It was another drama-filled day at the FEI European Dressage Championships at Aachen for the MEGGLE-Preis Grand Prix Special. There was highs, lows, thrills, spills, action and adventure aplenty but it was once again our golden girl Charlotte Dujardin who came out on top and in doing so successfully defended her title won in 2013 in Denmark.
The first British rider was Michael Eilberg with father Ferdi’s Marakov. They were originally drawn first to go but yesterday afternoon the news came through that Totilas has been withdrawn so giving a space to Norway’s Trude Hestengen.
‘Marko’ is well suited to the grand prix special test as it’s packed with piaffe and passage; his party piece. True to form, he was scoring well with the initial trot work but then one they hit canter, the mistakes crept in and both lines (one diagonal, one up the centre line) of one-time changes didn’t come off so scores plummeted; what had been trending around 7.8, dropped to 2.6. Michael didn’t give up though and guided the Latvian gelding back up to great scores for a provisional 70.07%, leaving all happy that he’d broke the 70% barrier at a Championship. But, as was the case in the grand prix, the score was revised, and not up, but down to 69.93%.
Afterwards Michael said; “Good score with mistakes so I’m a little annoyed again. He’s looking so good, his way of going is great, his physique is better than ever and he’s coping so well it there but those mistakes just knock off what he potentially could get. He felt even better today than in the grand prix, more settled. He feels like a proper piaffe/passage machine now; I almost just sit there and he just goes bam, bam, bam. I’m a little annoyed but one time changes to the left are difficult for him; today I botched it properly! It’s a little annoying – he can score 70% with the mistakes and without them, you’re looking at 73%. Overall, I’m chuffed with the horse and really pleased with the good stuff; it’s about the whole test. I’m not going home unhappy, maybe just frustrated.”
As the competition went on, so the rain clouds built in the distance and they arrived right on cue…for Fiona’s test. The heavens opened right as she trotted up the tunnel with mum Penny’s Atterupgaards Orthilia and continued to do so for much of the test. ‘Tillie’ coped admirably and set about her work well, almost dismissing the torrent around her. Fiona later admitted that it’s the first time she struggled to ride with her eye patch as her natural reaction was to blink which of course made her ride blind moments. The rain did ease towards the end and Fiona worked hard to make the most of the situation. Tillie has tremendous natural talent and a super work attitude and it shone in today’s test. A final mark of 74.51% was amazing given the rain and left a number wondering what might have been in more favourable conditions.
Fiona said; “The water was pouring off us! She was a bit nervous of the photographers in their plastic coats but I can’t fault that mare. She went in there in her first year of grand prix and gave me that. I felt I was riding a bit blind; it’s the first time I’ve struggled with the patch. I’ve had a great week; it’s such a good team. The freestyle will be training now; my focus was the grand prix for the team. She’s been brilliant so far.”
So, straight on to the maestro himself; Carl Hester. He admitted to riding ‘slightly with the handbrake on’ for a clear round on Thursday but with the team duty fulfilled, today he was going to go for it. And every one of the 28,000 strong crowd applauded him for it as we saw a masterful display from a horse and rider in perfect harmony. Carl jointly owns ‘Barney’ with Jane de la Mare and together they’ve always stuck by the Don Ruto sired gelding; believing in his talent where others doubted. Today he silenced those doubters with his best performance to date. It wasn’t a perfect start as Barney rested a hind leg in the first halt but that proved to be the only mistake in the eight minutes of dressage delight which followed. Owing to his size, he’s still not 100% secure in the piaffe and passage but is certainly a trier and the canter work was consistent. His changes scored high eight’s and he nailed every line. Their score crept up and up, hovering around that of the leader, Tinne Wilhelmson Silfven for Sweden. Both grew in confidence through the test and as it went on, Carl dared the 18.2hh giant in each movement and he willingly gave his all. A four square plant of the hooves ended the test and a smile as bright as anyone has ever seen from Carl appeared; he knew it was a special performance. 76.975% was announced as he left the arena to rapturous applause and by the time he’d jumped off to run and help Charlotte, it was amended to 77.007% for a personal best and the lead.
“That’s my gold medal in the bag for me; if someone could make me a little one out of plastic I’d feel like I had the real thing!” beamed Carl. “He was brilliant; for such a big horse I have to be able to make quite a lot of adjustments to keep him balanced. Richard (Davison) said to me outside to use my corners, set him up the whole time, help him out and I felt that was easy to say but you don’t know what you’re going to get in the ring. He absolutely did everything I asked.”
A clearly delighted Carl continued; “I love riding him; he has the perfect balance that you want in a dressage horse; he wants to go, he really wants to work, he is a little bit nervous and he’s on my side. I have such a great relationship with him and it just keeps growing.
“I’m smiling from ear to ear; it’s like having a pack of fruit pastilles all in one go! For me it was amazing; I mean he’s never going to beat Valegro but he’s going to end up fifth or sixth in a European Championships which is just great. I’m so proud to bring it out of him and he offers it; a great moment for me today.”
Newlywed Kristina Broring-Sprehe and Desperados FRH showed some nerves in the team grand prix for Germany but today she looked like she wanted to make amends. The De Niro stallion really rose to the challenge and relished the home support with the majority of the crowd riding every movement along with Kristina. It was a fantastic display with the talented duo back to their very best and were justifiably rewarded with 83.067% to take over the lead and a standing ovation from an ecstatic crowd.
