British riders of all ages did not disappoint over four days competition at Saumur CDI3*, France.
With the sun beating down, an eager supporting British crowd and a host of firsts, memories of the London Olympic golden era for dressage were re-ignited and the youth squads showed that they’ll be a force to be reckoned with when their respective European Championships come round later in the year.
Team GBR’s ‘golden couple’ Carl Hester and Charlotte Dujardin were on top form with wins in the two major classes and the youth teams left British dressage fans safe in the knowledge that the Olympic legacy left by senior riders is in good hands, with an outstanding five individual wins in the Pony section, one in the Junior and nine top five placings for the Young Riders team. Phoebe Peters was the talk of the show, winning her three Pony classes with SL Lucci (pictured). The pony and junior teams were also victorious in the Nations Cup competitions – two historic wins in such esteemed company.
Team GBR golden couple reign supreme
The celebrity couple of dressage in Great Britain were a force to be reckoned with yet again – but this time there was a bit of a twist.
Following record breaking successes with her ride Valegro over 2012, Charlotte Dujardin was at Saumur to contest her trainer and mentor Carl Hester’s Olympic ride Uthopia.
All eyes back home were glued to the live streaming, eager to see whether Charlotte could continue her time in the spot light with ‘Uti’ - and true to form the pair rode for first place in the Grand Prix for FSM on Friday 3 May, and then again on to the top spot two days later in the Grand Prix Freestyle.
With a massive score of 81.600% in the GP Freestyle (riding to Valegro's pre-Olympic music score) on the last day of the competition Charlotte had certainly ‘found the right buttons’ on Uthopia - and British fans abroad were keen to record Charlotte and Uti’s debut – taking to youtube to share this video of the pair in action. Carl commented 'It was a fun exercise as she has only sat on him for a couple of months. She certainly found the buttons in the freestyle.'
Carl was hot on Charlotte’s coat tails with second placings in the two same classes riding new mum Gemma Appleton’s 12 year old Florestan stallion, Fine Time IV.
Brit rider Sarah Millis secured a top ten placing in the qualifying round on her partner of two years HP Frontier but finished 14th in the Freestyle on a score of 64.400%. Sarah said she was pleased with the quality of the work from ‘HP’ but too many mistakes at their first outdoor show of the year ‘cost us dear.’
Grand Prix Special
It might have been second spot for Carl in the freestyle class, but he had already proven that he was still the ‘man in charge’ on the first day of competition, with a win the Grand Prix for Special qualifying class on his ride Aram Gregory’s Dances With Wolves. After his test, Carl told us 'I get the feeling of a great horse, it's just about building his confidence now.'
Carl and ‘Golly’ went on to better their qualifying score by nearly 3%, again taking first place in Saturday’s Grand Prix Special on 75.791%. This young horse is well on the way to establishing himself at grand prix level – Carl even tweeted “Thrilled with Golly. I enjoyed that more than the Olympics!” and “I am so enjoying his progress. He is a serious contender in becoming my favourite!”
Nikki Crisp and Gareth Hughes were both extremely close contenders in the same classes – finishing second and fourth in the Special respectively.
Dawn of a second golden age for British dressage?
Following on from the Olympic success of 2012, British Dressage fans may have been wondering whether we could hold on to the precedent that had been set by Carl, Charlotte and Laura Tomlinson in London. If the Saumur results are an indication of what’s to come, things are looking bright.
Junior team riders Georgia Davis, Charlotte Fry, Gabrielle Lucas and Chloe Vell were keen to show the world that Great Britain means business – and that they certainly did, with a meteoric win in the Nations Cup. Charlotte Fry headed up the team test individually with Remming on a score of 69.297% with a second and fifth in the individual and freestyle tests. Chloe Vell was on the podium in the freestyle with Kaja Di Valentina. The girls are pictured with proud chef d'equipe Islay Auty.
Carl took to Facebook from Saumur to congratulate the girls, posting ‘Time to big up our junior team. They just won the team comp at Saumur - first time ever!’
13 year old Pony rider, Phoebe Peters, stunned the crowds with wins in each of her three classes on mum Tracy’s 14.2hh gelding SL Lucci. Following their success at the Winter Championships in April, people’s attention has been grabbed by the composed young girl from Gloucestershire’s talent and she is being hotly tipped as ‘one to watch’ for the future. With scores of 72%, 76% and 78% they look like contenders at this year’s European Championships. The team of Phoebe Peters,Bethany Horobin, Rebecca Bell, Rose Hugh-Smith all rode amazingly to clinch the Nations Cup – giving Britain victory in the two team competitions they contested.
Fellow 13 year old Rebecca Bell and 16 year old Amber Barton both joined Phoebe on the winner’s podium to rack up a total of five firsts for Great Britain in the Pony section across CDI and CDIO classes.
