Ros Canter

British event rider Ros Canter – whose full name is Rosalind – is a former individual eventing world champion after finishing on the top spot of the individual podium at the 2018 World Equestrian Games (WEG) with Caroline Moore’s and her own 17.1hh warmblood gelding Allstar B (by Ephebe For Ever).

She has also held the world number one spot, in May 2019, and won Badminton Horse Trials in 2023 on Michele Saul’s Lordships Graffalo. In August 2023, she won the individual gold at the European Eventing Championships on Lordships Graffalo.

In 2024, Ros and Lordships Graffalo were part of the gold medal-winning team at the Paris Olympics. Later that year, they took top spot at Burghley Horse Trials.

Ros Canter takes the eventing individual gold medal at WEG 2018 on Allstar B.

Ros was born on 13 January 1986. She studied sport science at Sheffield Hallam University and then spent four years working for Judy Bradwell before setting up on her own after the 2011 season.

What height is Ros Canter?

Ros is a smaller rider – she is not quite 5ft 2in tall and weighs eight stone. Her best results have come with Allstar B, who is 17.1hh – a small rider and big horse might not seem like natural partnership, but they have built a brilliant partnership over the years.

What medals has Ros Canter won?

Ros Canter and Allstar B made their senior championship debut at the 2017 Europeans at Strzegom, Poland when they achieved a personal best dressage score, a clear cross-country round with 1.6 time-penalties and a clear showjumping round to finish fifth individually and help the British team secure the gold medal.

In 2018, Ros was selected for the WEG in Tryon, where the British team won gold and she was crowned individual world champion riding Allstar B.

Ros was initially a non-travelling reserve for the British squad for the Olympics in 2021, but was called up to go to Tokyo as the alternate with Allstar B after the withdrawal of Piggy March and Brookfield Inocent.

Ros and Allstar B were then selected for the European Championships in Avenches, Switzerland, in September 2021, where they were members of the gold-medal winning team, but had a couple of run-outs across country so finished down the individual order.

In 2022, Ros was a member of the British team at the World Championships in Pratoni del Vivaro, Italy, where she finished fourth individually on Lordships Graffalo.

In 2023, Ros and Lordships Graffalo won individual gold and led the Brits to team gold at the European Championships in Haras du Pin, France.

A year later, the pair contributed to Britain’s team gold at the Olympics in Paris.

What are Ros’s best five-star results?

Ros moved up to five-star level with Allstar B at Burghley Horse Trials in 2015, before heading to Badminton Horse Trials in the spring of 2016, where she withdrew after the dressage.

At Burghley 2016 she finished down the order, so she turned to Chris Bartle for advice, particularly with regard to riding faster across country, which paid dividends in improved results.

After her World Championships win, Ros said: “Chris has changed my style of riding so it’s a bit less intense – I ride with a longer rein and am better at letting the horses do their job and not helping out too much.

“It’s also about the confidence he instils – the horse does his job and the rider always has one to do too. When I went into the showjumping it was all about the process. My job was to keep my eyes up and my reins long and then the results happen.”

In 2017, Ros was fifth and best of the Brits at Badminton, but she topped that in 2022 when she claimed second at the event with Lordships Graffalo.

A year later, in 2023, Ros won Badminton with Lordships Graffalo, which marked her first win at five-star.

“People say it’s fulfilling a dream, but I don’t know if I even dreamt I could do it,” said Ros. “It will take a long time to sink in.

“Lordships Graffalo is the ultimate event horse; it’s what he lives and breathes for. He’s a busy little character when he’s not being ridden, so this job fits him perfectly.

“It’s a bit of a relief as well, I’m extremely excited for everyone who has put so much into my career so far. It takes an army.”

The 2023 Badminton winners, Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo. Credit: Peter Nixon

In October 2023, Ros won her second five-star of the year when she piloted Izilot DHI to victory at Pau Horse Trials on the horse’s first attempt at the level.

The following year, Ros piloted Lordships Graffalo to her first Burghley title, a special moment for her as this is her local five-star.

After her win, she said: “I’ve just had a text message from my two best friends from Pony Club days saying, ‘I can’t believe you just won the event that we came to every year together as children.’

“That sums it up, really, it is something that we’ve worked on for years, and I wasn’t sure I’d ever tick the Burghley box. The last few performances have been all right, but we’ve not quite made it. It just turns out you just need a horse like ‘Walter’, don’t you? He’s absolutely unreal. What a machine.”

Ros has also been third at Badminton 2018 on Allstar B and third at Luhmühlen Horse Trials in 2018 on Zenshera, with whom she has also finished fifth twice and seventh at Pau.

Has Ros had a baby?

Ros has one daughter, Ziggy, with her non-horsey but supportive husband Chris McAleese, who she met through her love of diving. She returned to eventing a month after giving birth in July 2019. Ros and Chris married in July 2022.

Where is Ros Canter’s yard?

Ros’s business is based in Hallington, Lincolnshire, at the family farm where she grew up.