Their score of 74.83% is nearly 3% short of her personal best, but the judges aren’t giving away marks and she is still in touch of the top of leaderboard behind Germany’s Katharina Hemmer.
“I’m frustrated; I feel like we should have done better,” she said. “I’m disappointed, I should have got us out ahead, but I’ve now got to go away and get it better for Friday [the grand prix special].”
Becky blamed herself for concentrating on settling Jagerbomb’s walk and halt, which she feels may have had repercussions for the rest of the movements.
“We have had a phase of him being very hot, not standing still and not walking, so we’ve been working very hard on that and we did those things well – but unfortunately that did mean we didn’t have the same hotness that helps out with certain other things,” she said.
How the grand prix test went for Becky Moody at the European Dressage Championships
“Bomb” started out with his trademark exemplary self-carriage, drawing high marks from the outset, especially for his beautifully soft and rhythmic half-pass. But he seemed to approach the first set of piaffes underpowered, losing energy – and marks.
Then, halfway across the diagonal in the extended canter, he popped in an unscheduled flying change, which earned him fours. Another mistake in the zigzag strides followed. After that, it was a case of trying to claw back marks, but Becky appeared unruffled and recovered well to conjure some excellent tempi changes for eights and 8.5s. Two of the seven judges put her first overall.
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“I don’t know how I made the mistake in the zigzag, I thought I counted six – I have to learn to count!” she said. “The extended canter was a real shame as it felt really secure and bold, but whether something caught his eye or he lost balance, I’m not sure.
“But I’m super pleased with the bits I’ve been working on, and I’ll take the positives and work on improving the rest. We stood still in our halts, but our piaffe wasn’t as expressive. Maybe he needs to be fresher, but it’s swings and roundabouts.”
There was some added pressure after Britain’s pathfinder Andrew Gould was eliminated, but Becky said that did not affect her performance.
“I’m so sad for Andrew and the focus is on getting the horse right again,” she said. “But we all have a job to do, and the three of us will do our very best. The whole competition is so exciting.”
Favourite nations tussle at European Dressage Championships
At the end of a day where scores struggled to hit 70%, Becky’s test was part of a final crescendo in the last group, as the medal favourites Britain, Denmark, and Germany fielded their second riders.
Germany’s Katharina Hemmer rode a crisp and clever test on Denoix PCH to score 75.7%. The horse was uphill and rhythmic, but Katharina didn’t go for broke, and the pair gave the impression of bigger scores in the locker.
Also in this second rotation, the Danes showed just why they are a force to be reckoned with, even with a new-look team from that which won silver in Paris last year.
Their first rider Nadja Aaboe Sloth (Favour Gersdorf) held the lead for most of the first grand prix day on 71.23%, and Rikke Dupont backed that result up with 70% in the second rotation.
Rikke was riding the 10-year-old Grand Galliano, by Kastel’s Grand Galaxy Win, who seemed to grow as the test went on. Although his piaffe still needs to develop, the canter work was beautifully soft and expressive with lovely changes.
They were trending to go into the lead until the final line, when they faltered in the transition to piaffe.
“I knew I had to ride without a mistake, but I had a little one at the end,” said Rikke, who is making her championship debut. “I was happy with my test – it’s a big thing, the first time for me and the horse, and he’s young.”
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Martha is an experienced journalist who is mad-keen on horses and dogs. Her reporting CV includes the Paris Olympics, European championships, Aachen World Equestrian Festival and World Cup finals. After growing up with assorted liver and white springer spaniels, she enjoyed 14 years with two rescue dogs. Now, her constant companion is Fidget, an extremely energetic and habitually muddy black and white springer. Martha has written on topics as diverse as a top horse’s clone to the best GPS trackers for dogs, as well as equestrian and rural matters for Country Life, The Field, The Times, The Spectator and The Telegraph alongside Horse & Hound.
