The youngest competitor at this year’s FEI World Cup Final Laura Bechtolsheimer, who only celebrated her 21st birthday in January, rode her parents’ Douglas Dorsey to an emphatic, unanimous victory in the B Final.
It has been a phenomenal year for the Bristol University student, who won the British National title in September and gained a place in the World Cup Final in her first season. “It’s a dream to be here, I am so excited” said Bechtolsheimer. “In some ways I was disappointed not to reach the A Final, but our grand prix was below our normal standard. It was a shame as ‘Dougie’ was working so well in the run up, but by the time we went in perhaps he has fallen asleep a bit, he certainly was not his powerful self. But in other ways it is so much nicer to win the B Final, and we had no mistakes in our one-time changes, which can happen, so I am really happy with what we did today.”
The young rider attracted many fans for her cool, stylish performance, and she is undoubtedly an exciting prospect for her country and the future. After all, Anky van Grunsven competed in her first World Cup Final at the age of 21, with her first horse Prisco. The next aim in Bechtolsheimer’s programme is this summer’s World Equestrian Games in Aachen. She added, smiling: “It has been a very steep learning curve.”
Sweden’s Gustav Svalling was at C. He commented: “Today Douglas Dorsey was carrying himself and looked fresh, much better than in the grand prix. He was a different horse, and his walk was more relaxed. The B Final was a nice final. The runner up, Tip Top, is a good-looking horse of a good standard, while Wilson, in third place, showed his marvellous canter. For me, it was very nice that the ‘B’ riders could be this good.”
By Bernadette Faurie
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