H&H’s Tokyo horse of the day: Bella Rose 2 – ‘I love this horse and I hope she loves me too’

Martha Terry's avatar
By
Published In Features
Isabell Werth pats Bella Rose 2 after their grand prix ride at the Tokyo Olympic dressage
Isabell Werth and Bella Rose at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021
(Image credit: Peter Nixon)

Isabell Werth was ecstatic with the performance of her favourite mare, Bella Rose 2, after the German dressage team clinched gold at the Tokyo Olympics. The world number ones are the reigning world and European champions and will be all out to add the complete set with the individual Olympic title in tomorrow’s grand prix freestyle (Wednesday, 28 July).

In the grand prix last weekend, the 17-year-old chestnut topped her group on plus 82% but some of her work looked a little more laboured than we are used to seeing from this brilliant combination, with a mistake in the pirouette. Today, by contrast, she was scintillating, setting the scene from the start with a 10 for her first piaffe.

Martha Terry
Martha Terry
Features editor

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.