Anky van Grunsven, the most successful dressage rider for a generation, will be competing in front of a British audience for the first time in recent memory at this year’s Olympia London International Horse Show (13-19 December).
The Dutch Olympic gold medallist will be joining British riders Laura Bechtolsheimer, Fiona Bigwood, Wayne Channon and Emma Hindle in the FEI World Cup Dressage Qualifier, supported by The Berkeley Group and Horse & Hound.
Germany’s Isabell Werth, who recently set a new world record dressage score of 79.958% in Stuttgart, will be among the international riders, who also include van Grunsven’s hugely successful student Edward Gal and Finland’s popular Kyra Kyrkland.
British national champion Laura Bechtolsheimer will be partnering the talented Douglas Dorsey, while Fiona Bigwood will be riding Mr G De Lully. Wayne Channon will be riding the beautiful Lorenzo CH and Emma Hindle will be making her UK debut with her new ride Lancet.
The sport of dressage is the focus of the first two days at the London International Horse Show at Olympia. The grand prix action will take place on Tueasday, with the crowd-pleasing kür (dressage to music) on Wednesday, alongside a special musical performance by Tenors Unlimited.
One of the feature displays at this year’s show is the French Presidential Guard, La Garde Republicaine. The display involves exceptionally skilled horsemanship – so much so that one rider, Hubert Perring, is also entered in the FEI World Cup Dressage Qualifier. Their first performance takes place on Wednesday evening.
Show jumping takes over as the principle sport from Thursday until Monday when the great and the good from around Europe will do battle for the prestigious Olympic titles, across two performances per day.
For more information or to book tickets visit: www.olympiahorseshow.com
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