Hayley Watson-Greaves' Career-Maker Rubins' Nite Passed Away

Dressage

Great Britain

Hayley Watson-Greaves said goodbye to her career making Grand Prix horse Rubins Nite, who passed away on 26 October 2025. He was 21 years old.

Rubins Nite was a British Hanoverian by Rubin Royal out of Little Wixi (by Limbo x World Cup II x Waidmannsheil). He is bred by E. Richmond-Watson.

From Young Horse to Grand Prix

Hayley Watson-Greaves scouted "Squeaks" as a two-year old and trained him from young horse level to Grand Prix. She was coached by Carl Hester along the way.

They made their national show debut at novice level in December 2008 when the gelding was four. Their first Prix St Georges test was ridden in the early summer of 2011. Their international small tour debut was in 2012 at the CDI Hartpury, where they scored 62.858% in the Prix St Georges. The next day in the Inter I the score was up to 67.158% and never went below 67 when they competed at the 2013 CDI's in Hartpury and Hickstead.

Their first Inter II test was at CDN Hartpury in July 2013, their first Grand Prix was at Bury Farm in November 2013.

A Decade of CDI's

The pair competed internationally for more than a decade, from 2012 till 2023, with more than 110 competition starts recorded in the FEI database.

Their international Grand Prix debut was at the CDI Addington in March 2014, where they posted 64.420 in the Grand Prix. The scores went upwards from there and they were immediately selected to represent the UK at the FEI Nations Cup in Hickstead that summer.

They were a steady choice for the selectors for CDIO representation and rode Rotterdam, Compiegne, and Aachen as well as the World Cup qualifiers in London, Lyon, Stuttgart, London Olympia, Amsterdam, Neumunster, 's Hertogenbosch. In 2016 they were named reserve for the British team for the Rio Olympics.

They became the 2017 British Grand Prix Champions and had their highlight season in the winter of 2017-2018 when they qualified for the World Cup Finals in Paris, where they finished 11th (75.347%).

They were in fact regulars at the British National Championships, finishing 7th in 2014, 3rd in 2015, 4th and 3rd in 2016, first in 2017, 4th in 2018, 8th in 2020, and 5th in 2022.

Retirement

Their last show in their career was the CDI Windsor in May 2023. The pair returned for one more public performance and "retirement party" at the 2023 British Dressage Convention on 25 November.

After a 2.5 year retirement from sport, Rubins Nite passed away.

"My beautiful, beloved boy Squeaks (Rubins Nite) was put to sleep on Sunday night after a short spell of colic that he sadly didn’t recover from," said Hayley. " He was the most incredible, special horse, my heart horse, who gave his all to me and to the world of dressage. He loved being in the limelight, dancing to his music, and he truly made me the rider and person I am today."

She continued, "we had the most special bond and partnership (which has spanned 19 years), one built on trust, respect, and love. Together we achieved things I could only ever have dreamed of… from our first international wins to representing our country on numerous occasions and competing on the world’s biggest stages against the very best. Every step of that journey with him was a privilege."

She concluded, "Thank you to Squeaks, for everything, for your spirit, the memories, for being my dance partner, my teacher, and my best friend. It has been the greatest honour and privilege to share my life with you."

Continuing Onwards

Watson-Greaves has not competed internationally since the retirement of Squeaks.

At national level in Britain, she's been showing a string of horses including Hezzel (by Laurent x Amoy), Optimist M (by Just Wimphof x Easy Game), Don't Stop Believing (by De Niro x Sandro Hit), Feels Like Gold (by Feedback x De Niro), and Lamborghini (by High Five US x United)