British Alicia Lee Moves Up to U25 with Two Horses, Bonita and Keystone Dynamite

Dressage

Great Britain

For British dressage rider Alicia Lee the 2020 corona year was not one of lockdown, but one of break out. Riding her first international ever at the CDI Grote Brogel in July 2020 and one month later her first European Championships, the now 22-year old has a bright future ahead of her with two horses to ride in the Under 25 division.

Based in Herefordshire, Lee grew up around horses and began competing in dressage at age 13 aboard her pony How's Murphy (by Charivari)

In 2014 the then 12-year old grey gelding Salentino (by Sunny Boy) became her competition horse for the year. In 2015 Bonita joined the ranks.

Bonita

Bonita is a 2009 born Hanoverian mare by Benetton Dream out of Piu Bella Cosa (by Prince Thatch xx x Weltmeyer x Karon). She is bred by Carsten Kuls and was previously owned by Christina Nyborg.

The dark bay mare began her show career in Germany in 2014 as a 5-year old under Anneke Löwenstrom-Clausen. Birgit Bösche soon took over the ride and competed her through L-level in 2015.

Bonita sold to the Lee family in the summer of 2015 and Alicia made her show debut on the mare in December 2015 at Allans Hill.

2020 On Fire

With Bonita at the 2020 CDI Grote Brogel

Trained by Darren Mattia and Carl Hester, Lee and Bonita were the shooting stars in the British Young Riders division in 2020.

After the first corona lockdown, they braved across the Channel to compete at the CDI Grote Brogel in Belgium, where they placed 7th in their first CDI class ever, the Prix St Georges, with 69.657%. In the individual test they were second with 71.765% and in the kur third with 73.658%.

Lee's Grote Brogel scores earned her the permission to compete at the 2020 European Young Riders Championships in Pilisjaszfalu, Hungary. Britain decided not to send teams to Hungary, but riders with high scores who wished to go self funded were given permission by British Dressage. Lee was one of two British young riders to make the journey to Hungary. They placed 17th in the team and individual test with 69.677% and 69.500% and qualified for the Freestyle finals. Unfortunately Bonita was rejected at the horse inspection before the freestyle.

Lee did not let a missed finals dampen her spirit and two months after the Europeans she made her Intermediaire II debut in Britain at the regional show at Kings Equestrian, where she earned a 73.95%. At the national show at Vale View in October she rode her first Under 25 tests, posting 63.51% in the Inter II and 65.31% in the short Grand Prix. In December at the regional show at Stourport, the scores were up again with 73.55% in the Inter II.

"For Bonita, grand prix is very new for us, so we are working on getting confident and stronger in the harder movements and transitions between them! It is a massive step up, so I am taking the time to ensure it’s polished," Lee revealed in a recent interview.

Time to Mambo: Keystone Dynamite

At the 2020 European Young Riders Championships

Now officially aged into the senior ranks as of 2021, Lee has moved on to the Under 25 Grand Prix division and decided on a career with horses.

Last year she graduated from Oxford Brookes University with a Real Estate degree, but has gone full time into horses. She runs her own small private training and livery yard at home. Backed up by her family with her mom having been an international event rider, Lee has grown up with horses and could not picture herself another life.

Alicia has now added a second Grand Prix horse to her collection and has two irons in the fire for the Under 25 division. Sadie Smith's internationally competed Grand Prix horse, Keystone Dynamite, will be campaigned by Lee in the future.

Keystone Dynamite is a 14-year old British bred Hanoverian by Dimaggio x Escudo, bred by Suzanne Davies. Under Sadie Smith, the chestnut gelding, who is amicably known as "Mambo", competed mainly at national level in the U.K., but has done two CDI's so far, one at small tour level at Bolesworth in 2018 and one in the big tour at Keysoe in October 2019.

"I am so grateful to Sadie for giving me this amazing opportunity with her beautiful boy," said Lee. "He is a real character and I can’t wait for our partnership to develop."

Smith added that, "a new chapter begins in my life as I become an owner, rather than rider of my beautiful boy (...). Mambo has been with me the last ten years and I don’t think I could have chosen a better partner. He has taught me so much not only to dust myself off and get back up again, but that with hard work and a lot of help you can achieve amazing things."