A relatively new ride for Lottie Fry, Lars Van De Hoenderheide, caught the eye at the business end of the CDI4* grand prix at Aachen CHIO.
The flashy gelding’s electric one-time changes had the crowd itching to clap mid-test. Last of 23 to go in front of an appreciative crowd in the Deutsche Bank Arena, the Brit scored 75.2%, and was just shaded into second by the early leader Frederic Wandres. The German rider delighted his home crowd with a smooth performance on 16-year-old Duke Of Britain FRH.
Lars is a chestnut with a big white face, who stood out in a field of dark bays. Although he’s 12 years old, the Negro x Layout gelding is low-mileage, having arrived at Lottie’s base at the van Olsts’ as a 10-year-old.
“When he came, he wasn’t so experienced as he’d just done advanced,” said Lottie, 27. “So Anne [van Olst] trained him up to grand prix and absolutely loved him. Then at the end of last year, she said, ‘why don’t you hop on and ride through the grand prix?’ So I did, and she entered me for a grand prix the following week! She’s trained him so well, he’s so easy to ride.”
Lars finished sixth at that first show in Leeuwarden, the Netherlands, and has been on a steady upward curve since – winning his four outings ahead of Aachen.
“Every time we go to a competition, he improves,” Lottie said. “He’s so much fun to ride, and I think he’s fun to watch too, with his cheeky face and personality. This is the biggest atmosphere he’s ever been in, and I could feel he was a little nervous, but as soon as he enters the arena, he’s so focused and honest. He just does everything I say, and he produced a really nice test.
“Each time it gets technically better, and I feel like we’ve got a few more marks to come.”
Lars produced a powerful yet elegant picture, with Lottie able to sit almost motionless aboard. His passage and one-time tempis were fabulous, yielding eights, and his purposeful walk was also well marked. Just the piaffe looked a little bit weak compared to the rest of the test – as Lottie said, the partnership is still strengthening.
The German judge at E, Knut Danzberg, had them in first place, but they wound up 1.7% adrift of Frederic’s winning score of 76.94%.
Laura Tomlinson was the only other Briton in this class. She rode a lovely consistent test on Fallatijn to score 71.59%.
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