Charlotte Dujardin Rides Imhotep to Dressage Future Elite Champion at Britain’s Horse of Year Event, Rider’s Fifth Title in 5 Years
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Oct. 8, 2021
Charlotte Dujardin rode Imhotep to the Dressage Future Elite Championship at Great Britain’s Horse of the Year event in Birmingham, England for the fifth straight title on five different horses for the rider.
Charlotte, 35 years old and tied as Britain’s most decorated female Olympic with six medals from three Games, took the title for horses with to 10 years old at Small Tour level on the eight-year-old KWPN gelding KWPN gelding. Imhotep, owned by her long time coach and mentor Carl Hester and Coral Ingham, is a son of Everdale, the stallion that was ridden by Charlotte Fry for Britain as team mates of Charlotte Dujardin and Gio at the Tokyo Games.
“It is the first time he has ever done a big competition like that, so to come into that kind of arena and perform the way he did, I am thrilled,” said Charlotte. “He has got the biggest heart.
“He is going to be a very special horse. He is definitely one for Paris (Olympics in 2024) that we will be lining up. Hopefully, next year he should be at grand prix level. He shows so much talent and is so much fun to ride.”
Among Charlotte’s previous HoY title winners are Mount St. John Freestyle that was on Britain’s team at the 2018 World Equestrian Games in Tryon and Hawtins Delicato that was competed by Carl Hester but now by Fiona Bigwood.
Charlotte’s Olympic medal tally of six–four on Valegro–is tied with six other riders in equestrian sports and exceeded only by dressage riders Isabell Werth of Germany with 10, Anky van Grunsven of the Netherlands with nine and Reiner Klimke of Germany with eight as well as Germany’s jumper rider Hans Günter Winkler with seven.
