Laurentia Tan and Singapore Go for Gold at 2025 FEI Asian Championships Para Dressage

2025 FEI Asian Championships

-- FEI press release, edited by Eurodressage

Laurentia Tan continued to sweep gold medals at the 2025 FEI Asian Championships for para dressage riders. Hosted at the Thai Polo Club in Pattaya, Thailand, the Asian Championships first took place in 2019. This was the second edition and two nations fielded teams for para dressage.

Team Gold for Singapore

Singapore claimed the team gold medal on Friday 28 November. For the second day in a row, Laurentia Tan posted the high score with 13-year old KWPN bred Hickstead (by Brainpower x Visioen), her 2024 Paris Paralympic partner. The two earned 72.791% in the Grand Prix Test B for a total of 147.66%, which gave Singapore 410.874% overall, with help from individual silver medalist Gemma Rose Jen Foo (Mona Lisa) and Hui’en Hilary Su (Gambler).

Tan was glowing after her performance. “It’s the perfect partnership,” she said of her horse, with whom she’s been competing since 2022. “He’s very kind, and he’s very giving. It’s the perfect partnership...He’s very kind, and he’s very giving.” Chef d’Equipe MJ Rivera was equally elated about Singapore’s lead after Tan’s test, as well as the inclusion of Para Dressage at Pattaya: “Now we can showcase the talent of our Para Dressage riders.”

The team from Hong Kong accepted the silver medal, having earned a total of 387.620% across the two days of competition. Tin Chi Timothy Tsang and Cethegus M were Friday’s top scorers for Hong Kong, picking up 65.034% from the five international judges. He was joined on the podium by Lok Yee Louie Lam (Felaini S) and Fleur Schrader (Todays Special), who took the bronze medal on Wednesday. The three Hong Kong team horses are all owned by the Hong Kong Jockey Club.

Kur Gold for Tan

On the final day of dressage competition, Sunday 30 November 2025, Laurentia Tan captured her third gold medal in the FEI Para Dressage Asian Championship, scoring 74.827% in the Freestyle to music.

Tan was joined on the podium by her compatriot and fellow Grade I athlete Gemma Rose Jen Foo, who rode the 8-year old KWPN mare Mona Lisa (by Flavio x Ferro) to a score of 72.507% for a silver medal. In addition to their gold in the team championship, the pair picked up another silver medal in Wednesday’s Para Grand Prix A test.

Fleur Schrader of Hong Kong rounded out the top three with Hong Kong Jockey Club's 14-year old stallion Todays Special (by Chacoa x Ballysimon), ending their week at the Thai Polo Club on a score of 70.354%. Their bronze in the Grade III class was a bookend with another third-place finish from Wednesday, with a silver medal in between for the team competition.

Tan and Hickstead put the pressure on right away

Up first for the afternoon, Laurentia Tan and Hickstead had a fantastic programme that immediately laid down a gauntlet for the rest of the start list. Because of Tan’s hearing impairment, she wears a vest under her jacket that allows her to feel the beat of the music as she performs.

Their choreography highlighted Hickstead’s excellent natural walk. An extra leg yield that went beyond the compulsory movements upped the degree of difficulty for the two and boosted their technical marks to add to their high artistic score. The gelding was aware of his human partner and exceptionally attentive throughout the test, where rhythm, energy, and fluency were assessed as well as creativity and musicality.

“It’s an amazing experience to be here,” said Tan after accepting her gold and congratulating Foo and Schrader.

Was the champion nervous in spite of having already pocketed two golds in Pattaya? “Of course,” she laughed, “because at the end of the day, with the horses you never know what’s going to happen.”

A close second for Foo and Mona Lisa

Gemma Rose Jen Foo has vast experience dealing with show nerves, having already competed in four Paralympic Games. Coming into the arena just a few minutes after Tan, she and Mona Lisa demonstrated the difficulty of maintaining the correct frame in a walk-only test. The horse’s straightness or bend is continually on display for evaluation. And without the impulsion of a trot or canter, it’s much more challenging to produce a square halt at the beginning and end of the test.

Foo’s score of 72.507% rocketed her to second place right behind her teammate, where she stayed for the remainder of the competition. “I’m really proud of how things went through because it’s a new arena,” said the silver medalist, who trains in Germany whilst representing Singapore.

“It’s so exciting to have a new piece of music to perform to,” she added. The tunes from “Transformers” turned out to be perfect for her goals in the Freestyle: “We want to transform the arena!”

Schrader sets the tone for Grade III

First into the arena after a mid-show break, Fleur Schrader demonstrated why she and “Pesto” (Jockey Club Todays Special) have never finished out of the top eight together. An error earlier in her teammate Lok Yee Louie Lam’s test opened the door for a place on the podium next to Tan and Foo. Schrader was only too happy to trot her way through it to claim the bronze.

Her test was more relaxed and consistent than Friday’s, in which she endured an unfortunate tack malfunction. A super strong finish sealed the deal with the judges, who awarded her 70.354%.

Schrader’s elation about her success in Thailand has been tempered by the fires this week in Hong Kong, where she grew up. Living now in the United Kingdom, she shared her condolences for all involved.

Nonetheless, she said: “It’s been amazing…it’s been surreal.” Although it is only Schrader’s second time competing in Asia as an athlete based in the UK, she’s been enthusiastic all week about the possibility of returning. She hopes the Para Dressage competition will grow with future FEI Asian Championships to include representatives from more nations.