Fiona Bigwood

Fiona Bigwood is one of Britain’s most experienced dressage riders, with an international career spanning three decades. She has represented Britain at multiple championships, winning team silver at the 2010 World Equestrian Games (WEG), team silver at the 2015 Europeans, and team silver at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Fiona was a member of the British team at the 1993 junior European Championships and the young rider European Championships from 1994 to 1996, becoming, aged 21, the youngest British rider ever selected for a senior European Championships, with Dance & Fly.

She was shortlisted for WEG 1998, was ranked number one in the British Puffa International Rider Rankings that year, and represented Britain at the 1999 and 2005 Europeans. The team silvers followed: the 2010 WEG in Kentucky, then the 2015 Europeans in Aachen five years later.

On 26 April 2014, Fiona fell off a horse in a freak accident at a local show and sustained a major concussion. Her vision was left seriously impaired after an eye nerve was damaged, and she has at times ridden with an eye patch since.

That 2015 European silver came riding Atterupgaards Orthilia – also known as Tillie. Although they qualified for the grand prix special, the mare developed extreme sensitivity across her back after her team test in pouring rain, ruling her out of the individual competition.

Fiona and Tillie were then selected for Rio 2016, scoring 77.16% in the grand prix and 74.34% in the special to qualify for the freestyle, where they scored 76.02%.

Tillie was sold to Danish grand prix rider Agnete Kirk Thinggaard in early 2017. Since then, Fiona has combined competing with a breeding project at her West Sussex base, Brantridge Park, producing horses including Quinn G, whom she rode to world young horse titles at six and seven.

Her return to the top level has come via Donna Bella – fittingly, a homebred daughter of Tillie – who made her international grand prix debut in 2025 before a rapid rise through 2026 that included a Nations Cup outing alongside Carl Hester and Lottie Fry at Fontainebleau.

That form earned Fiona and Donna Bella selection for Britain’s team for the World Championships in Aachen, joining Carl and Fame, Lottie Fry and Glamourdale, and Becky Moody and Jagerbomb on the team – with Donna Bella’s dam, Tillie, having won team silver for Britain at the same venue back in 2015.