‘I’m not missing out again’: Charlotte Dujardin returns to London International with grand prix win

It was a British one, two, three in the London International Horse Show dressage grand prix results today (13 December).

Charlotte Dujardin took first in the FEI World Cup qualifier, presented by Bret Willson Dressage International Ltd and supported by Horse & Hound, aboard Imhotep with a score of 81.76%. World champion Lottie Fry and Everdale were second on 77.43% and Becky Moody scored a personal best of 75.08% on her World Cup debut with Jagerbomb.

This was Imhotep’s first performance since winning team gold and individual bronze at the European Dressage Championships this summer. The powerful chestnut gelding has already established himself as among the best dressage horses in the world, but Charlotte was keen to stress that there’s still more to come.

“This is the first big indoor show he’s ever done. He’s still only 10 years old so it’s still all about giving him confidence,” she said. “He’s a nervous horse but he’s also very forgiving, and he never gives up.

“I’m always slowing him down, making him wait, because he’s so keen, he just wants to go – which is a lovely thing to have, he never runs out of energy.”

Having missed out on coming to London last year while she was pregnant with her daughter Isabella – who was playfully reaching for the journalists’ microphones as Charlotte talked to the press – Charlotte was determined to make it back to London in 2023.

“My preparation for this show was slightly less than I would normally do because he had to have some downtime after the Europeans,” she said. “Carl was a little bit unsure about whether we needed to do this show, but I missed it so much last year, I wasn’t going to miss it again.”

Lottie Fry and the ever-impressive Everdale were also returning to competition after a break, with the 14-year-old stallion being prepared for the Europeans as a backup for his stablemate Glamourdale.

“After the Europeans, we decided that as humans we needed a small break from competition as well, so we’ve only recently picked him back up but he’s been so ready for this,” said Lottie, who will be riding a new freestyle test tomorrow (14 December).

“He gave me such a great ride, he’s getting better and better with age and I still feel like there’s a long way to go and every time we go out, we get a little better.

“If we can carry on going the way we’re going, I think there’s many more marks to come – it’s a shame today that the judges disagreed a little bit.”

For Becky Moody, this has been a year of firsts aboard Jagerbomb, with the pair ticking off more milestones here, making their London and World Cup debut, as well as scoring a personal best in international competition.

“That was pretty cool,” said a beaming Becky, fresh from the prizegiving. “He’s such an amazing horse and just takes everything in his stride. The piaffe was still a little weak – he just wasn’t quite in front of me enough, but the other work is really showing how he is getting stronger.”

Lewis Carrier finished ninth with Diego V on 70.52% and a clean test. “I’ve watched London International since I was a young boy, so to ride here was a dream and an absolute privilege,” he said.

It was, unfortunately, not a trip to remember for Emile Faurie, whose promising mare Bellevue was eliminated after the judge at C spotted blood in the mouth.

You may also be interested in…

How to watch London International Horse Show: TV guide, live streaming, free BBC coverage

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