After Herning, Lyon, Stuttgart and Madrid, the Western European League of the FEI Dressage World Cup arrived in London this week. While everyone was waiting for Glamourdale’s return to competition, under the saddle of Charlotte Fry, it was Becky Moody who performed well in the Grand Prix, riding Jagerbomb.
This year, it was in the “normal” Grand Prix that the fourteen couples at the start of the London ExCel World Cup competed against each other. And some couples were eagerly awaited since their performances recorded during the Paris Olympic Games last summer, in the gardens of the Palace of Versailles. A true revelation of the 2023 edition of this stage of the FEI World Cup, the British Becky Moody simply confirmed her status as a rising star of English dressage by winning the Grand Prix this Wednesday morning. And what could be better than achieving a new personal best in front of her audience, in the saddle on the horse she herself gave birth to! Despite some slight tensions from the powerful bay Jagerbomb, notably in the galloping zig zag, the couple came off the track with a score of 76.696%, enough to ensure victory.
Lottie Fry in Free?
Faced with a rather homogeneous field, it was the Norwegian Isabel Freese who secured second place in this Grand Prix, riding her sparkling and full of qualities Total Hope OLD. With a score of 76%, the couple had the luxury of ahead of the couple who won individual bronze medals at the Paris Olympics this summer, Charlotte Fry and Glamourdale. For his return to competition since the Free Reprise in Music held in the gardens of Versailles, the stallion showed himself to be dissipated, notably with a big mistake in the second galloping pirouette on the right. It was with an unusual score of 75.217% that Lottie and her “Glamy” concluded this test.
A note synonymous with third place. However, everything will be decided on Thursday evening, at night, in London, since all the couples will come together to perform their rehearsal to music, a support event for the FEI World Cup. Becky Moody, team bronze medalist at the Paris Olympics, who will present a new choreography for the occasion, declared with amusement during the awards ceremony organized by BEMA (British equestrian media association), during which she won the equestrian athlete of the year trophy, “I know Lottie isn’t going to stop there so we’ll see what happens (laughs).”
If no French couple is at the start of this stage of the Western European League, the spectacle remains no less exciting here in London, in a magical Christmas atmosphere.
Full results HERE
Equestrian competitionDressage
