Dressage-News

By KENNETH J. BRADDICK

HAGEN, Germany, April 19–Laura Bechtolsheimer, now married and using Tomlinson as her family name, competed Mistral Hojris for the first time since winning team gold and individual bronze at last summer’s Olympics for a dominating victory in the Grand Prix at Horses & Dreams CDI4* Friday.

The Danish Warmblood gelding that Laura said “luckily doesn’t know he’s 18 years old” showed the same metronome-like piaffe and passage to earn a score of 79.064 per cent, including two 10s on the final centerline piaffe and passage from Stephen Clarke, who was president of the ground jury at the London Games.

This year will, however, be the last in competition for the horse she calls “Alf” and plans are for a couple more big shows in Europe and then a farewell performance at the European Championships in Denmark, the horse’s birthplace.

The German Olympic combination of Anabel Balkenhol and Dablino FRH placed second on 74.191 per cent with compatriot Nadine Capellmann on Girasol 7 third on73.830 per cent in the class that was for the Grand Prix Special.

The Grand Prix for the Freestyle is scheduled for Saturday and features Steffen Peters competing Legolas for the first time outside the United States though the horse was trained to Grand Prix at this same sprawling complex operated by Ullrich Kasselman of Performance Sales International.

The partnership of Laura, now aged 28, and Mistral Hojris (Michellino x Virginia x Ibsen) has been defining for the rise of British dressage to the center of the world stage.

She competed the horse at Young Riders in 2005 then began campaigning in the senior ranks two years later going to the European Championships in 2007 and the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

But it was the European Championships at Windsor, England in 2009 where the fairytale story of Laura and Alf leading the British team to their first ever team silver medal team silver medal that vied for attention with the performances of the superstar couple of Edward Gal and Totilas.

A year later, they were second to the Dutch combination in all three classes at the World Equestrian Games in Kentucky, won team gold at the Europeans in Rotterdam in 2011 and then team gold and individual bronze at the London Games.

“He feels great,” Laura said after Friday’s win, “supple and athletic. There is no pressure. He has nothing left to prove. I’ll just enjoy every ride on him while he’s fit and well. It’s really in his hands.

“I don’t think I will compete him next year even if he’s still well. I really need to be thinking about the future. I don’t want to stop when he’s starting to get worse, I’d ike to stop while he’s still the way people remember him when he was at his best.”

RESULTS

Grand Prix (for Special)