Lottie Fry and Glamourdale won the opening round of the Grand Hotel Les Trois Rois FEI Dressage World Cup Final, scoring 77.15% to win the grand prix.
The pair arrived in Basel as firm favourites, with DSP Quantaz (Isabell Werth), Total Hope OLD (Isabel Freese), Maxima Bella (Sandra Sysojeva), and Flambeau (Larissa Pauluis) the only other current top-10 ranked horses joining the line-up, and they entered the arena full of purpose.
There was a brief moment of concern when Glamourdale stumbled at K after the second medium trot, which seemed to leave him slightly unsettled heading into the piaffe. But the timing of the walk worked in their favour, allowing him to regroup.
With a brief shake of the head to reset, he settled back into his rhythm and despite being a little underpowered in the piaffe, he soared through the canter work, drawing gasps from the crowd with his extended canter – which is always excellent but seemed to have a little extra feeling today, picking up four nines and a 10 from Ulrike Nivelle at B.
“He was definitely a little more impressed with this arena than he was with previous World Cup arenas,” said Lottie. “I don’t think he quite took a liking to the high seating and the amazing wall of flowers – he even whinnied to the crowd when he went in. So I really had to give him some confidence today, but he trusted me, and I’m so proud of him.
“We still had some amazing moments, I’m very happy with the changes and a lot of the trot work, and it’s always such an amazing feeling to sit on Glamourdale in these huge atmospheres; he’s mid breeding season as well, which I think shows what an amazing character he has.”
Isabell Werth riding DSP Quantaz to second in the FEI Dressage World Cup Final grand prix. Credit: FEI/Benjamin Clark
On her expectations for the freestyle, Lottie added: “I just think about enjoying it to be honest, and giving Glammy every opportunity to be as amazing as he can be, and usually when we aim for that, we also do well, so hopefully it all goes to plan.”
Rivals keep the pressure on
All 17 horses passed the vet inspection and made it down the centre line, though there was a nervous wait for Corentin Pottier’s Gotilas du Feuillard, who had to be reinspected and re-shod this morning (4 April) after a knock in his final training session. Brazilian combination Renderson Silva De Oliveira and his Lusitano stallion Fogoso Campline were late withdrawals.
Although it is hard to call anything in dressage low stakes these days, the opening round of the FEI Dressage World Cup Final had a more relaxed feel.
As just 60% was needed to qualify for the freestyle, which decides the title, most riders played it safe. Few pushed the boundaries, and many opted for safer lines over precision to the markers, keeping their powder dry for the all-important final round which gets underway tomorrow (5 April) at 4.30pm UK time.
Of the chasing pack, less than 0.6% separated the rest of the top five. Isabell Werth and DSP Quantaz – who were second in the last two World Cup Finals and were winners at this venue in the qualifier in January – were second at 74.85%.
“I’m pleased with Quantaz because he’s not been as easy the last couple of days and a bit unconcentrated, so I was happy to be without any big mistakes,” said Isabell, who is making her 26th World Cup Final appearance. “I knew if everything went well I could get second place, and it worked.”
On whether she still feels nerves despite her experience, she added, with a smile: “No, but I was also not nervous when I came here for the first time either.”
Isabel Freese and Total Hope OLD complete the top three. Credit: FEI/Benjamin Clark
Isabel Freese and Total Hope OLD were a little under their exceptional form – which enabled them to pip Lottie and Glamourdale to second in the grand prix at the London International Horse Show – scoring 74.41% to place third.
“I thought I could maybe be top five, realistically, so we’re very happy,” she said. “Our start was not that good today; he was a little bit nervous, but he relaxed into it.”
Surprise performances in Basel
There has been plenty of conversation around judging and scoring trends – most recently reignited at this week’s FEI Sports Forum (31 March to 1 April) – and for most combinations, scores came in noticeably below their recent averages over the last five grand prix tests.
Two combinations who bucked the trend were World Cup Final debutants Sandra Sysojeva with Maxima Bella and Corentin Pottier with Gotilas du Feuillard – who showed no ill effects from his pre-competition vet scare – sharing fourth place on 74.28%.
If Glamourdale can lay claim to the best canter tour in the world, Maxima Bella – already Poland’s most successful dressage horse at just nine years old – could easily stake her claim as the leading piaffe-passage specialist.
It is so good she opted to return to passage from canter on the corner before her one-time changes. But for that mistake, she might well have climbed even higher up the leaderboard, and the pair were the only combination to score higher than an eight in their collective mark for general impression. Expect them to be serious contenders in the freestyle.
Corentin’s performance was the surprise of the day, finishing a full 2.3% above his and Gotilas’ five-test average. Their test was a masterclass in consistency; Gotilas scored no lower than a seven in each movement bar the rein back. Corentin, visibly elated, punched the air and saluted the crowd as he exited the arena – the tension of their dramatic lead-up clearly lifted.
Reigning champion Patrik Kittel began his title defence with Forever Young FRH – rather than last year’s winner Touchdown – and delivered a polished performance to place sixth on 73.13%. He was also one of just six riders whose audience score exceeded the official marks.
Patrik has embraced the atmosphere in Basel, taking time to chat with fans and those working behind the scenes. His test reflected that positive energy: composed and harmonious, and the elegant 13-year-old mare showed fluency throughout.
She may not boast the flamboyance of some rivals, but Patrik presented her in an open, elastic frame, riding with a notably loose curb rein and – barring a slight blip in the two-time changes – keeping errors to a minimum. They may feel slightly short-changed by the score.
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