‘I thrive under this kind of pressure’: Danish rider dances to freestyle silver to delight of home World Championships crowd

Denmark’s Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour and Vamos Amigos danced their way to another silver medal to a standing ovation from a home crowd in Herning. The pair’s moving freestyle was rewarded with a +89% score in the Blue Hors FEI World Dressage Championships results – earning the pair their third medal of the week.

Cathrine and the 10-year-old Vitalis gelding, who she co-owns with Sarah Pidgley, entered to the haunting sounds of the Les Misérables soundtrack.

Vamos Amigos has stepped up through each performance this week. Buoyed by the home crowd, the pair delivered a sensational test heaving with 10s. Cathrine’s interpretation of the music made for pure theatre – using vocals to accentuate this horse’s strengths.

The final passage and piaffe to the sound of Do You Hear the People Sing was alchemy – music, sport, the crowd and this exceptional bond between horse and rider the magic ingredients.

“I’m pretty sure there was fire on the floor right before I went in as he was so hot today!” said Cathrine, adding she is “super happy” with Vamos.

“He is the third horse within four years that I’ve taken an individual medal with. I’m very proud of my team. You always go for gold, of course, but it’s just an honour to be here with these two girls [on the podium].”

She added: “I really thrive under this kind of pressure, it just makes me better. This championship has been good for Denmark and our sport.”

As the pair’s test ended, the crowd held its breath to see if she had done enough to edge ahead of Britain’s Lottie Fry and Glamourdale. Cathrine and Vamos Amigos scored 88.38% in the freestyle results table at Aachen, on their last outing ahead of these World Dressage Championships, and given their stand-out performance in Herning, it looked as if it was going to be close.

Their score of 89.41% set a new personal best for the Danish pair, who were part of the gold medal-winning team at the weekend, slotting them just behind Lottie and into second place. This was their third medal of the championships, having won individual silver on Monday (8 August).

As well as three stellar medal-winning performances, Herning has also been a poignant week for Cathrine, with the official retirement of her “heart horse” Atterupgaards Cassidy, who helped to launch her career.

“It’s been a full-on week. I knew that when we won the gold it would be hard to beat, and the experience with Cassidy was very emotional,” she said.

“To finish with a third medal… like Lottie says, it’s still sinking in. I’m super proud of everyone who has been a part of this, it is the most amazing show I have ever been at.”

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