As was the case on Thursday, Valegro came up the shoot from the collecting ring growing in confidence as he heard the crowd’s cheers. Charlotte cantered up the centreline, halted, saluted with precision, it was clear that she had her ‘game head’ on today; no messing, pure determination.
With its passage and piaffe, the special is perfect for Valegro as his ability and power make those movements look effortless. He glided along, looking perfectly at home and ignoring the gasps from the crowd as the high marks beamed up from the electronic score board. Then the tension rose as he set off into canter; who was more nervous – Charlotte or the expectant crowd? They came round for the first set of two time changes and absolutely hit them spot on – earning four tens and three nines. Relief. Then down the next diagonal of one times – you could hear the crowd counting; thirteen, fourteen, ooooh; he missed the last one, changing late behind to spoil an otherwise faultless line. But Charlotte’s focus remained and the rest of the test was ridden with absolute precision with the tens flying from the judges. The crowd knew it was a special performance and all rose to their feet in honour of what they’d seen; the Germans may be patriotic but they’re also true dressage fans and were the first to acknowledge the British duo.
The final corrected score was 87.577% - and all seven judges were in agreement that they should sit atop the leader board, awarding a total of 28 tens. Judge Eddie de Wolff van Westerrode who was positioned at ‘K’ gave his score as 90.49%!
Beatriz Ferrer-Salat impressed in the grand prix with Delgado and they were next with a great performance, despite parting company earlier in the day, to edge ahead of Carl and Barney. Then it was on to the final two competitors for the Netherlands who were both threats to Charlotte’s position. Glock’s Johnson TN under Hans Peter Minderhoud really caught the eye on Thursday and was vital in securing that team gold and he also had his eyes on the prize today. A masterful performance, despite suffering from a sickness bug, from H-P gave a score of 79.034% to slot into the bronze position.
The final rider was Edward Gal with Glock’s Undercover NOP who seriously impressed on Thursday and everyone knew that this was Charlotte’s biggest rival to snatch the gold. Let the nail biting begin… The word was that Undercover had been really on his toes in morning exercise with Edward struggling to get the Ferro gelding to settle. Some stable time clearly hadn’t calmed his nerves as their entry was electric with Edward unable to get him to halt so the scores started with twos. He became more and more unsettled and Edward did his utmost to encourage some soft work but looked like he was fighting a losing battle. Then a slight pink tinge appeared in the bright white foam in the mouth area which was spotted by Andrew Gardner, who was judging at ‘C’ and he had no choice but to sound the bell for elimination. Not the end to the story anyone would hope for. Ever the sportsman, Edward accepted his fate graciously and left the arena.
So it meant that Charlotte has made her first successful defence of a Senior Championship title and broke the European record at the same time. All the more impressive was the winning margin of 4.5%. Kristina got a slightly belated wedding present in the form of a silver medal while Hans Peter said his first senior individual medal was ‘exciting but bittersweet’ after what happened to his life partner, Edward Gal.
After her test, Charlotte said; “On Thursday I think I was maybe a little too laid back and just rode for a clear round. But today, because of my mistakes, I thought ‘Right, I’m sick of this!” and I wanted to go in and better my performance as I know Valegro can do much better than that. Last year coming here wasn’t that great; it’s not a place I get the nicest vibes from should I say. Today he felt on great form and I knew I just had to go in and ride him. I had a good ride from start to finish.”
She was asked what it feels like to ride (and win) in front of the Aachen crowd; “It’s tough with a German crowd; they really get behind their riders – a bit like we had in London. Coming here and doing it is amazing; the crowd are fantastic and know what they’re watching. It’s such a great feeling to come out and know that they appreciate what they’re seeing and applauding what I’ve done. It’s tough; but I have to remember that this is my passion and what I love and that’s how I keep the nerves from kicking in. I know I have to go in there nail it and do my best but today, I really did enjoy it.”
Mentor Carl Hester was also delighted with his pupil and horse’s performance; “I’m really happy for Charlotte; I want people to love the horse as we love him at home. Today he was back at his best; the weather suited him more as it’s a bit cooler. He loves the atmosphere and today he was back to full power. Three months at home she rides flying changes without missing one and we come to a Championship and something has to crop up. She was so relieved to get to 15 that she stopped riding! She’s happy and I’m relieved that she’s put her Aachen demons to bed.”
Gold: Charlotte Dujardin/Valegro 87.577%
Silver: Kristina Broring-Sprehe/Desperados FRH 83.067%
Bronze: Hans-Peter Minderhoud/Glock's Johnson TN 79.034%
5th Carl Hester/Nip Tuck 77.003%
9th Fiona Bigwood/Atterupgaards Orthilia 74.510%
19th Michael Eilberg/Marakov 69.93%
Another great day at the office for the British team and confidence is running sky high. Three riders go through to the Freestyle tomorrow and the reports are that the 90% of the 40,000 tickets in the main stadium have been sold so it’s going to be a cracker. Times are: Fiona & Tillie 14.29, Carl & Barney 14.55 and Charlotte & Valegro have been drawn last to go at 15.39 (times BST).
The great news is that the BBC are covering the action tomorrow. From 12.30 (BST) you can catch it on-line, the red button, and connected TV. The red button will have an option for a commentary-free feed. Plus, we’re live on BBC 2 from 14.50 so everyone can catch the final few combinations.
You can also watch via FEI TV with highlights on Horse & Country TV.
