Three members of British dressage team confirmed for WEG

Laura Bechtolsheimer, Carl Hester and Maria Eilberg have all been asked to represent Britain at the dressage World Equestrian Games in Kentucky this September.

The final team place is yet to be decided, but Emile Faurie, Fiona Bigwood and Henriette Andersen have all been asked to compete on the continent in August to get another international score under their belts to help selectors make their final decision.

Carl Hester knew that a good result at Hickstead was imperative if he was to get on the team, which he achieved, scoring plus-70%.

He told H&H: “I rode at my first World Games 20 years ago so it’s bizarre to be going again now. I wonder if I’ll go with the same fun and abandonment this time — we were never in with much chance of a medal in those days, whereas now there’s pressure as we know we can get one.

“We’re incredibly lucky to have [world number three] Laura Bechtolsheimer on the team, she can pull off a massive score and then it’s up to the rest of us to back her up with the best that we can do.”

The three riders selected so far were all part of the Windsor European silver medal winning team last August.

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