Charlotte Dujardin showed her “sheer talent” by claiming a championship title for the fourth year in a row at the Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) last night (3 October).
Charlotte and Mount St John Valencia won the Dressage Future Elite Championship, an intermediate I freestyle test to music, with a score of 78.04%. Katie Bailey, a student of Charlotte and Carl Hester’s, was second on Eagle Nouvelle with 77.62%, and Lara Edwards third on Jazzed Up with 73.70%.
A spokesman for HOYS said: “Taking the title for the fourth consecutive year with four different horses just proves her sheer talent for producing horses to the highest level.”
Charlotte said she was “really pleased” with Emma Blundell’s nine-year-old mare who is a new ride.
“She coped with everything and obviously there’s a lot of people in there and a big screen for her to deal with. She hesitated in the changes heading towards the screen – I think she could see herself – but that just comes with confidence,” she said.
“I’ve only had her probably six or seven months so it’s a new combination for me. She was at advanced medium when I got her but was still very green so she has done a huge jump to do intermediate I. She only did her first ever freestyle at the national championships in September.”
Charlotte said the HOYS arena is a “great experience” for horses.
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“The thing is we can’t make those environments and atmosphere anywhere so it is all about coming to these shows and giving these horses these experiences,” she said.
“I feel very honoured that I can bring a horse each year here and expose them to that atmosphere.”
Charlotte said it is a “privilege” to ride at HOYS.
“It has so many happy memories for me. Doing the lap of honour under the spotlight, that was my dream as a kid,” she said.
“To come back and keep doing it each year is so lovely and it’s so lovely so see all of my old friends.”
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Since joining H&H in 2018, Becky has covered a broad range of equestrian news including welfare matters, veterinary studies, FEI Tribunal hearings and road safety campaigns. She has also interviewed top riders including Scott Brash, John Whitaker and Ian Stark, to name just a few. Becky’s reporting has taken her to Canada for Spruce Meadows and France for Pau five-star, as well as the Royal Highland and Blair Castle International Horse Trials closer to home. She was also a key part of the remote reporting team for the Tokyo Olympics and the Europeans.
