The stunning Dutch stallion Glamourdale fulfilled his potential to become one of Britain’s most exciting championship prospects when winning the grand prix special at the Blue Hors FEI World Dressage Championships 2022 in Herning on a score of 82.5%.
The 11-year-old KWPN stallion draw gasps of appreciation from the knowledgeable crowd during his canter work, while the judges showed their appreciation with a plethora of nines and 10s awarded for movements ranging from a foot-perfect entry and square halt, to massive two-time changes and extended canter. A slight loss of balance in the canter pirouettes during the grand prix was rectified by his rider Lottie Fry in time for the special, earning eights and a nine. On Glamourdale’s final centre line in the special, the crowd could hold back no longer and burst into applause. But this pair are not ones to be fazed – Glamourdale loves the atmosphere, producing even more lift in his last bout of passage, before executing a perfect halt – banking himself a further pair of 10s to help them claim the gold medal.
Glamourdale fact file
Age: 11
Breeding: Lord Leatherdale x Negro
Studbook: KWPN
Breeder: Joop Rodenburg
Owner: Van Olst Horses
Rider: Lottie Fry
Greatest achievements: first seven-year-old final, World Breeding Championships 2018; first grand prix and freestyle, Grote-Brogel CDI3* 2021; second grand prix special, Aachen CDI4* 2021; first grand prix special, Lier CDI4* 2022; first grand prix and special, Opglabbeek CDI4* 2022; first grand prix and special, Compiègne CDIO5* 2022; World Dressage Championships 2022 grand prix special individual gold medal and team silver medal
Lottie Fry and Glamourdale take gold in the special at the 2022 World Championships.
Rider Lottie Fry’s thoughts
“MY grand prix special on Glamourdale in Opglabbeek, Belgium, was the best test I’ve ever felt. Everything came together and when he is doing everything really well he can easily get nines and even 10s for almost everything. Even though he scored 80% in that test, I can feel there is so much more to come – there seems to be no limit to his potential.
“The feeling from that test was of everything coming together, and it was incredible – when I did my last halt I knew it was good.
“He is very powerful, with amazing self-carriage and natural balance. Wherever he goes he wants to show off, so when there is a big audience he just gets better and better. He knows when everyone is looking at him and he loves that. He has always been like it and it’s incredible to sit on.
“He finds everything so easy and he loves to work, and it is that attitude that makes him so extra special. In the arena he is always switched on and ready to go, but he is chilled out as well – and he also loves to go hacking in the fields.
“In the stable, Glamourdale is really chilled out and he loves a cuddle – he’ll hug you with his whole head and neck and stand there for ages while you stroke him. He’s chatty, too, and every time I come into the stables he whinnies.
“His stable is next to my wash bay and tack room, so whenever I come back from riding another horse he sees me giving them a carrot and he chats away, wanting one too. He is so much fun to have around.”
Glamourdale’s groom Rich Neale
“GLAMMY is super-sweet and cuddly, and just a super-cool chap. He loves a good scratch and also gets very excited each day when it’s time for him to go out to have grass. We do really spoil him, and he has a proper look he always does with his ears forward as if to say, ‘Oh… are those treats for me?’
“He is fine travelling on the truck, although he always manages to get his headcollars off – both of them! He wears two in the hope that he might keep one of them on, but he always manages to get out of them. He is a master at escaping!
“Glammy is always super-chilled when he is staying away at a show, and if he’s travelling with his stablemate Inclusive, Lottie’s up-and-coming grand prix ride, he loves to have a chat with him through the wall.”
Judge Isobel Wessels’ thoughts of Glamourdale:
“I JUDGED Glamourdale and Lottie at the Opglabbeek CDI in April, where he scored over 80% in the grand prix special. It really was an amazing test and a magical performance. They moved from one movement to the next with such ease and lightness – everyone was spellbound. Lottie always looks so concentrated when she is riding, but when she finished in front of me at C, her face just lit up. It was a privilege to judge.
“Glamourdale is going to be a real top contender. Lottie always rides so elegantly and the picture they present is beautiful. I judged Glamourdale when he won the seven-year-old World Championship and at that stage, one was massively aware of his wonderful canter.
“Now, everything else seems to be falling into place. His conformation is very impressive; he never looks short in the neck, he is naturally balanced and he can really sit. He also seems to cope very well with the pressure of being in an arena and he really trusts Lottie.
“They are a genuine partnership and you can see he is working with her and for her; you get the impression she just thinks it and he does it. They’re an extraordinary pair.”
You may also be interested in…
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‘The score can go even higher’: Lottie Fry leads the way for Britain with two wins at Compiègne CDIO5*
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