Ireland’s Abi Lyle was filled with pride for the “love of my life” Giraldo after their team test at the Ecco FEI World Championships. Their grand prix performance was rewarded with 65.71% in the Blue Hors FEI World Dressage Championships results.
Herning marks the first senior championship for Northumberland-based Abi, 37, and her own “Arty”, who she has produced from a four-year-old.
The pair showed some lovely work, including a smart halt and rein-back, a flowing canter zig-zag and a real boldness in their extensions. There were a few mistakes – Arty jumped together behind in the penultimate change of their otherwise classy line of two-times and it was not their day in the one-time changes. But Abi could not have been prouder of the 11-year-old gelding, who made his international grand prix debut less than a year ago.
“I’m really happy with him. I can’t ask for any more,” said Abi, who threw her arms around Arty’s neck in a huge hug after cantering out of the arena following the final salute.
“He’s young, I’m not experienced at this, so yes – it would have been nice to come and get more like a score like we’ve been getting the rest of the season. But he’s never been anywhere like that, I’ve never been anywhere like this, so it’s just going to take time for us. And I love him more than anything in the world. I just adore him, he’s the love of my life. So to be able to do that….” she added, tears overwhelming her voice.
“I felt I had the perfect warm up, you just don’t know until you go in what it’s going to be like,” said Abi.
“I felt him sucking back a bit, and then everything was fine – I felt that all the trot was okay. The piaffe wasn’t so good but I was like, that’s fine, we will do our best. I had a late two-time change and then I missed my ones, but other than that I can’t really complain about anything.”
Abi, who hails from Bangor, County Down, was a “riding club rider” when she moved to England aged 24 and decided she wanted to have a crack at riding professionally. She has been training with Carl Hester for 11 years, who she credits as being a “massive influence”.
“He’s taken such good care of me,” she said.
Arty, a Rousseau son, out of a Flemmingh mare, was one of Abi’s first “proper” rides and the partnership has progressed through the levels together.
“He came to me as a four year old, then I bought him when he was six because the owner wanted to sell him. I was like,’ Well, he’s not going anywhere!’” she said.
“He was just backed when he came, so [he has been with me for] everything. I’m pretty lucky that the first horse I’ve trained, here we are. He’s so talented, light and reactive and easy in every way, but he has so much power – that’s the only thing that’s hard, is keeping it all in balance in the right places. Weirdly, I find riding him around the grand prix easier than I ever found riding at advanced medium.”
The final Irish rider, Anna Merveldt, will enter the arena at 5.46pm local time (4.46pm UK time), hoping to achieve a strong position among the World Dressage Championships results with the 13-year-old Pagao son Esporim, owned by Eleonore and Michael Higgins. This will be a counting score following Sorrell Klatzko and Turbo’s elimination yesterday.
Abi added that her thoughts, and those of the Irish squad, are with Sorrell.
“My heart goes out for her,” she said. There’s nothing you can say to make it better. It’s a bitter, bitter disappointment, but she’ll fight another day because that’s the kind of person that she is.”
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How to watch the World Dressage Championships in Herning: your full guide
‘He was difficult in the early days’: Carl Hester on Charlotte Dujardin’s Imhotep, and what it’s like not to be riding in Herning
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