Lottie Fry and the 14-year-old KWPN stallion Glamourdale proved the combination to beat in the opening round of the FEI Dressage World Cup™ Grand Prix, supported by Horse & Hound, winning the 15-strong class with an impressive score of 80.78%.
The British pair produced a spectacular test to take victory and head an all-British podium, delighting a passionate home crowd. London’s FEI Dressage World Cup™ qualifier was closely contested, with strong performances from both British and international riders.
Charlotte Dujardin, second to go, held the lead for much of the class before finishing runner-up aboard the 11-year-old Westphalian mare Alive and Kicking on a score of 76.54%. Last year’s winners Becky Moody and Jagerbomb completed the podium in third place with 75.04%.
“It’s very exciting to get in the arena again, because it’s been a while since the Europeans so I really wanted to see where we’re at after a bit of training and a bit of holiday,” said Fry.
“The main thing for me is that we went in there fresh. He absolutely loved doing it and he really wants to show off. I really enjoyed every moment of it and so did he and it was just the most incredible feeling. He took me round it and I couldn’t be happier.
“We’ve just been working so much on that harmony, that lightness, and I’m just so happy it all paid off today because he felt absolutely incredible and he really delivered and he loves the British crowd.”
The class marked the highest-profile competition Charlotte Dujardin has contested since her return from an FEI suspension at the end of July.
“I’m absolutely overwhelmed, to be perfectly honest,” said Dujardin.
“Audrey [Alive and Kicking] has done one show this year, which was in Le Mans, she’s never been in a show with this atmosphere, this big. There’s so much going on. She’s a very inexperienced Grand Prix horse. I think she’s only done five Grands Prix prior to this so it was a really big ask coming here but I know she’s a very honest horse.
“Going back in that arena, there’s something so special about riding here. Going around the edge and having so many people cheer me on and shout out, ‘Go Charlotte,’ it was very, very emotional and just so good. It gave me a real buzz to be back.”
Show Ambassador Becky Moody was pleased with her third-place performance aboard her Olympic bronze medal-winning partner Jagerbomb, despite a disrupted warm-up.
“We didn’t have the best prep because he pulled a shoe off about 15 minutes before I was due to go in. That meant that I had about three minutes after that was put back on so it wasn’t our finest test, but there were some really good bits and lots to work on for tomorrow which is the main thing,” said Moody.
