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How to compete in BD Quest - individuals and teams can qualify for the chanpionships

By Kirsten Binnie


BRITISH Dressage (BD) Quest - for individual competitors and teams - has transformed dressage at grass roots level. Anyone can take part, they can represent themselves, a club or just be a group of friends or liveries.

Described by BD as "the perfect starting point for riders new to British Dressage", this year's BD Quest events are taking place at more venues than ever before in Scotland.


Kerry Balment.


For Team Quest you just need to organise a few friends as teams are made up of three or four members. Then you decide on a appropriate name and colours for your 'team outfit' and you are good to go.

Each team member can be competing at a different level, you could have two at Introductory, one at Preliminary and one at Novice, for example. It is also possible to have a few extra members and their equines, so they can dip in and out of the team competitions depending on other commitments or if they are their horses have an injury.

A maximum of seven riders can be registered along with an unlimited number of 'reserve' horses. Each team also chooses a team captain.

Each rider does their test in the four-strong team and the best three scores count. There are also two age groups, under 21 and Open. The team placings are worked out by adding the three highest percentages and then dividing by three to create an average - the team with the highest percentage wins and points are allocated.

A table of teams and individuals is published and updated regularly and the highest placed teams qualify for a championships at Netherton Equestrian, Perth. Riders do not have to wear traditional jackets - they can have gilets made up in their chosen team colours with their names displayed so they still look smart with a stock and shirt, but are not bound by convention to wear a hacking or show jacket.

Once a team has been formed, named and colours for the team chosen, the captain registers with BD Quest at teamquest@britishdressage.co.uk

Gordon Dressage Group in Aberdeenshire formed their team – named ‘For Piaffe’s Sake’ – of Kerry Balment (ACHN Jump The Red), Lottie Mcdonald (Llanfyllin Delia), Amy Louise Forbes (Old Meadow Niall), Charisse Deigan (Rusty Boy) and team captain Allison Bruce (Thorneyside Casino) – and four of them travelled to the championships at Arena UK in 2025.

 

Some members of the Gordon Dressage Group Quest team. 


Team captain for 2026, Kerry Balment, said: "Despite Storm Claudia making an appearance, we had a ball!

“We had to contend with torrential rain, wild winds and a long journey – but nothing could dampen our spirits. The horses were absolute stars and the team showed incredible resilience and positivity. Despite the weather, the atmosphere was brilliant and the camaraderie unbeatable.”

The team finished 15th at the championships with Kerry 8th in the Preliminary MyQuest and 10th in the Novice MyQuest. At Gordon Dressage Group’s recent AGM she was also Quest Champion and the entire team were crowned Scottish Quest Team of the Year at the BD Scotland Ball.


Individual competitors

If being part of a team is not your thing then riders can compete as individuals fior the My Quest championships, it follows a similar format to Team Quest with qualifiers and has Under 21 and Open classes at Introductory, Preliminary and Novice.

The My Quest points are awarded at each show and each individual's five best My Quest percentages decide their place on the leaderboard. If you have competed in more than five shows, then your five best scores will count.

It is also possible to compete at two consecutive levels in My Quest so you can aim for two championships - for example, you could ride at Introductory and Preliminary level or at Preliminary and Novice level.


Semi-finals and championships

The semi-finals have a qualifying period which runs from January 1st to August 31st each year and those who quaify as a team or individually are invited to the Quest semi-final by email.

The first 10 teams in TeamQuest Open and Under 21 and the first 12 rider in MyQuest in Open and Under 21 qualify for their semi-final - in Scotland this is held at Netherton Equestrian in Perthshire on September 19th and 20th.

Teams and individuals need to select their semi-final venue and email teamquest@britishdressage.co.uk with the information. Any changes to teams or venues need to be made within two months of your first Quest competition, so if you first compete in March, you need to provide the information by May.


The championships

The Quest Championships 2026 take place at arena UK from November 13th to 14th where 30 My Quest individuals and 24 TeamQuest teams will compete.

In TeamQuest, the qualification is based on the teams on the relevant team semi-final leaderboard and in MyQuest the top three from each level in both categories qualify. The remaining championship places are decided by awarding Wild Cards based on semi-finals scores.

  • Membership of BD Club at least must be held by competitors to take part in Quest and there is no need to upgrade for the championships.

  • It costs just £63 to join and register your horse and this membership also allows you to compete at Petplan Area Festivals at Bronze level, in the Red Gorilla combined training classes and in dressage to music. Regional training can also be attended.


Quest Winter League

The Quest Winter League is a separate league run from 1st September to 31st December and requires a Quest Winter League membership of £12 for a rider and £6 for a horse, available from BD from August this year.

It includes TeamQuest and MyQuest and is suitable for anyone who is not a member of BD and wants to take part in a league during the winter months. BD members can also take part as long as they are eligible for the classes they are entering.

There is a national leader board for each section and points are awarded in a similar way to the Quest championships and updated every fortnight. The overall top three TeamQuest and MyQuest riders receive a prize and the top 10 in each level are awarded a league rosette.

Taking part in the winter league does not affect whether riders can compete at future Quest championships and the 70% rule does not apply which provides the chance to try the level above without horse and rider records being affected.


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