Danielle Curzon was among the many star turns on the first-ever Virtus World Para Dressage Championships, an occasion for dressage athletes with mental impairments, successful staff gold as a part of the British staff, and particular person II3 gold.
However behind that success was probably the most unconventional CVs in British dressage — a profession that’s swung from Horse of the 12 months Present winner to Europe’s first televised feminine cage-fighting referee, with a stint as a celeb bodyguard in between.
Horses had been Danielle’s first world. She started county-level displaying at three, together with her mum, Karen, producing ponies and her dad financing the desires.
“I had lots of good ponies,” she says. “However Bengad Duranta was the stand-out. We gained Horse of the 12 months Present at Wembley in 1992.”
By 12, she’d turned her consideration to dressage via the British Younger Riders Dressage Scheme, competing in dwelling and small internationals. She added a transatlantic chapter, competing – and successful – on the Ocala HITS Winter Circuit within the USA.
Then, at 21, she walked away.
“I actually awakened one morning and thought, ‘I’m completed’,” she says. “I’d misplaced that aggressive spark which drove me. I wished a change.”
That change took her into the world of martial arts, safety, and bodyguarding. She educated in Thai boxing for self-defence as a pre-teen, labored her method as much as nationwide kickboxing champion and double world silver medallist, and earned her refereeing licence underneath world-famous MMA referee Herb Dean in Los Angeles. She turned Europe’s first televised feminine cage-fighting referee, officiating on each side of the Atlantic.
(Left) Dizzy Rascal and Danielle Curzon on the Virtus World Para Dressage Championships, (proper) Danielle and For Pleasure in Cyprus. Credit: Kevin Sparrow
In parallel, she constructed a profession as a door supervisor and close-protection officer, guarding celebrities from Emma Watson to Jodie Kidd. One spotlight was a visit to Alton Towers with Emma to have fun her ending her GCSEs.
“She most well-liked a feminine bodyguard,” Danielle says. “She was beautiful – we had lots of enjoyable.” Not each superstar was really easy, she provides wryly.
The trail again to horses started in 2017, when her well being started to fail. Recognized with ME and fibromyalgia, she tailored to a lowered workload. However in March 2022, a stroke modified every little thing.
“I couldn’t even raise a headcollar over a horse’s head,” she says. “Mentally, it destroyed me.”
Searching for a reset, she moved to Malta for 3 months, primarily based at an equestrian centre. There, she noticed Pleasureland AM (Play) stroll into the sector.
“My jaw dropped. I assumed, ‘Oh my god, I really like this horse.’” Solely later did she be taught he was by Furioso II strains. His proprietor, discovering him unsuited to leaping, gifted him to her.
Play turned her remedy horse, standing quietly as she tried time and again to raise her weakened proper arm. She additionally helped the Maltese Prime Minister’s daughter together with her using. “That’s once I fell again in love with horses,” she says.
Again within the UK later in 2022, Danielle was provided the trip on Dizzy Rascal, owned by Victoria Moss and bred by Sandy Senior.
“It’s so essential to me that homeowners and breeders get recognition,” she says. “Sandy’s labored so onerous – she even gifted me Dizzy’s elite grading rosette.”
By means of a Fb submit, Danielle found Virtus. To compete underneath Virtus, riders should endure a classification and eligibility utility, led by SportExcel UK – who help the groups and are working with British Dressage to strengthen pathways into the game. The classes are; II1) athletes with an mental incapacity, II2) athletes with an mental incapacity and vital further impairment, and II3) autistic athletes.
Recognized with autism and pathological demand avoidance in 2022, she discovered the format labored for her.
“A whole lot of autistic riders battle with conventional multi-day camps – new individuals, new trainers, a sensory overload,” she explains. “Virtus provides one other pathway.”
Danielle Curzon and her worldwide winner Tysilio Arwr. Credit score: Reader materials
The classification course of took months, however success got here rapidly. In August 2024, she and Dizzy gained the Virtus class on the summer season para nationals with over 75%. They went on to high each Virtus worldwide video competitions that autumn, and in March 2025, they claimed each Virtus courses on the winter para nationals.
Her different trip, Welsh Cob Tysilio Arwr (Hank), additionally delivered. A “huge character” who “can be severely autistic if he had been human,” he gained a global video class with over 73% and was reserve nationwide champion behind Dizzy. “It’s a reminder you don’t at all times want a big-moving warmblood to be aggressive,” Danielle says.
With teaching from Becky Moody and Cherry Elvin, and backed by a close-knit staff – together with off-horse health coach Karzan Hughes, transport sponsor George Beston who has loaned her a horsebox, and her daughter Alea who helps preserve the horses match – Danielle started working in direction of the Virtus World Championships.
“One other massive assist has been the Equine BioGenie,” says Danielle. “I’ve acquired such extreme allergy symptoms that I can go into anaphylaxis simply from inhaling cleansing chemical compounds. Earlier than, I couldn’t danger taking the horses to stay-away exhibits, however now, as a result of it’s all-natural, I can go anyplace – even with strangles going round – and know we’re protected.”
Her preparation was sophisticated on the final minute by a member of the family’s most cancers therapy – on the way in which to the competitors, she left an oncology appointment in her competitors gear, ran to a ready horsebox, and drove straight to Area UK to compete.
“I went into that hospital stinking of horses,” she laughs.
On the Worlds, she hand-grazed Dizzy each time potential, protecting her circulation good with every day Centropix PEMA therapies. On staff day, Nice Britain gained gold; Danielle additionally took particular person gold. The subsequent day, they gained the World Championship particular person title with over 80%, incomes glowing remarks from choose Jennie Loriston-Clarke.
“She wrote, ‘It was a pleasure to observe’ – that meant every little thing,” Danielle says.
Standing on the rostrum, the GB flag raised, she felt the journey had come full circle.
“In the beginning of 2023, my purpose was to get my Nice Britain flags again,” she says. “To do it with horses who’ve helped me via a lot… It’s onerous to place into phrases.”
For Danielle, Virtus has been greater than medals. “It’s given me my aggressive spark again,” she says. “It’s proven me that there’s at all times a method again – even when your route there’s a little unconventional.”
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H&H dressage and sport horse editor
Oscar graduated from York St John College with a grasp’s diploma in Literature in 2021 and joined Horse & Hound in October 2023. Oscar labored for high dressage rider Emile Faurie for 4 years after ending an equine administration course in school. Beneath Emile’s tutelage, Oscar competed on the 2015 Nationwide Dressage Championships and travelled with Emile’s horses to CDIs at Aachen, Vidauban, Saumur and Achlieiten. Oscar continues to compete in dressage, alongside his day job.
