Dressage champion Fiona Bigwood made her return to international dressage this weekend, having taken a year off to have a baby. Aboard Mr G de Lully, Bigwood finished second in the grand prix special at the Kaposvar CDI-W in Hungary, (13-15 October), behind Austria’s Christian Schumach and Cosmolight’s Da Vinci.
“It’s nice to be back, although it’s a bit of a juggling act with the baby,” said Bigwood, “I’m planning to get a few competitions under my belt over the winter to get back into the swing of things, so that I’ll be a fighting force next spring.”
Bigwood and the 13-year-old 16.1hh Swedish bred gelding Mr G de Lully have a long standing partnership and were members of the British team at the 2005 European Championships. During her break from riding he has been trained and competed by her partner, Dutch dressage champion Anders Dahl.
But this weekend’s result proves Bigwood is back on top form and she already has her next show lined up – Aarhus CDI-W, next weekend.
Britain’s 2006 World Equestrian Games contenders Wayne Channon and Lorenzo CH also competed at Kaposvar, finishing second in both the grand prix and grand prix freestyle, the latter with a score of nearly 70%. Denmark’s Lone Jorgensen and Ludewig G won both classes.
