Britain’s Lottie Fry produced a super grand prix test at the European Dressage Championships, to put Britain into the gold medal position at the halfway point in the team competition in Hagen, Germany.
Lottie’s chunky score of 77.67% – a grand prix personal best for her and Everdale – was enough to lift Britain above the home side, Germany, overnight.
Fresh from their Olympic team bronze in Tokyo in July, Lottie and Everdale gave a high-energy display with huge, scopey changes, bold extensions and neat pirouettes. The 12-year-old Lord Leatherdale x Negro stallion is improving in every competition and here, every one of the seven judges had them in the lead.
“It felt like a really good test,” confirmed Lottie. “I still feel like there’s so many more marks to come in the future, which is really exciting and it’s inspiring to be able to think about a few years’ time, but today I’m really happy with him.
“I really trust him and feel I can take the risks with him. It’s so much fun.”
Lottie explained that Everdale has gained maturity from his trip to Tokyo, and is still full of energy.
“He’s definitely grown up. He was so happy with himself in Tokyo, and he came home so fresh and excited, and ready to go again,” she said. “His energy never runs out; he will go all day. He loves to work and just as soon as I’m on, he is concentrated and focussed. He just wants to do his job the best he can. Today, I really felt like we could enjoy it, and that I could just take my time. And it was a really nice feeling.”
A whirlwind summer for Lottie Fry
This is the second senior European Dressage Championships for Lottie Fry, who made her team debut in 2019 with Dark Legend. She has enjoyed a hugely successful summer already this year, having followed up her Olympic medal by winning the six-year-old title at the World Breeding Championships last week with Kjento, meaning Everdale had a week off work before coming to Hagen.
“I just love competing and I have so many amazing horses to ride and I’m very lucky,” said Lottie. “I think we are just going on adrenaline from one show to the next, and it’s so much fun, and the horses also love competing.”
Lottie sits at the top of the leaderboard at the halfway stage, ahead of Denmark’s Nanna Skodberg Merrald and Atterupgaards Orthilia in second with 75.08%, and Germany’s Dorothee Schneider and Faustus 94 in third with 74.98%. Britain’s Gareth Hughes currently sits fourth after a very good test with the 11-year-old Sandro Hi son Sintano Van Hof Olympia.
Britain leads the team rankings, with Denmark in the silver medal position and Germany in bronze at this stage. Austria currently lie fourth, followed by the Netherlands in fifth and Sweden in sixth.
The final two riders for each team will compete tomorrow, with Carl Hester riding En Vogue for Britain followed by Charlotte Dujardin and Gio.
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