Lottie Fry won the opening grand prix class of the London Horse Show dressage competition this afternoon by more than 5% on her world champion, Glamourdale.
The British pair scored 84.03% in the FEI World Cup short grand prix, supported by Horse & Hound. Their impressive test brimmed with controlled power as Van Olst Horses’ black stallion showed off throughout his virtually flawless performance.
“He had a bit of a holiday after the dressage World Championships and suddenly became even more popular for breeding, so he’s been busy with that,” said Lottie.
“Then the last month or so we started to play around with the work again. A couple of weeks ago we realised how well he was going at home and thought how amazing it would be to bring him to London – and that’s how we ended up coming.”
Lottie said she is still “living on a cloud” and her success this year – double individual gold plus team silver at the World Championships in Herning – hasn’t really sunk in.
“I guess there probably was quite a lot of pressure coming here, considering how well the World Championships went, but I know he loves these atmospheres and the arena here is incredible,” she said.
“There was a lot of excitement about coming to show him in England for the first time and we both loved it. When he goes in there he lifts up and gives more and I’ve not had that feeling since Herning – it’s an incredible feeling.”
Lottie Fry and Glamourdale celebrate a grand prix win at the London International Horse Show. Credit: Peter Nixon
Gareth Hughes made it a British one-two when he piloted his world team silver medallist Classic Briolinca to second on 78.26%. The 16-year-old mare belongs to Gareth, his wife Rebecca and daughter Ruby, plus Julia Hornig.
“I thought I did a good job until Lottie rode in!” joked Gareth. “I’ve been doing this a long time and what Lottie’s achieved, what Charlotte [Dujardin] has achieved – those two are going to be the centre of our team for years to come.
“This was my mare’s first indoor show – she holds a lot of nerve, but she’s getting older, so we thought as she feels really good we’d come here. I’m really proud of her efforts here today.”
Gareth Hughes and Classic Briolinca finish second in the grand prix at the London International Horse Show 2022. Credit: Peter Nixon
Germany’s Ingrid Klimke – who combines riding in eventing and dressage at championship level – finished third on her London Horse Show dressage debut with Wilhelm Holkenbrink’s Franziskus FRH, scoring 75.42%.
“He was really listening and very fresh,” said Ingrid, who was kicking herself for doing 13 one tempi changes instead of 11. “That was a big mistake from me – I wasn’t sure if I was missing one and then I did too many, but he did lovely pirouettes, a super zigzag, nice two-time changes, so there were many good points.”
Ingrid said she was glad she had arrived early, on Tuesday, to give the 14-year-old stallion time to soak up the atmosphere, but she still had to sit a big leap as she warmed down after her test.
“He’s full of himself! I’m really looking forward to tomorrow night,” said the German star, who is riding to pop music in the freestyle. “I hope it will get everyone dancing in their chairs, it’s really refreshing and fun.”
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