Day one of the Grand Prix dressage at Greenwich concluded with the Brits in the lead – Carl Hester and Uthopia topped the board with 77.720, while penultimate rider Laura Bechtolsheimer riding Mistral Hojris scored 76.839. Germany’s Dorothee Schneider with Diva Royal took third on 76.277, while Denmark’s Anna Kasprzak on the craftily named Donnperignon (the Olympics frown on commercial links!) took fourth.
A pensive looking Carl Hester, ahead of today's event, wonders if the press conference organisers have got his name card right.
Australia’s Lyndal Oatley currently takes fifteenth place while Kristy Oatley is in nineteenth – the top ten riders in the contest all scored over 70%, setting the bar high for tomorrow’s competition.
The only really disappointing ride today came for Canadian David Marcus, whose mount Capital spooked and caused the pair to be eliminated – sadly the rain probably led to this, with the fidgety audience. “Things were going fine until he spotted a TV camera… the crowd were moving in their seats due to the rain, and it all went wrong,” said a desperately disappointed David.
After a soggy start, the sun decided to shine on the Royal Park, thankfully, and with the action done by 4pm UK time, spectators were free to explore Greenwich and the surrounding areas. We look forward to tomorrow’s action, which sees the final Australian team member Mary Hanna contesting the Grand Prix test with Sancette. This horse scored 72.62 at Vidauban this year, so if the gods are on their side, Mary has every chance of performing a solid test that could easily put her into the top ten.
For results from Day One Dressage CLICK HERE
