It’s been a fantastic few days with British riders and their young horses taking centre stage – 2012 almost can’t come soon enough, say British Dressage.

Brits dominate

Carl Hester, Charlotte Du Jardin and Fiona Bigwood dominated the top classes at France’s Saumur CDI3* while Richard Davison flew the flag at the Reem Acra FEI World Cup Final^TM in Leipzig, Germany.

Uthopia returns

Thursday 28 April saw the long-awaited return of Carl Hester’s Uthopia to the competition arena – and he certainly didn’t disappoint! It’s been over a year since the Metall-sired stallion has competed but Carl felt the time off has allowed the nine-year-old to mature so an international season debut at Saumur wasn’t too big an ask. In the Grand Prix for Special, Carl and Uthopia looked relaxed and at one to score 74.596% - a personal best for Carl. There were a few errors but the pairing remained composed and didn’t let it affect them. 

Master v Pupil

In the continuing saga of master v pupil, Charlotte du Jardin had to settle for second with Carl and Roly Luard’s Valegro this time as they scored 73.34%. Charlotte is still a novice at this level but she continues to impress all who watch her in action. But in round two, the Grand Prix Special, Charlotte stole a narrow victory – just 0.08% - so it was one class apiece and honours even.

A very happy Carl said: “It’s been fantastic out here – for young horses to make such an impression is brilliant. I’m quite ecstatic! I managed a personal best and Valegro hasn’t scored less than 73% this season. Being honest, I felt I should have won the Special but as Valegro is mine, I’ll let him have that one.” Carl was also quick to praise his stunning partner, Uthopia. “To blast on to the scene with such a score is pretty special. He’s still so inexperienced but he sends a shiver down my spine – just fantastic.”

Carl also commended his young stable jockey, Charlotte. “She’s coming on leaps and bounds but we’re taking it in steps – one big show at a time. Valegro is an amazing horse but she still has to produce him in the arena to score the marks. She’s shown she can cope and is ready for the next challenge,” said Carl.

Charlotte joins the squad

That next challenge will be Hagen CDI3* later this week when Charlotte will partner her own horse, Fernandez as part of the five strong British squad. 

Amy Stovold and her own Macbrian we also impressive. Scoring 66.106% in the Grand Prix for Special put them in ninth but they pulled a stunner out of the bag in the Special for 68.563% to finish fourth. Henriette Andersen and Louis D’or completed the British quartet and again enjoyed a top eight finish in both sections. 66.957% in the Grand Prix for Special gave them fourth spot and they finshed eighth in the Grand Prix Special with 66.729%.

In the other Grand Prix (for the Freestyle), Fiona Bigwood and her WEG team silver medal winner Wie Atlantico showed the winter hasn’t dulled their competitive spirit to score 69.596% which gave them the runner’s up spot. In the Freestyle, they scored 74.10% to finish second behind the flamboyant Spaniard Juan Manuel Munoz Diaz with Fuego de Cardenas.

Davison flies the flag in Germany 

Meanwhile, over the border in Germany, Richard Davison was our sole representative in the Reem Acra FEI World Cup Final^TM. In his fifth World Cup final, Richard finished tenth with Countess of Derby's Westphalian gelding Hiscox Artemis. Richard commented: “I came here with the expectation of finishing in the top ten. I felt if we could achieve that, then I would know I had a world class horse.” Mission accomplished.  

Artemis does Robbie Williams

In Thursday’s Grand Prix, the horse struggled with his one-time changes – scoring just four from the judges but there was some excellent piaffe and passage work. They scored 66.611% which left them in 13^th. In the final Freestyle Grand Prix, Richard rode to his acclaimed Robbie Williams music which had some changes made since its debut in 's-Hertogenbosch last month. It was clear that the 12-year-old gelding had settled to the electric atmosphere – Richard likened it to “taking an exam in pop concert-like conditions”.   A score of 73.143% was enough for tenth place – just what Richard was hoping for. 

“I was really pleased with how he handled everything,” said a contented Richard. “He was happy, co-operative and everything worked with the music – it was just great. I was pleased as there were no major issues. My music is great fun to ride to but then what should I expect, it’s written and performed by some of the world’s best musicians!” 

The bookies’ odds on favourite Adelinde Cornelissen and Jerich Parzival took the Reem Acra title with nearly a 5% margin.