Charlotte Dujardin, Alive and Kicking in Lier

What an amazing Grand Prix it was. We were blown away by the amazing horses and great riders. The Olympic riders dominated the class tonight full of debutants. It was former Olympic Champion Charlotte Dujardin who topped the stage, winning her international Grand Prix debut with Alive and Kicking, scoring 75.043%.

“I’m very proud on my horse. I really didn’t know how it would go today to be honest. She has never done this before. Lots of experienced Grand Prix horses here and it was a big strong class with a lot of horses in it”, explains Charlotte Dujardin. The 3* Grand Prix consisted of 41 competitors.

“I couldn’t ask for much more”

“I really came here to gain experience. It’s the first show for this season. The main job for me as a rider, was to give her confidence to go in there and have a nice time. And I think she did do that. The last center line was complete my fault, she halted at X so many times, so she thought she was finished, and I was like ‘oh no we keep going’. It was completely my fault. But apart from that I’m so happy, I couldn’t ask for much more.”

Audrey Hepburn

Alive and Kicking danced through the arena, like a real ballerina. “She is lovely, she is the kindest, sweetest horse. She loves my daughter Isabella, she’s so good with her and so friendly. You can cuddle her all day. I bought ‘Audrey’ when she was four. I never have ridden the Grand Prix Special with her, so I’m curious how it will go. She is always trying, her trainability is amazing and she has got always enough engine to keep going. She’s a lovely mare and so kind. She’s like a ballerina, a real Audrey Hepburn.”

Future looks bright for Kittel and Jovian

All eyes where today on Patrik Kittel and his super star Jovian. The two-fold World Champion made his international Grand Prix debut today and showed off his quality. This pair made a massive impression and showed real good parts, the future looks really bright. Their test was awarded with a score of 73.739% and a third place. The reigning World Champion Charlotte Fry became second, scoring 74.283% with Nespresso.