Dressage-News

HARTPURY, England, July 10, 2015–Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro, the No. 1 ranked combination in the world, won the CDI3* Grand Prix Friday with a score of 85.44 per cent a month before the European Championships. British combinations swept the top three places.

In only their third event of the year–the first was to qualify for the World Cup Final and the second was the successful defense of the title at Las Vegas in April–Charlotte and the 13-year-old KWPN gelding finished more than seven percentage points ahead of her coach and mentor, Carl Hester on Nip Tuck that placed second on 78.040 per cent.

The result for Carl and the 11-year-old KWPN gelding that he has been competing at international Big Tour for 14 months was a personal best at Grand Prix, surpassing their previous high of 75.840 per cent posted at Barcelona in March.

Fiona Bigwood on the rapidly developing Atterupgaards Orthilla scored 76.800 per cent in only the fifth international event in the partnership of the world and European championship team rider and the spectacular 10-year-old Oldenburg mare that began in Barcelona in March.

Portugal’s Gonçalo Carvalho on Batuta placed fourth on 73.120 per cent, with Britain’s Gareth Hughes on Classic Briolinca fifth on 71.300 per cent and Henriette Anderson on Warlocks Charm in sixth on 70.280 per cent.

Great Britain, along with Germany and the Netherlands, has already secured its team slot for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Charlotte and Valegro will be heading to the Europeans in Aachen, Germany as the winner of team and individual gold at the London Olympics in 2012, team silver and individual gold at the World Games last year, two European Championships where the pair won team gold, team bronze and individual gold as well two World Cup titles.