British Dressage.

It was an exciting end to the dressage team competition at the ECCO FEI European Championships in Herning, Denmark when four of the sport’s heavyweights battled it out for the team medals.  After the third rider for each nation had gone, there was a change in the standings and Britain moved up the leader board into medal contention following an expert performance by Carl Hester with his and Sasha Stewart’s Uthopia to score 75.334%. With a medal in our grasp, Charlotte Dujardin entered into the MCH Arena on the indefatigable Valegro brimming with confidence.  The crowd were captivated for seven minutes of harmonious genius which the judges rewarded with 85.942%, a new world record score for grand prix.
The showground was then buzzing with talk of who would win which medal.  The final Danish rider, Nathalie zu Sayn-Wittgenstein couldn’t quite match Valegro with her final Championship ride on Digby and their 76.003% ensured Britain had a medal.  It was then down to the final Dutch and German riders to battle it out with Britain breathing down their necks.  Adelinde Cornelissen and Jerich Parzival showed their class but some time out of the ring told and they scored 80.851% which was enough to relegate Britain.  Helen Langehanenberg and Damon Hill NRW knew they needed a big score to ensure gold and they answered with a beautiful flowing test for 84.377% to give gold to Germany, silver to the Netherlands and a bronze for Great Britain.

It hasn’t been an ideal Championship build-up for the Metall-sired stallion Uthopia as Carl only took the ride back six weeks ago having let Charlotte campaign him for much of the summer.  A single competitive run at Hickstead CDIO in early August and two weeks of fine tuning were their only preparation but Carl knows him well having produced him from just four years old.  ‘Uti’ is renowned for his exuberant extended trot and the test features it twice early on.  Most judges awarded nines; there was even a ten from one, which got them off to a great start.  A few piaffe issues followed and then an error in the two time canter changes proved costly.
Carl commented; “He was a bit clever in there.  As a stallion he knows and he just switched off on me in the piaffe and normally his twos are a highlight but not today.  His pirouettes felt brilliant and they are double marks so I’m pleased with that.  I’ve had six weeks with him and we’ve done one show together; he’s not a horse you ‘sort out’ and he never feels in the warm up how he feels in the test.  I rode confidently and did the best I could with the amount of time I had.”
Charlotte’s performance with Carl Hester and Roly Luard’s Valegro left the crowd spellbound; some claimed it was the best grand prix performance they’d ever witnessed.  Some 17 perfect 10s were dished out, including two for Charlotte’s riding.  It was hard to pick out a mistake, but there was one moment up the final centre line when there was a slight waiver in the passage which we later found out was an overwhelming emotional wave felt by Charlotte when the reality of a truly special performance began to hit.

“When I was getting on, Carl said ‘you’d better ride for everything’ and so I did.  Hickstead did me the world of good; the mistakes gave me just the wake-up call I needed.  The last two weeks have been hell as Carl has done nothing but shout at me which has been brilliant.  I was in my comfort zone which is not good enough; I have to push for better marks.  I felt (after Hickstead) that I couldn’t do it anymore, I had no confidence but Carl got us back.  Plus he’s been fantastic since he arrived and I had a great ride yesterday which gave me the confidence to go for it today,” said Charlotte.
She continued; “He’s such an amazing horse, it’s only our third show together this year and he can still go and produce that.  It was an emotional performance; I started crying half way down the final centre line which almost cost me as I nearly stopped!  He tries his hardest and always wants to do his best – I’m so lucky to ride him.”
It was a great competition for the sport with the medals being separated by just over a single percent.  Britain won a medal with two debutantes in the team and a great deal of pressure as reigning European and Olympic champions, plus the unsettling experience of Laura Tomlinson and Mistral Hojris, stalwarts of the team, withdrawing just 24 hours before the horses set off for Denmark. 
Day one was a day of mixed emotions, with Gareth Hughes and Jane Brewin’s DV Stenkjers Nadonna having a difficult time, followed by a great debut by Michael Eilberg with Jon and Julie Deverill’s Half Moon Delphi. The achievement is testament to the strength and quality of riders and horses we have in Britain now.
British team Chef de Mission, Will Connell, summed the competition up; “We are absolutely thrilled with how the team as a whole have performed. Gareth did a fabulous job to contain a hot horse; Michael has demonstrated yet again that he’s cool under pressure at the very highest levels of the sport. Carl who’s only competed once this year on Uthopia produced a masterclass throughout his test, whilst Charlotte has again raised the bar in dressage. We are very aware that there are discussions online regarding the marking of Michael Eilberg’s test; we fully accept the view of all the judges and dressage is a judged sport. Our focus now is the Grand Prix Special and Freestyle tests. We are extremely appreciative of the time and dedication that top level dressage judges give to the sport.”
Final team scores
Gold – Germany 234.651%
Silver – Netherlands 233.967%
Bronze – Great Britain 233.540%
Tomorrow, Friday 23 August, will be the Grand Prix Special where the first individual medals will be decided.  Carl, Charlotte and Michael have all qualified by finishing in the top 30.  Times are:  Michael Eilberg/Half Moon Delphi 10.36, Carl Hester/Uthopia 12.03 and Charlotte Dujardin/Valegro 12.54 (all times given BST).
Photos: Kevin Sparrow