Laura Tomlinson (nee Bechtolsheimer) celebrated an impressive return to competition following a long post-Olympic break — during which she wed her polo star fiancé Mark Tomlinson — proving unbeatable at CDI Hagen in Germany.
After their opening win in Friday’s grand prix (79.064%) ahead of Anabel Balkenhol and Nadine Capellman, Laura and Mistral Hojris dominated the grand prix special on Sunday with a score of over 81%. The score was a massive 6% ahead of second-placed Dane Lone Bang Larsen on Fitou.
“I was really happy with my tests, especially as Alf hasn’t competed since the Olympics eight months ago”, said Laura. “He’s 18, but luckily he doesn’t now that — and you would never guess, because he feels great: keen, motivated, supple.”
The other British rider in the big tour, Michael Eilberg, finished sixth on Half Moon Delphi in Saturday’s grand prix and ninth in the freestyle on Sunday afternoon. Both classes were won by Andreas Helgstrand on his new star Akeem Foldager ahead of Steffen Peters on Legolas and Dorothee Schneider on Forward Looking.
Michael also presented Marakov in the special tour, finishing in 7th place on Friday and in 8th on Sunday.
Full report on all the action from CDI Hagen in this Thursday’s (25 April) Horse & Hound magazine