Friday, 15 December 2023
The British trio of Charlotte Dujardin, Lottie Fry and Becky Moody dominated the two dressage days at this year’s London International Horse Show, with a clean sweep of the podium in both the Short Grand Prix qualifier and the FEI Dressage World Cup Freestyle.
The dressage action opened the six days of the annual pre-Christmas celebration, when the equestrian community make their annual pilgrimage to London. The Short Grand Prix opener qualifies for the showpiece Freestyle and it was certainly a class of firsts – London debuts for Becky Moody and Lewis Carrier and a first ever indoor appearance for Charlotte Dujardin’s ride, Imhoptep, owned by Carl Hester and Coral Ingham.
The first Brit up the centreline was Lewis Carrier, riding his own and parents Andrew and Helen Carrier’s Diego V. Since childhood, Lewis has dreamt about riding at this show and, as they cantered into the electric London arena, that dream was realised. The duo produced a relaxed test with just a few tiny errors to score 70%. They were replaced in the arena by World Champion Lottie Fry, who laid down the score to beat with Van Olst Horses’ 14-year-old stallion Everdale (Lord Leatherdale x Negro) thanks to a fantastic 79.348%.
Not only was this Becky Moody’s first appearance at London, but it was made even more special by the fact that she’s here with a horse she’s bred and produced – and it proved to be a debut to remember. Riding her own and Jo Cooper’s Jagerbomb – one of only two nine-year-olds in the field – she stole the hearts of the crowd and, with 74.022% as their final score, the judges, too. That gave them second place with four riders to go.
Two French and a Dutch challenger tried to better the British duo, but couldn’t quite do it, so the class result came down to the final combination – for a truly thrilling climax, it was none other than European team gold medalists, Charlotte Dujardin and Imhotep. ‘Pete’ is still very much learning his trade at Grand Prix level and a first indoor show put a bit of extra pressure for the 10-year-old gelding. He’s a powerhouse of a horse, but looks to his rider for confidence – Charlotte kept reassuring him throughout and he held his nerve to impress the judges, who unanimously put them top with an overall score of 81.761% to take the win.
Thursday’s highlight, the FEI Dressage World Cup Freestyle presented by Bret Wilson Dressage International and supported by Horse & Hound, certainly lived up to its billing. The question on everyone’s lips was whether the British trio could repeat their performances or would one of other riders snatch a podium place?
The four Brits were all drawn in the second half of the field, so it was going to be an exciting climax for the sell-out crowd. Lewis Carrier was the first in and, buoyed by a super debut, he really was keen to replicate the Freestyle they produced at Windsor earlier this year. The test was going to plan and Lewis really rode to the end to squeeze every mark possible. A final halt and a punch of the air signaled a happy rider and Diego looked pretty pleased with himself as they skipped out of the arena. A 76.195% flashed up, which sent the crowd wild and a huge smile appeared on Lewis’s face as he took the lead.
This lead, however, was only brief because combinations from Belgium and France quickly took over. The first of the previous day’s podium to enter the arena were Charlotte and Pete – what could the duo produce with their Madagascar-themed Freestyle? It was a resounding success with both the crowd and the judges, with Pete’s power and presence really shining through. A whopping 89.465% was the new score to beat.
Becky Moody and Jagerbomb were next – would the previous day’s experience impact on Jagerbomb’s confidence? Not one jot. If anything, the tall Dante Weltino-bred gelding looked even more at home in the electric London arena. Performing to their toe-tapping Tom Jones medley, they got the crowd going and the marks flowing. Becky is a master of the Freestyle, expertly choregraphing each floorplan to the perfect music for her horses, and tonight’s performance surpassed any expectations she had to score 83.675% – bettering their previous personal best by 3.685% to soar into second.
Last in were Lottie Fry and Everdale. The crowd might have built to a frenetic energy, but it’s just the sort of atmosphere that this horse and rider relish – and, with a new Freestyle to show off, it was going to be just the exciting finale the crowd wanted. A bright start to the catchy Lady Marmalade was followed by selection of other hits by the great entertainer Pink – and these two certainly did plenty of entertaining of their own. As they halted and Lottie raised a triumphant arm, it was going to be close, with both the technical and artistic marks finishing strongly.
The expectant crowd waited on the judges’ final few marks before 85.040% was announced – second spot was theirs and the previous day’s podium was repeated. It was the first British one-two-three performance at London and a proud moment to see the Union flags covering the scoreboard.
Lewis Carrier finished in eventual seventh – a thrilling debut to remember for the World Class Podium Potential rider. He said: “That was a whirlwind. I can’t really remember it – we were just going from movement to movement, trying to get through it. It was a really hot atmosphere in there, very intense, and I could feel the crowd next to me. It was amazing.
“I watched London Horse Show as a child and to actually ride here… I don’t think it’s actually sunk in yet that we went in there with a packed out crowd. It was just incredible.
“I think Diego and I are now going to have a well-deserved break from competing and working so hard. I can’t wait to come out again next year. This year is his first proper senior year of Grand Prix and I just think that next year, we can keep chipping away and improving. This year, he’s come out and done even more than we expected – he’s done incredibly. Next year, we’re going to aim for some more Nations Cup teams and, hopefully, next year we’ll be back and improve on our score. I can’t wait for next year already!” he concluded.
Third placed Becky also had a first London visit to treasure. “I did enjoy it, but in the run-up to today I was nauseous for about a week – which is not like me! You dream of riding at this show and it’s something that we all aspire to. I was incredibly nervous in the build-up, but my horse is an actual legend and he just looked after me as well as me looking after him. It was an incredible experience in there tonight,” she beamed in her first ever press conference.
Reflecting on finishing on the podium she explained; “The crowds love an outsider, don’t they! An outsider and a Northerner! Quite a lot of that crowd will have been Northern, I’m sure, and I got them behind me.
“It’s amazing – these guys [Charlotte and Lottie] inspire us on a daily basis. When I’m riding at home and think to myself that I need to do something better, I get on YouTube and watch a video of one of them. I think that they’re incredible role models and it’s incredible to be sat up here next to them… but I do have every intention of trying to beat them in the future!”
Charlotte Dujardin interjected with “She means it, she’s incredibly competitive! I’d just like to say how amazing it is, because Becky has bred that horse and done it all herself, so I think that it’s a huge respect and honour for us to be sat here with her. It’s so exciting to have another potential team member for next year.”
Speaking about her performance today, Lottie said; “I was so happy with how it went today. Everdale was amazing, the atmosphere here is just incredible – it’s like nowhere else. He just loved it in there and, with the new music and the floorplan, it was probably one of the most fun, favourite tests I’ve ever ridden. I honestly had such a great time in there”!”
Victor Charlotte was quick to praise her dancing partner; “For Pete, this is his first indoor show and last night was not so full of people then, tonight, it was a full house. Warming up was really interesting because you could hear the crowd – it was incredible. He’s never had that feeling and that noise and atmosphere so, for him, going in there – it was an incredible learning curve and I’m so proud. He was nervous but still with me and I think that’s all you can ask. He’s still a young horse and he’s still got so much more to give, so when I can ride him more forward and get a bit more out of him, I think it’s going to be very, very good. Next year, I’m very excited.”
For the full result from the dressage and running orders and result from the jumping, please visit the Longines Timing website.