Brits on form and PB for Glamourdale in Lier

Brits were on top form in Lier with top three placings for Charlotte Fry, Richard Davison, Mette Dahl and Sophie Taylor.

Lottie Fry rode three Van Olst horses. Glamourdale (Lord Leatherdale x Negro) had to settle for third in the CDI4* Grand Prix, behind Sweden’s Juliette Ramel and Buriel K.H., before putting in a tremendous personal best in the Grand Prix Special to win with 78.68%. The passage and canter work scored well in the judges with many 8s and 9s awarded and two judges gave 10 for the extended canter. The only weaker spot was the extended walk where the horse appeared distracted. With such good marks, Lottie and Glamourdale look sure to break the 80% barrier soon.

The 11-year-old black stallion made his GP debut at Hagen in 2021 (pictured above) and this was only his third ever international Special test. “He was amazing,” enthused Lottie. “He’s still pretty new to the level but he finds everything easy. He loves to show off so he’s fun to ride. There are still some small things to improve on so hopefully the scores can go higher.”

Don Joe (Diego x Lord Leatherdale) made his international Grand Prix debut and placed 11th, while Especial (Everdale x Vivaldi) placed 12th in the Intermediate I classes at only his second CDI.

“Don Joe is really new to grand prix,” explained Lottie. “The trot work felt amazing but he’s still a bit insecure in the canter work. I couldn’t have asked for more for his first grand prix.”

“Especial is just eight and still pretty green. It was exciting for him to go to a big show. He is so talented for grand prix. We’ll take him to more shows to get him used to the atmosphere.”

Richard Davison and his own and Gwendolyn Meyer’s Bubblingh (Lingh x Picandt) are an established pairing and they brought their A game to Lier to finish second in the GP Freestyle. They were less than half a percent behind the winner, Holland’s Marieke Van Der Putten and Torveslettens Titanium.

“I did this competition on the way to the World Cup qualifier at ’s-Hertogenbosch. Although there were a couple of parts in each test which could have been better, generally I was pleased. The 4* turned out to be a strong class with plenty of quality horses,” said Richard.

Dedication to horses runs in the Bigwood-Dahl family and 15-year-old Mette had to fit in riding the pony tests with revising for her mock GCSEs. Mette placed in the top six in all her tests with her handsome grey pony, George Clooney B.S. (by Caesar 171). Mette was on the podium in the Pony Team Test where she placed third.

“All the classes were really tough,” said Mette’s mum, Fiona Bigwood. “In the first day’s team test Mette felt he was really with her. Over the winter she’s been working on riding accurately and not throwing away marks.”

This is Mette’s last year in pony classes and the pair’s next stop is Keysoe CDI which is a selection competition for the British team.

Before Mette took over the ride, George was successfully campaigned by Sophie Taylor, including riding him at 2017 and 2018’s Pony Europeans. Having skipped Juniors, Sophie is now raring to go and has started her Young Riders career with Jerrydale to good effect.

The pair were fifth in the Young Rider Team and Freestyle tests and third in the Individual test. It was Sophie and Jerrydale’s first overseas international. Sophie has owned the Everdale eight-year-old since he was four. “We weren’t sure how he would cope,” said Sophie who is based with, and trains with Gareth Hughes. “There’s still lots more to come and everything is in place for the higher levels. I’ve been based with Gareth for two years and he’s been an amazing help.”

“I was pleased with his Individual test as it’s only the second time we’ve done it and it’s harder than the team test. He’s a bit Dutch and sometimes likes to flap his front legs and not work behind. In this test he was a bit more relaxed and let me push him a bit for more engagement.”

The pair are scoring well at PSG in the UK and their next stop is Keysoe CDI.

Sophie travelled with the Hughes family as Ruby Hughes was competing in the pony classes with Shirley Rixon’s Hilkens Showgirl and the junior classes with Lucy Amy’s Extra Time. Ruby had to work hard with four rides in tough classes and she had a best place in the Junior Freestyle of 13th.

Emily Bradshaw achieved a creditable seventh place in the Under 25 Inter II with Enjoy Amaris V (Apache x Clint Eastwood) before an unfortunate overreach ended their competition. The pair were on the British team at the European Young Riders Championships in 2020 and have been contesting international U25 Grand Prix classes. Best wishes to Enjoy for a speedy recovery and return to competition.

RESULTS

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