Above and beyond
Bella Rose delights once again on her golden comeback, while Charlotte Dujardin exceeds all expectations
ISABELL may have won team gold for Germany the previous day, but the individual world title was what she had her eye on — that was what had eluded Bella Rose four years ago when she had to be withdrawn before the grand prix special in Normandy.
Isabell entered the arena last with her game face on, though when aboard the dainty chestnut she has such harmony with, she somehow seems less fierce than usual. She is no less formidable, however.
The progress Bella Rose has made since her competition comeback in late June is astonishing — every aspect of her work has been taken up a notch technically, but the mare appears more relaxed and focused on her brilliant rider than ever.
The light-footed chestnut is as elegant and dainty as a ballet dancer, but with all the elasticity and strength of a top-class athlete. You can’t help but be entranced by her. Whereas Mount St John Freestyle marches into the arena screaming “look at me”, Bella’s presence is more subtle, more refined. It’s easy to focus on her charisma and miss some of the technical brilliance of her work.
But this mare’s piaffe in particular is extraordinary — light and springy — and she glides in and out of it so effortlessly that the judges can’t help but throw 10 after 10 on the table.
Her only weaker areas, if you can call scores of seven and eight weak, are her extended paces, which don’t have quite the magnitude of other top horses. They are probably all that stands between her and a new world record— her 86.25% is less than 2% off Valegro’s top special score.
“I felt so safe and happy on her in there,” said Isabell. “She doesn’t
want to make any mistakes and is so focused and full of power.
“I felt electrified by her when I first saw her as a three-year-old, and she has lost nothing through the years. I always hoped she would be back here and on top, and it has worked.”
‘I’M PROUD OF HOW HE LET ME RIDE HIM’
ON a podium dominated by girl power, both human and horse, Laura Graves’ silver medalwinning ride, Verdades, was the only exception, and there’s nothing feminine about this powerhouse chap.
“Diddy” is 16 now, but certainly doesn’t look it.
“He’s like Benjamin Button — he seems to get younger every year,” laughed Laura.
They threw down a serious gauntlet with a fault-free round for 81.72%, just a smidge off their all-time record for this test. The huge Florett AS son never looks as though he will make a mistake, and the tricky passage-extended trot-passage transitions were so clean and automatic Laura could have just been pressing buttons. That comes down to her exceptional skill, however, because although he might look it, Diddy is not easy to ride.
The 31-year-old former hairdresser is very petite — a complete contrast to her scopey, angular partner — but she barely appears to move in the saddle, and the harmony between her and the horse she has trained from scratch is beautiful to see. She earned two 10s for her riding.
“It’s always a matter of riding this horse in his mind; physically he can do whatever I ask, but mentally I’m asking him to do something he’s afraid of, and he can be different every time. I’m proud of how he let me ride him today,” said Laura.
The American set an impressive standard, but the young man who followed her into the arena has one of the coolest heads in dressage.
Sönke Rothenberger is no longer just part of his family’s legacy; this 23-year-old is making a name for himself in his own right with his wonderful gelding, Cosmo. The special suits the Van Gogh son down to the ground, as he is another who switches seamlessly from passage into extended trot and back again as though on auto-pilot.
The pair started impeccably, their early work having a medal written all over it. Having settled for two individual silvers behind Isabell in Gothenburg last year, Sönke was a man on a mission to upgrade his metalwork this time around, and the 11-year-old bay looked bright and ready to stake a claim for the top of the podium.
‘He’s like Benjamin Button — he seems to get younger every year’ THE USA’S LAURA GRAVES ON HER 16-YEAR-OLD
SILVER MEDALLIST VERDADES
Sadly though, even horses as extraordinary as Cosmo are still horses. The heat and humidity had reached its peak by the middle of the afternoon, and Cosmo looked to be flagging slightly as they neared the end.
They had uncharacteristic mistakes in both sets of onetime changes, although the twos garnered three 10s, and despite the horse picking up again for the final passage section, increasing the elevation and expression even further, their 81.28% left them just behind Laura.
“The sharpness failed at the end. Cosmo was a bit tired, and it’s so hot and humid,” said Sönke. “This horse really deserved an individual medal because of the quality he has, but it’s something else to show it on the day and in the ring. It’s sad, but that’s sport.”
‘IT WAS FLAWLESS’
IT was none other than Charlotte Dujardin who denied Sönke that individual medal, riding the youngest horse in the field. Charlotte has been open about how much she missed competing at internationally last year, after Valegro’s emotional retirement in 2016, but she thrust herself right back in at the top here.
The nine-year-old Mount St John Freestyle, who was bred in Germany by Stephen Kurz and bought as a foal by Emma Blundell of the Mount St John stud, has been unbeaten during her first season at grand prix, which, with the exception of one show, has been solely in the UK.
But this was a deliberate strategy of Charlotte and Carl Hester’s, to keep their promising young horses close to home and allow them to build confidence in familiar surroundings, while promoting the great international dressage Britain has to offer.
They received a fair amount of criticism, but no one can dispute the sense in their plan now.
Carl produced another class round on Hawtins Delicato — finishing ninth in their secondever special even with a glitch in the one-time changes — and Freestyle landed individual bronze, sharing the podium with two far more experienced horses.
Charlotte and Freestyle’s special was better than anyone
had dared hope for, and she was unable to contain her emotion at the end as she dropped the reins and buried her face in her hands.
“God, it was flawless, wasn’t it?” she exclaimed afterwards, riding high on the magnitude of what she had achieved.
Charlotte’s not one for conservative riding, and she rode for every mark. It paid off — this was the first totally mistake-free test the pair have ever done at this level, and it showed what a tremendous force this young mare is for the future, when faultless rounds become her norm.
Her passage is to die for and, although she’s still a little green getting in and out of piaffe, when the piaffe is established it’s excellent. Her changes are huge and fluent — earning 10s — and the pirouettes show off her great ability to sit, which is still developing as her strength builds.
But it’s the mare’s attitude and temperament that really sets her apart — Freestyle’s adorably large, floppy ears bobbed through the test as she focused every ounce of her attention on her rider, and gave every step her all.
“Today I had nothing to lose, and Freestyle just upped her game and took on the challenge,” said Charlotte, who revealed that she saved 10 minutes of her warm-up time to walk the mare through the misting fans on the covered trotup strip to cool her down.
“On the last centre line I felt my eyes tearing up, and was just thinking, ‘Don’t stop, keep riding’,” added Charlotte. “Freestyle just gave everything and, hand on heart, it didn’t matter if I won a medal. But I knew it was good.”
The score came in, and it was huge — a substantial personal best of 81.45%. Freestyle is five years younger than Bella Rose and already in the medals — this is just the beginning.
“When she’s stronger and more confident, I’m going to give Isabell a run for her money,” asserted Charlotte with a smile. Watch this space.
‘On the last centre line I felt my eyes tearing up’
CHARLOTTE DUJARDIN ON MOUNT ST JOHN FREESTYLE’S
SPECIAL PERFORMANCE