McGivern dazzles in Germany

Nicola McGivern gave the Athens Olympic selectors something to think about in the dressage grand prix and grand prix special at Norten Hardenberg CDI in Germany at the weekend.

She and Active Equestrian’s 17.1hh Active Walero finished in second place in both competitions, scoring 71.0% in the grand prix, and further raising the stakes in the grand prix special where they scored a personal best of 73.28%.

At the show Nicola said: “This is the first time we’ve competed internationally since the European Championships last year and it was a fantastic confidence boost for me and Walero. The marks were really outstanding – one judge gave us over 78%, and we were consistently getting 8s and 9s.

“We used the selection trials last week as a warm up for this competition and that was very useful. Active Walero felt very rideable and was really working well at Norten-Hardenberg. It’s very exciting to be achieving personal best scores and still feel that there’s more to come.”

The pressure is still on for British dressage riders to prove themselves. Final selection for the team to go to Athens is not due to take place until after Wiesbaden CDI, over the final weekend in May.

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