After two fiercely competitive days to decide the team honours, yesterday it was the individuals in the spotlight at the FEI Dressage European Championship 2025 in Crozet, France. With the world’s top ten riders all featuring in the 30-strong starting line-up, the intensity wasn’t going to be any less for the Grand Prix Special in the Jiva Hill Stables arena. As well as the individual medals there for the taking, riders were in search of a top-18 placing to secure a place in Sunday’s Grand Prix Freestyle finale.
Three of the British Equestrian dressage team, in partnership with Agria, had qualified for yesterday’s competition and it was world number one duo Lottie Fry and Glamourdale, owned by the rider and Van Olst Horses, who went first for Britain. European championship debutantes Becky Moody and Jagerbomb were drawn 23rd to go and just three combinations later came Carl Hester, riding in his 13th European Championships with his own, Mette Dahl and Fiona Bigwood’s Fame.
Charlotte Fry and Glamourdale
The pressure that helped Britain onto the podium in the team competition was yesterday replaced by the motivation for individual honours but, because ‘Lottie’ and Glamourdale are world champions in this test, there was the weight of expectation upon them. Drawn 21st to go of the 30 starters, Lottie had a good notion of the benchmark score she’d need to be troubling the top few placings.
The rider, originally from Scarborough but now based with her employers in the Netherlands, boldly turned down the centreline and it was clear she meant business – square halt, an acknowledgement to the judges and they were on their way. The first extended trot across the diagonal – a feature of the Grand Prix Special test – showed good overtrack and activity, and then it was into the first half-pass, which showed true airtime as ‘Glammy’ glided across the arena.
Heading into the first passage, Lottie was riding forward – almost too much – but she expertly got him back to control the power in the extended trot. The next half-pass, which flows in the opposite direction to the first, was accurate and the transition into passage was much improved. The pair showed good relaxation through the walk section, with Glammy stretching out his neck and stepping forward across the diagonal.
However, as they approached the track again, Glammy seemed a little unsettled and, as Lottie attempted the tricky transition into piaffe, a moment of seeming miscommunication showed a break in the movement. Ever the professional, Lottie was able to gather the powerful stallion back up and carry on with the test – but, with the piaffe being a double coefficient movement, the mistake would be expensive.
It was then into canter, which is Glammy’s forte, and the marks began to flow again. The two-time flying changes were superb – effortless yet expressive – with four of the seven judges awarding a nine. The one-time changes were also spectacular, as was the stallion’s showpiece extended canter, which always brings goosebumps to the onlooking crowd.
The day before, Lottie struggled to keep the consistent power in the canter pirouettes, so she put extra effort into getting the preparation right, which was rewarded with two very safe executions. As they came back into trot for the final effort, Lottie used all her expertise to get that tricky final piaffe and passage line as good as it could be and she did a sterling job, getting Glammy through the tour with scores around seven to eight per movement.
A good halt and huge pats as a reward for Glammy brought their Special to an end. After the general impression mark, the final score was 75.289% which, at that stage in the competition, was enough to take the lead.
“I was really happy with him – the canter was amazing and much improved from the Grand Prix. The pirouettes were really good, so that was a highlight for me, and the changes, especially the ones on the centre line – they were really, really cool to ride,” Lottie said.
“Unfortunately, a few miscommunications in the piaffe today, but it’s something to fix – we fixed the pirouettes already, so it’s time to fix the piaffe for Sunday, but I’m really proud of him.”
Sunday’s Grand Prix Freestyle will be the debut of a new floorplan for the pairing, who are renowned for their well-produced music. All that Lottie would give away was that it has a flying theme to chime with Glammy’s flamboyant paces.
Becky Moody and Jagerbomb
Having ridden on day one of the Grand Prix team competition, the previous day could have been deemed a rest day for Becky Moody and her homebred Jagerbomb, who she jointly owns with Jo Cooper. However, there was the small matter of the medal lap of honour, which had the potential to spark ‘Bomb’ up and affect his way of going for yesterday’s challenge.
However, such is the indomitable bond the two share, there was nothing but razor-sharp focus from the 11-year-old gelding and his charismatic rider. They entered the arena as if on springs, with a super, forward trot followed with a nailed halt which two judges awarded a nine.
The double-scoring first half-pass earned plenty of eights and was followed by the first passage, which Becky rode with great bravery to earn every half mark possible. The second half-pass had a split second of miscommunication, which slightly impacted the marks, but they were soon back to a good flow of eights for the trot work.
Becky knows her horse so well and it was clear she knew exactly where to take a risk and where to ride for safety. The canter work was packed full of quality and harmony – huge reach in the half-passes, big and bold two-time changes, effortless one-time changes and a ground-eating extended canter reeled in scores of eight consistently. The centre line left and right pirouettes intersected with one-time changes were perhaps the highlight of the entire eight minutes, with a few nines added to the score.
