Not only was the enthusiastic home crowd at the College Equestrian Centre in Keysoe, Great Britain, treated to an intimate display of world class Grand Prix action, but Britain's three-times Olympic gold medallist Charlotte Dujardin dominated the Small Tour titles at the CDI on 15 - 17 March 2019.
An all-star line-up contested the Prix St Georges and the Inter I classes, with Charlotte Dujardin providing convincing wins in all three aboard Emma Blundell’s Mount St John VIP (by Vivaldi x Donnerhall).
“I’ve had her since she was four – she’s owned by Emma Blundell from Mount St John. She’s pretty much won everything she’s done – she’s really, really exciting for the future,” commented Dujardin following her third win of the fixture in the Inter I Freestyle.
“She’s amazing – she’s like a little Ferrari to ride, with loads of gears. You can see where she starts off, she’s very normal, but you pick her up and she turns into something really special. And she really does try. She really tries her best and she loves to work – she’s what you’d call a real worker.”
Dominating the Prix St George on Friday, Charlotte and VIP were some 5% ahead of the field, with Anders Dahl (DEN) and Florina (72.059%) and Jessica Dunn and Alicante Valley (70.471%) the only other combinations to top 70%. Dujardin went on to win the Intermediaire I with 73.765% and the Inter I Kur with 77.425%.
“I’ll keep her at small tour this year,” added Charlotte, “and next year she’ll maybe do Grand Prix. She just takes everything in her stride; she really does have the natural ability to just kick into gear and do it. She’s so happy to do it and she wants to do it, so now we just need to tackle the green things. Like her changes – at home, when she’s relaxed, they’re much straighter, but when she’s hotter I need to do a bit of a hokey-cokey. But it’s just greenness and excitement. She’s still young and inexperienced; to be eight-years-old and doing this is pretty good.”
Denmark’s Anders Dahl was ‘Mr Consistent’ at Keysoe, finishing second with his wife Fiona Bigwood's Florina in the Prix St Georges, Intermediaire I and Inter I Kur to Music (72.059%, 71.206% and 75.150%). The 9-year old Hanoverian mare Florina (by Furst Romancier x Donnerhall) achieved a trifecta, much to the delight of her rider.
“I bought her a year and a half ago. She’s like a little princess – she doesn’t want to do anything wrong, which can cause problems as she can lose confidence, but she was so relaxed today," said Dahl after the Prix St Georges. "Every time she comes out of the stable she just settles a little bit more. At the national shows, you ride and then drive home so you never get to settle them in, but here she’s been able to settle in over a few days and it’s been a real growing up experience for her. Her extended trots, I think, are phenomenal. She just needs to relax that bit more in the ring.”
by Sarah Skillin, edited by Eurodressage
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Scores: 2019 CDI Keysoe
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