Paris Olympic dressage medallists Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour and Mount St John Freestyle scored a sublime new personal best of 91.14% in Gothenburg to record the highest mark of the World Cup season so far.
The pair’s total – the highest mark horse and rider have ever achieved in their respective careers – included perfect 10s across the board for music and interpretation.
“Freestyle is absolutely wonderful. A true show woman. I feel we are getting more and more comfortable together; she is really starting to trust me,” said Cathrine.
Watch the pair’s +91%-freestyle in the video below
They finished more than 8% of runners-up Maria von Essen and Invoice (82.5%) for Sweden; France’s Corentin Pottier and Gotilas Du Feuillard completed the podium on 81.47%. It was their second wide-margin win of the week, having won Friday’s grand prix by almost 10% on 83.37%.
The 16-year-old mare showed such balance of spring and softness in her body throughout.
The difficulty of the floorplan was outstanding – as was reflected by their jaw-dropping score – and the blended piaffe-canter pirouettes were a particular technical marvel. The Danish duo brought their performance to a close with a canter pirouette, straight into a piaffe pirouette in the opposite direction before halting to cheers from the crowd.
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Cathrine is targeting the European Championships (26 to 31 August) at Crozet with the German-bred mare. The partnership will return to France as key medal contenders, following their impressive performance at Paris 2024 where they helped Denmark to team silver at just their third international show together.
Freestyle, who is owned by Mount St John Equestrian LLP, Laudrup-Dufour and Zinglersen ApS, previously competed on the world stage with Britain’s Charlotte Dujardin. She then spent several years with her owner, Mount St John Equestrian’s Emma Blundell, and stepped away from the sport for breeding, before returning to grand prix with Emma.
Cathrine said that Freestyle made her “so proud”.
“The atmosphere was crazy. Proud is an understatement,” she said. “I’m for ever thankful for my team, and for the enormous effort everyone puts into doing their very best for our horses.
“I’m still pinching myself, and watching this video makes me proud of my princess’s performance.”
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Lucy is an experienced news journalist, reporter and presenter. Since joining the Horse & Hound team in 2015, Lucy has reported from major global sporting events including the Tokyo Paralympic Games and multiple European Championships, as well as Badminton, Burghley and London, to name a few. She has covered current affairs and sports news across the full spectrum of equestrian disciplines and racing, as well as human and equine welfare, industry news and court cases.
