Personal best for Emma Hindle

Britain’s number one ranked dressage combination, Emma Hindle and Lancet, made an impressive spectacle at the Stuttgart CDI in Germany this weekend (16 – 19 November). The pair earned their best scores to date, gaining 71.542% in the grand prix and 74.15% in the grand prix freestyle, finishing second and fifth respectively.

Emma performed a new kür for the first time. Designed with Lancet’s flashy movements in mind, the routine is set to a mix of Madonna music. “The grand prix was super,” she said afterwards, “I rode well and Lancet went well.”

Finnish rider Kyra Kyrklund, who is based in Britain, won both classes with Max. The pair broke the 80% mark in the grand prix freestyle. Nevertheless Hindle was delighted with 13-year-old Lancet’s performance. “In the freestyle, he was on form, but I lost concentration and let him down a little,” she said. “I would give us 10 for our artistic mark and entertainment value and four for the technical score; the audience seemed to have a lot of fun watching it, especially when Lancet did his flying changes to Madonna singing Push Me.”

The pair, who are based in Germany at the Brookhouse Stud will now start working towards their next big competition in Sweden next month. “We will go back to the drawing board for my next freestyle in Stockholm [1-3 December], but at least I know we are on the right track,” she explained.

Another British rider based in Germany, Fiona Bigwood, who only returned to competition last month after a break of nearly a year, also scored well. Bigwood finished fourth in the grand prix on 70.875% riding the 13-year-old 16.1hh Swedish-bred gelding Mr G de Lully.

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