Australia’s Lucinda Fredericks, watched by a pensive looking Clayton, rode a brilliant test to score 40 on day two of the eventing dressage, putting her into fourth place at the time, with Flying Finish.
To onlookers, the test looked very straight and balanced, with a super extended canter and obedient work. However, perfectionist Lucinda felt she could have done better. “I made a mistake on the changes,” she said. “It was a good test, but not fantastic” she mused. “I expected him to lift more in the neck. But he is still young and will be great in the future.”
When speaking about the XC course, Lucinda agreed it would be a tough test for all the riders. “But I am looking forward to it!” she told An Eventful Life.
With the penultimate Aussie rider to go, the scoreboard was beginning to change order with increasing frequency – were those judges becoming more generous?!
German domination…. until Italy threw in a curve ball
The Germans were looking very hard to beat, with Ingrid Klimke maintaining her first place and team mate Dirk Schrade in third place for most of the morning.
But it was a surprise top marking test by Italy’s Stefano Brecciaroli, riding Apollo in the afternoon that really put the cat amongst the pigeons, with an impressive 38.50. Clayton Fredericks’ beautiful test, which scored 40.40, left him languishing in seventh place – the marks were really beginning to hot up!
The last of the Australians to ride today, Clayton was happy with Bendigo’s performance, which looked as relaxed as if the horse was hacking around the fields at home. “It’s a tough call when your team mates have already done a bloody good job,” he said with characteristic honesty. “But I was pleased.” Clayton told An Eventful Life he’s looking forward to the cross country challenges – but vowed to duck, to avoid Greenwich’s low slung tree branches.
More to come..................
