Laura Bechtolsheimer breaks British grand prix dressage record

British dressage European bronze medallists Laura Bechtolsheimer and Mistral Hojris reached new heights on their first outing of 2010. The pair smashed the British grand prix record at Amsterdam CDI-W with 78.04%.

They finished second only to European gold medallists Edward Gal and Moorlands Totilas of the Netherlands, who scored 82.17%.

Laura said: “I was really happy with the grand prix test as ‘Alf’ had no mistakes — he was really relaxed and easy to ride.

The only criticism Laura received from her father and trainer Wilfried was that Alf could have been more expressive in his extensions.

With this in mind for the next day’s grand prix kür, Laura and Alf broke another British record by scoring 82.3% for second place again — putting her less than 5% behind Totilas.

“The Freestyle was fantastic,” said Laura. “I played the music a bit lower as Alf has had issues with the music in the past and I just wanted to build his confidence. My strategy paid off as he stood still in the halts — some great progress.

“These results build our confidence so much — to come out this strong in 2010. We’re definitely excited for the year to come.”

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