Charlotte Dujardin is eyeing a big future for her rising “superstar” Imhotep after her freestyle which saw her score +83% in the Blue Hors FEI World Dressage Championships results table tonight (10 August).
Charlotte entered the Stutteri Ask Stadium as defending world champion – a title she won with Valegro in 2014 and has held unchallenged for eight years, owing to the hurricane-related cancellation of the freestyle at the 2018 World Equestrian Games.
But this was a different ask. Herning is the biggest stage nine-year-old “Pete” has ever experienced and the partnership’s result tonight (10 August) is made all the more impressive considering this was his first ever grand prix freestyle.
“For him to go out there tonight and to deliver that test… I was absolutely delighted with him,” said Charlotte, who finished 10th in the final Dressage World Championship freestyle results on a score of 83.13%
“He has done absolutely amazing this week and I couldn’t have asked any more from him. He has taken everything in his stride, he has gone beyond what I thought he would have done here. He has dealt with the atmosphere and the crowd amazingly, when I went in they all applauded and he stayed very calm. He has never, ever been in that sort of environment ever before, so I’m absolutely thrilled with him.”
The Everdale son, owned by Carl Hester and Coral Ingham, flowed through the early trot work, with the clever choreography showcasing his strengths. The canter pirouettes and this horse’s natural aptitude for the piaffe/passage were a treat to watch, scoring well in the World Dressage Championships results. There were a couple of green moments, which simply frank how much more there is to come in future.
“He has just got better and better, even just here at this show, every day he has felt better, more and more relaxed,” said Charlotte.
“I know he has definitely come away with a great experience here and he has learnt a lot. This time next year, he is going to be a different horse. I think he is an incredibly talented horse, I love the horse to bits and I think he is going to be a superstar.”
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