Team fifth for bright British team in Aachen

A British team featuring new talent achieved fifth place in a close-fought Nations Cup team competition at the World Equestrian Festival CHIO Aachen in Germany (17 – 21 July 2019).

Before the vet inspection, team member Susan Pape was unfortunately forced to withdraw the magnificent Don Noblesse, as the stallion had a small infection, so the team didn’t run on the full complement of four. This aside, the trio, spearheaded by Charlotte Dujardin with the inexperienced Erlentanz, showing-turned-dressage star Louise Bell with Into The Blue, and young gun Charlotte Fry with her U25 European Championship Individual silver and Freestyle gold partner Dark Legend rode with supreme professionalism to hold their own in world class company.

Dujardin and Sonnar Murray-Brown’s Erlentanz (pictured), after only a handful of shows together, were so impressive. Trakehner gelding ‘Erly’ may not have many miles on the clock but this would be difficult to tell watching his Grand Prix on Thursday in the Deutsche Bank Stadium. Barring a little irregularity into the first piaffe and the final piaffe on the centre line, the test was beautiful – the pair earning 79.15% for third in the CDIO5* Grand Prix behind the home nation’s Isabell Werth and Bella Rose 2 (82.78%) and Dorothee Schneider and Showtime FRH (80.60%). In the Special, again the pair was superb, scoring a phenomenal 80% for third place with Werth and Schneider taking the two top spots.

Louise Bell and Into The Blue, on their second Nations Cup appearance, realised a dream to make 70% in Aachen. Louise was visibly emotional as she left the arena following her super Grand Prix on Thursday. Louise and ‘Dynamo’, who come from a showing background and together won a working hunter title at HOYS, have made an incredible transformation into an effective international dressage partnership. To be at Aachen and to make such a strong contribution to the British campaign is simply testament to the talent and drive of this popular lady from Oxfordshire. In the Special, Louise and Dynamo had costly errors in the one-tempis but even so, they scored plus-68%.

Everybody sat up to watch young star Charlotte Fry and Dark Legend. At only their fourth CDI Grand Prix appearance, 23-year-old Fry defied her youth with an intelligent and mature ride aboard 11-year-old Dark Legend who she co-owns with her employer Van Olst Horses. Seventy-four percent was their score putting them into twelfth place, and on Saturday their incredible Grand Prix Special was awarded with 75.12% to make the top ten – a very exciting achievement for any international rider, let alone someone so young.

The combined scores from the Grand Prix and Grand Prix Special decided the team standings, with Germany, Denmark and the United States making the top three, and a photo finish between Sweden and Great Britain for fourth and fifth.

Glamourdale is glorious in Small Tour

Charlotte Fry piloted Van Olst Horses’ Glamourdale to two emphatic Small Tour victories.

Eleven months on from taking the seven year old title at the 2018 Longines FEI WBFSH World Breeding Championships, and in his first season at Small Tour, the Lord Leatherdale x Negro stallion and his British rider continue to show their undoubted potential. Unanimous winners of Wednesday’s Prix St Georges with 77.97% and Saturday’s Intermediate I with an astonishing 80.41%, they delivered two performances of unmatched class. Reminiscent of the 2016 performances of Michael Eilberg and Woodlander Farouche, they made an impression on the knowledgeable Aachen crowd as well as the jury.

Results of the British riders:

CDIO5* Grand Prix (Nations Cup)
1st Isabell Werth with Bella Rose 2, 82.783% (GER)
3rd Charlotte Dujardin with Erlentanz, 79.152% (GBR)
11th Charlotte Fry with Dark Legend, 74.435% (GBR)
23rd Louise Bell with Into The Blue, 70.043% (GBR)

CDIO5* Grand Prix Special (Nations Cup)
1st Isabell Werth with Bella Rose 2, 84.447% (GER)
3rd Charlotte Dujardin with Erlentanz, 80.277% (GBR)
10th Charlotte Fry with Dark Legend, 75.128% (GBR)
25th Louise Bell with Into The Blue, 68.851% (GBR)

Nations Cup - team result (CDIO5* Grand Prix and Special combined)
1st Germany, 489.477
2nd Denmark, 457.515
3rd United States of America, 450.775
4th Sweden, 447.953
5th Great Britain, 447.886
6th Ireland, 428.104
7th Spain, 423.588

CDIO5* Grand Prix Freestyle
1st Isabell Werth with Bella Rose 2, 90.450% (GER)
5th Charlotte Dujardin with Erlentanz, 83.995% (GBR)
15th Charlotte Fry with Dark Legend, 75.465% (GBR)

CDI4* Grand Prix
1st Sönke Rothenberger with Cosmo 59, 81.370% (GER)
9th Charlotte Fry with Everdale, 71.913% (GBR)

CDI4* Grand Prix Special
1st Sönke Rothenberger with Cosmo 59, 82.213% (GER)
7th Charlotte Fry with Everdale, 72.979% (GBR)

Prix St Georges
1st Charlotte Fry with Glamourdale, 77.971% (GBR)

Intermediate I
1st Charlotte Fry with Glamourdale, 80.412% (GBR)