A confident and secure final line of passage and piaffe ended with a square halt – and more nines – as the crowd erupted and the Union flags were waved merrily in appreciation. Such was the harmony and pleasing picture, they scooped more nines for the double factor general impression score, which boosted the final mark to 77.796% – not quite their personal best, but Becky and Bomb had delivered on their European individual debut and slotted into second with a handful of riders to go.
“As I said the other day, he took me a little bit by surprise in the Grand Prix because I expected him to be so much hotter than he was,” explained Becky. “Yesterday, we didn’t ride in the morning – he’s had a very chilled day – and a little more feed and no ear bonnet. So, we had a bit more go, which made life easier, but still not as much as I have when we’re at our peak. But yeah, overall, it was much better.”
Carl Hester and Fame
Carl Hester is open in saying it’s all about the team medal for him – helping Great Britain to a podium position is everything but an outstanding ride in the team competition to finish best of the Brits must have given him a feeling he could be competitive for a podium place in yesterday’s Grand Prix Special.
The test has a large amount of work done on the outer area of the arena, unlike the Grand Prix, which doesn’t always suit his equine partner Fame, owned by Carl with Mette Dahl and Fiona Bigwood. However, Carl excels at riding this super technical test, so the omens were positive.
Fame and Carl warmed up well in the quiet of the indoor arena but – despite the increasingly heavy rain – the atmosphere in the main arena was buzzing as the competition reached its latter stages. In response, the sensitive stallion certainly grew in stature as Carl circled him ahead of the bell to start.
Fame was on his toes – Carl was going to have to call on his experience to get the best possible performance he could. Their entry was confident and impactful but, in the first trot half-pass, Carl couldn’t quite keep Fame as relaxed as is ideal, so tension crept in. Despite that, the score still averaged seven.
The tour of extended trot and passage brought some better relaxation – and a nine from one judge – as the stallion began to settle into his task. The walk section was marred with the return of some tension, which meant the stretch and overtrack wasn’t quite as good as it could have been, but once they picked up trot, it was back to scoring eights consistently.
The two- and one-time changes might have been a riding masterclass, but the canter pirouette centre line was the next level with its rhythmical, tight, even circles. The final extended trot was forward and flowing, before collecting to come down the final tricky centreline.
As is often the case, the maestro that is Carl finished with a flourish, showing great activity and control in the piaffe and passage to bring the test to an end with a halt, which scored five eights and two nines. A mixture of eights and nines were justly awarded for the all-important general impression mark, giving a final tally of 76.383%.
It wasn’t quite enough to take the lead, but left the duo in third with four of Europe’s elite still to come.
“It was better than yesterday, so I was happy with it,” was Carl’s summary. “There were no mistakes again in it, so another consistent test.”
Historic Belgian Victory
As it turned out, yesterday’s podium came down to the final few combinations to head down the centre line. History was made in Crozet, with Belgium taking their first ever dressage medal in the form of Justin Verboomen and Zonik Plus – a partnership that has been together since Justin bought the stallion at the age of two.
The 38-year-old Belgian rider and his nine-year-old black Hanoverian stallion delivered a sensational performance, scoring a personal best of 82.371% to claim gold in what was their European Championship debut. This remarkable achievement came just nine months after the partnership began competing at this level.
Denmark’s Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour and Mount St John Freestyle put up a strong challenge, but had to settle for second with 81.687%, while Isabell Werth and Wendy De Fontaine brought home another medal for Germany – her 25th European Championship medal, but her first individual bronze with 79.027%.
Final Grand Prix Special Results
Gold: Justin Verboomen and Zonik Plus (BEL) – 82.371% Silver: Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour and Mount St John Freestyle (DEN) – 81.687% Bronze: Isabell Werth and Wendy De Fontaine (GER) – 79.027%
Our British trio all finished within the top nine, meaning that they’ll be back on Sunday to ride the Grand Prix Freestyle – which is open to the top 18 placings in the Special – and compete for the final set of medals on offer at this FEI Dressage European Championship.
British Final Placings
5th: Becky Moody and Jagerbomb – 77.796% 6th: Carl Hester and Fame – 76.383% 9th: Lottie Fry and Glamourdale – 75.289%
Sunday’s Freestyle Individual Finale
Tomorrow, all 18 horses that qualified for the Grand Prix Freestyle will go before the ground jury again for a second horse inspection, to ensure that they’re fit to continue in the competition, followed by a draw to determine the order of go for Sunday’s climax.
All eyes will be on these combinations as they ride down the centre line one final time, showcasing bespoke floorplans set to music of their choice. Expect toe-tapping tunes, high scores and fierce competition as the best in Europe battle for glory and a place in history.
You can watch all the action live on FEI.TV, powered by ClipMyHorse.TV, with a subscription. All the start lists and results are available via World Sport Timing, and everything you need to know about the British squad is available on the British Equestrian online Dressage Hub.
feature image: Becky MOODY (GBR) & JAGERBOMB ride in the Grand Prix Special at the FEI Dressage European Championship 2025 – Jiva Hill Stables, Crozet, Rhone-Alpes, France – 29 August 2025 – photo Jon Stroud Media
