Great Britain’s Charlotte Fry and Glamourdale added Grand Prix Freestyle gold to the Grand Prix Special title they won the previous day at the FEI Dressage World Championship in Aachen.
Scoring 91.907% with their flying-themed Freestyle, they brought the packed Main Stadium to its feet. Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour of Denmark and Mount St John Freestyle took silver, while dressage legend Isabell Werth and Wendy de Fontaine claimed bronze for Germany.
Every seat in the Main Stadium was sold for a finale that saw Lottie and Glamourdale repeat their Herning 2022 double, claiming both the Grand Prix Special and Grand Prix Freestyle titles to make it four consecutive individual World Championship gold medals.
It was an exceptionally close Freestyle Final, with the eventual medallists joined by reigning European champions Justin Verboomen of Belgium and Zonik Plus and Great Britain’s Becky Moody and Jagerbomb among the combinations firmly in contention for the podium. The vibrant atmosphere built throughout the evening, with the crowd clapping enthusiastically through the final centre lines from the opening group onwards.
A top Australian performance
Australia was also represented among the final 18 combinations who qualified for the Freestyle. Following a superb Grand Prix Special, Simone Pearce had to quickly arrange a Freestyle test for Will Marq and the duo debuted it on Saturday evening in Aachen. It was their first ever Grand Prix Freestyle together.
“All I can say is I’m glad it’s over, but it’s just a thrill to be here,” said Simone following the test. “We went to the stable this morning to practice the lines, and the loveliest lady let me borrow her horse!”
The combination scored 75.646% for 16th place, which is quite remarkable given the preparation time they had to work with. At just ten years of age, Will Marq hasn’t been in the position of completing three Grand Prix-level tests at the one event before, and Simone said he was feeling it a little by the final day.
“I know [Will Marq] was really tired today, during the warmup there wasn’t much gas left in the tank – sorry boy! But he was fantastic.”
After only a year together, this is certainly a combination to watch for the future.
A flight to remember
Lottie and Glamourdale entered the arena immediately after reigning European champions Justin Verboomen and Zonik Plus. The Belgian combination had produced their best test of the week, scoring 88.439% and bringing the crowd to its feet. As Fry and Glamourdale entered, the stallion appeared to think the applause was already for him and grew even taller.
Before they had even reached A, Lottie had won over the crowd, with the words “Welcome to Glamourdale Airlines, enjoy your flight” incorporated into her Freestyle. The combination delivered a mistake-free Freestyle with a beautiful uphill frame. Their powerful canter work drew cries of admiration from the stands, and the crowd was on its feet before they had even begun their final centre line.
“This was the most amazing feeling in the world,” said Lottie. “We’ve never done a test like this. As soon as he goes in, he relaxes. Neither of us was sweating, we just enjoyed it. It couldn’t have been any better and I couldn’t be happier.
“In Herning in 2022, it felt as if Glammie still had to prove himself to the world. This year we put everything into this week. It has been a huge commitment from our whole team, so for this to happen is a dream come true.”
Silver won, not gold lost
Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour entered immediately after the British combination, with Mount St John Freestyle. The previous day, she had been disappointed with silver after mistakes in the Grand Prix Special. This time, the Danish athlete was delighted with the same colour medal. Their fluent performance earned 91.236%, a new personal best.
“[Friday]it felt as though we lost the gold, but today I truly won the silver,” she said. “Freestyle felt fantastic. This was the ride of a lifetime. To ride into this atmosphere, in this arena, was something I have never felt before. It was only the second time we had ridden this Freestyle, but it felt as though we had never done anything else.”
Isabell Werth delivers for the home crowd
Isabell Werth had the honour of closing the competition in front of her home crowd with Wendy de Fontaine. She entered the arena in a determined mood and maintained that focus throughout the Freestyle.
“To go last here and hear all those scores that had already been posted… The only thing I could do was take every risk,” Isabell said.
The home favourite kept her composure and went for everything. Her brilliantly composed Freestyle captivated the crowd, with only an error in the two-tempi changes affecting the final score. When 88.650% appeared, Werth knew immediately that she had secured bronze. It added an individual bronze medal to the team gold she had already won in Aachen.
“It was amazing today,” Isabell said. “Wendy gave me everything. Our one-time changes worked. I’m very happy. With the whole crowd clapping on the final centre line, and being able to ride Wendy with just one finger on the rein in the piaffe and passage, it was amazing.”
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Source: FEI press release by Bettine van Harselaar, edited by Equestrian Life