The Young Riders notched up a gob smacking nine top five placings across their section, the highest score going to 18 year old Jessica Knapton and her 13 year old Dimaggio gelding, Di Spirito, with 70.925% in the Young Riders CDI FSM class. In the CDIO section, Samantha Thurman-Baker will have learnt a lot in a week with Douglas. From a huge spook in the first test to 73% and third in the freestyle!
For full results - click here. British results as follows:
Thursday 2 May
GP for GPS
1st - Carl Hester and Dances With Wolves, 73.063%
2nd - Nikki Crisp and Pasoa, 69.383%
5th - Gareth Hughes and DV Stenkjers Nadonna, 67.702%
Juniors Team (CDIO)
1st - Charlotte Fry and Remming, 69.297%
5th - Gabrielle Lucas and Laurentius, 67.35%
7th - Chloe Vell and Kaja Di Valentina, 66.540%
11th - Georgia Davis and Richmans Manta, 65.811%
Junior Nations Cup
1st GBR 203.188
2nd BEL 201.865
3rd FRA 201.755
Young Riders Team (CDI)
2nd - Jessica Knapton and Di Spirito, 67.052%
5th - Ryan Todd and Charlex Eskebjerg, 64.763%
Young Riders Team (CDIO)
2nd - Samantha Thurman-Baker and Douglas IV, 70.815%
7th - Eilidh Grant and Comanche Crumble, 67.552%
Friday 3 May
GP for FSM
1st - Charlotte Dujardin and Uthopia, 72.255%
2nd - Carl Hester and Fine Time IV, 69.872%
9th - Sarah Millis and HP Frontier, 65.361%
Pony Team (CDI)
1st - Rebecca Bell and Valido’s Starlight, 68.795%
2nd - Amber Barton and Doctor Little, 68.538%
Pony Team (CDIO)
1st - Phoebe Peters and SL Lucci, 72.948%
6th - Bethany Horobin and Gigolo, 70.307%
13th - Rebecca Bell and Valido’s Sunshine, 67.641%
14th - Rose Hugh-Smith and Holsteins Derwisch, 67.589%
Pony Nations Cup
1st GBR 210.896
2nd SUI 210.050
3rd BEL 208.692
Young Riders Individual (CDI)
3rd - Ryan Todd and Charlex Eskebjerg, 67.315% (collective 203)
4th - Jessica Knapton and Di Spirito, 67.315% (collective 202)
Young Riders Individual (CDIO)
5th - Eilidh Grant and Comanche Crumble, 69.052%
7th - Samantha Thurman-Baker and Douglas IV, 67.342%
Saturday 4 May
Grand Prix Special
1st - Carl Hester and Dances With Wolves, 75.791%
2nd - Nikki Crisp and Pasoa, 72.250%
4th - Gareth Hughes and DV Stenkjers Nadonna, 70.604%
Pony Individual (CDI)
1st - Amber Barton and Doctor Little, 69.471%
14th - Rebecca Bell and Valido’s Starlight, 63.861%
Pony Individual (CDIO)
1st - Phoebe Peters and SL Lucci, 76.536%
7th - Bethany Horobin and Gigolo, 69.317%
18th - Rose Hugh-Smith and Holsteins Derwisch, 64.365%
19th - Rebecca Bell and Valido’s Sunshine, 63.975%
Juniors Individual (CDIO)
2nd - Charlotte Fry and Remming, 69.526%
3rd - Chloe Vell and Kaja Di Valentina, 69.473%
5th - Gabrielle Lucas and Laurentius, 68.00%
11th - Georgia Davis and Richmans Manta, 64.605%
Young Riders FSM (CDI)
2nd - Jessica Knapton and Di Spirito, 70.925%
8th - Ryan Todd and Charlex Eskebjerg, 64.550%
Sunday 5 May
Pony FSM (CDI)
2nd - Rebecca Bell and Valido’s Starlight, 70.833%
6th - Amber Barton and Doctor Little, 69.375%
Young Riders FSM (CDIO)
3rd - Samantha Thurman-Baker and Douglas IV, 73.700%
5th - Eilidh Grant and Comanche Crumble, 70.700%
Grand Prix FSM
1st - Charlotte Dujardin and Uthopia, 81.600%
2nd - Carl Hester and Fine Time IV, 74.400%
14th - Sarah Millis and HP Frontier, 64.400%
Pony FSM (CDIO)
1st - Phoebe Peters and SL Lucci, 78.050%
6th - Bethany Horobin and Gigolo, 71.200%
11th - Rose Hugh-Smith and Holsteins Derwisch, 68.000%
Junior FSM (CDIO)
3rd - Chloe Vell and Kaja Di Valentina, 71.150%
5th - Charlotte Fry and Remming, 69.600%
6th - Gabrielle Lucas and Laurentius, 68.925%