Freestyle records tumble, a rider loses his way and a dancing queen reigns: all you need to know from the final day at the Euros
The European Dressage Championships 2023 is now over for another two years, with a stratospheric freestyle competition rounding off a fabulous week in a sun-soaked Riesenbeck, Germany. It was an unbelievably high-quality field, led by an Olympic champion mare who seems to be getting even better at the age of 16.
As the curtain falls on the final act, we round up all the action from today (10 September), including the monumental battles for the last medals. Here are the stories you won’t want to miss.
Watch a summary of the freestyle action in the video below
Britain had already had a brilliant championships with team gold and Charlotte Dujardin’s individual bronze, and they added to their tally in the freestyle.
The defending European champion, Jessica von Bredow-Werndl, was on sublime form to extend her reign.
But there was heartache for one rider for the home nation, who forgot his floorplan in the middle of a wonderful test.
Carl Hester conjured a magical test from Fame on their very first freestyle together.
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And in the para competition, the team gold medallist relives the time when he so nearly lost his horse of a lifetime.
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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.