we are today, and a big thank you to everyone who supported our journey; we wouldn’t be here without YOU!
Image credit: Top Shots Photography and Louise Clarke Photography