The London International Horse Show at Olympia, UK, is tonight hosting the Grand Prix Freestyle to Music Test, which concludes the fifth leg of the Reem Acra FEI World Cup. This is a series celebrating international dressage at the highest levels that culminates in Sweden in April 2013 with an exciting final.
We are still fresh from summer’s Olympic Games, which saw the traditional podium placings turned on their heads, as a new breed of riders topped the leaderboard with lightness, self-carriage and freedom of movement.
All eyes will be on 26-year-old Brit Charlotte Dujardin later, who yesterday (Monday 17th December) casually smashed records again by gaining a score of 84.447% in the Grand Prix Test, which beat their Olympic score of 83.66% in the same class. Charlotte’s record score beat the previous record of 84.08%, which was set by Edward Gal and Totilas at the European Championships at Windsor in 2009.
Lyndal and Sandro Boy at London 2012
Go Lyndal
Australia’s Lyndal Oatley is the country’s sole dressage representative at Olympia with the 11 year old Sandro Boy, of 29 competitors – 13 of these being from the host nation, Britain. Lyndal placed a respectable tenth place in the Grand Prix test on Monday with a score of 69.702%, and is looking forward to contesting the competition later today.
She paves the way for two compatriots who will be contesting their respective events later in the week at Olympia - Boyd Exell (driving) and Edwina Tops-Alexander (jumping).
We will keep you posted as the action unfolds – Olympia is becoming busier by the minute, with hoards of shoppers flocking to the trade-stands to do their Xmas shopping, and various displays and showcases preceding the exciting Freestyle action tonight. With Carl Hester riding Uthopia and Charlotte Dujardin riding Valegro at the event, and rumours abound that these will be the final competitive outings for both combinations before their horses are sold, it promises to be a moving and emotional evening.
