In their first head-to-head encounter, German Olympic and European Champion TSF Dalera BB and Jessica von Bredow-Werndl finished ahead of World Champion Glamourdale and Britain’s Lottie Fry at the FEI European Championships in Risenbeck, Germany on Thursday. The mare vs. the stallion.
The match-up had been highly anticipated and each horse experienced brief downsides during their tests. But after a bit of a slow start without her usual bevy of 10’s in the initial piaffe/passage work, Dalera’s specialty, Jessica emerged with the upper hoof on 84.612, a new personal best in the Grand Prix .As she was leaving the ring, the mare spooked into a few strides of gallop, but Jessica quickly brought her under control.
Glamourdale, whose strength lies in his extensions and tempi changes, got uncharacteristic marks of 6.5 and 5 on the final center line in the piaffe, bringing the stallion’s score to 81.258 and a personal best in the Grand Prix.
In the big picture, the score clinched team gold for Lottie’s side on a total of 242.220, with Germany second on 239.674 and Denmark taking bronze with 228.727.
Jessica accepted the fact that her score wasn’t enough to nudge Germany into gold medal territory.
“Everyone rode super,’ she said.
“More was not possible here today. We can’t do more than our best. The British are just abnormally strong.”
Germany’s Jessica von Bredow-Werndl and TSF Dalera BB. (EQWOnet photo)
Lottie noted she has been on a good number of teams in her career, so “to finally get the gold here is an incredible feeling and so special to do it with these teammates. He went in there on fire. He felt amazing in there. He had a few small distractions, I could just feel his eyes wandering to the outside of the arena.” Even so, she noted, “We really improved on a lot of things since last year.
Britain, which led after day one with a brilliant performance by Carl Hester on Fame and good support from Gareth Hughes on Classic Briolinca, went from strength to strength early in the second day as Carl’s protege, Charlotte Dujardin, put in a personal best in the Grand Prix on Imhotep, fondly known as Pete.
Charlotte Dujardin and Imhotep compete in the Grand Prix at the FEI Dressage European Championship. ( Photo Jon Stroud Media)
The new mother of the adorable Isabella Rose was bubbling with delight after being marked first across the board by the judges when she delivered a test marked at 82.422, a real surprise in that it wound up being more than a point ahead of Lottie’s mark.
Charlotte declared, “It’s been absolutely incredible. I wasn’t really going to plan to be here this year after having Isabella only six months ago. It was kind of a roller coaster.”
After her pregnancy, she started competing again at home at Royal Windsor. then got Pete’s first 80 percent at Wellington in England before a pre-championship run at Aachen.
“Pete hasn’t done an awful lot of competitions,” she noted, but figured about Aachen, “`Why not run him there?’ Again, he got brilliant scores. It was brilliant preparation for coming here. He has been on top form. He felt amazing. Pete is an unbelievable horse.
“He has so much power, so much ability, his brain is phenomenal. He tries so hard. He’s gone out there and done his absolute best. and that’s all you can ask, win or lose, when you’ve got a test like that, you can’t ask any more. He always wants to please. That’s what makes it so emotional.”
But eventually, you can.
As Charlotte noted, w ith10-year-old Pete only in the development stage and gaining strength, “There’s still more. I’m still on half-power.”
Pete had 19 hours of travel and was “travel sick” when he got to Germany. And on top of that, Isabella Rose was running a temperature.
Olympic multi-gold medalist Charlotte,, who became Britain’s golden girl on the now-retired Valegro, knows how to take it all in stride. Her attitude helps her overcome.
Team Gold Medalists Great Britain (L-R) Gareth Hughes, Lottie Fry, Charlotte Dujardin and Carl Hester at the FEI Dressage European Championship 2023.- (Photo Jon Stroud Media)
“For me, it’s all about having fun and enjoying it,” she said.
“Especially now, as I’ve had a baby, I see it so differently: `Oh well, there’s always another day.'”
But Thursday was the day to remember.
“I am absolutely thrilled and euphoric,” said chef d’equipe Caroline Griffith.
“This team have been building toward this…and when you see the riding and the tests they produced, it’s phenomenal. They support each other so very well, as a team, they are super to work with.”
Britain first claimed European gold at the FEI European Championships in Rotterdam in 2011, a harbinger of going on to win a historic Olympic team gold at London 2012 and start the dynasty of British dressage.
Thursday’s win in Riesenbeck was the second European gold for Britain in the last month, as the eventing team set the stage in France during August with a double victory for the squad and Ros Canter, while silver went to Kitty King.
Likewise, there is a possibility of several individual medals for Britain in dressage. On Friday, the Grand Prix Special will have 30 participants who qualified, but it will be touted as a sequel to the face-off between Jessica and Lottie
“We’re really going for it tomorrow,” said Lottie on Thursday.
In terms of the glitches, she said she will “to try to iron out those little things. Hopefully, he’s a little more concentrated rated tomorrow and I’ll be more prepared to handle it.”
Sixth-place Austria, followed by Belgium and Spain in the rankings, qualified for the Paris Olympics next year on the basis of their finish at Riesenbeck.
click here to see full team results
click here to see individual results