The loss of an equine king, copying Charlotte Dujardin and other things the horse world is talking about

‘Thank you, thank you, thank you’

Australian eventer Sarah Clark has paid tribute to her horse of a lifetime LV Balou Jeanz, who has had to be put down aged 14 after he sustained a serious injury in the stable. The New Zealand-bred gelding and Sarah came 12th at Adelaide CCI5* and jumped clear across country at Burghley, fulfilling Sarah’s lifelong dream. “He was amazing,” Sarah told H&H. “He was the horse I needed to do what we did and to have found him and have had him is incredible.”

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Learning from the master

Roland Tong said he copied Charlotte Dujardin’s freestyle routine for the 2024 NAF Five Star Winter Dressage Championships – to good effect as he and CHS Fonteyn won the Magic Prix St Georges (PSG) Freestyle Gold Championship with 73.29%. Roland said the “brilliant” eight-year-old mare had only done three PSG tests before she took the win just over 1% in front of Jezz Palmer and Honey D’Or.

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On the spot

Another combination turning heads at the dressage championships at Addington is Naomi Aguilar and her 14.1hh Appaloosa Whitehawk Dancing Fire (Enzo), who competed in the Petplan Prix St Georges and Inter I Bronze Championships. Naomi paid £800 for “Enzo” as a two-month-old foal and although she could not catch him for six months after he arrived, the pair are now training at grand prix level.

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You might also be interested in:

‘Goodnight, my king – in dreams we’ll meet again’: five-star eventer put down after stable injury

‘I just copied Charlotte Dujardin’: PSG freestyle winner reveals the secret behind his success

Meet the spotty dressage championship contender with grand prix aspirations

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