Spectacular rides from each of the British quartet sealed an historic victory for Team GB at the FEI European Dressage Championships 2011, Rotterdam, 18 August 2011, H&C is delighted to report. Watch a video interview with Carl Hester below.
Each rider gave their all to secure the first gold medal ever won in dressage on the world stage and in doing so, fulfilled the hopes of a dressage nation that has risen to meteoric success in three short years, say British Dressage. Their final team score of 238.678 set a new European record and sealed an emphatic win over Germany and the Netherlands.
Gloucestershire-based Charlotte Dujardin first ignited British hopes, setting alight day one of the competition with the nine-year-old Valegro, who is co-owned by her mentor Carl Hester and Roly Luard. Riding only their sixth International Grand Prix test together the pair produced a sparkling test to score a PB of 78.30%.
Excitement rose as Carl Hester produced a breathtakingly beautiful test with the 10-year-old Uthopia, causing the crowd to gasp and murmur, as he put the horse he co-owns with Sasha Stewart through its paces. Their score of 82.568%, another personal best, confirmed it, catapulting the team into the lead and leaving Carl top of the scoreboard. “This is a dream” he commented “and even more fantastic because we’ve had the horse since he was a four-year-old; he’s a family pet who’s turned into a superstar.” Watch our interview with Carl below.
Even without Laura’s score, Germany would have needed 85.165% to knock Team GBR off the gold medal position after expensive mistakes from each of their first three riders, but Matthias Rath and Totilas made uncharacteristic errors in the onetime changes and final passage for 79.453% to seal the win for Britain.
Meanwhile, Laura Bechtolsheimer rode superbly to guide a hot Mistral Horjis home for 77.280%, to finish in fifth place, and help Britain break the European record for a team test. “He was very flighty in there and too bothered by the noise which pushed him over the edge. I felt like a small blonde girl on a big ginger horse, rather than the harmonious picture we usually go for!” she joked. “Still I don’t think I can be too upset, this is still fairly indescribable.”
Charlotte summed up saying: “We came here all hoping to win gold, so it’s kind of crazy that we have!”
All British riders will compete the Grand Prix Special on Saturday, after Emile finished in eighteenth place.
| 5:30pm | Wonder Dogs |
| 6:00pm | Top Marks: Be Brave |
| 6:30pm | Farming Sunday |
| 7:00pm | The Leader Of The Pack |
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