Adelinde Cornelissen and the elegant Parzival danced to victory in the World Cup qualifier at Olympia, the London International Horse Show, with an exquisite freestyle set to a ballet music medley. British judge Andrew Gardner described the performance, which was perfectly choreographed with one-time changes to the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, as "a complete picture".
Gardner said: "There were no issues; it was like a dance performance, athletic and with moments of brilliance."
Adelinde, a member of the Netherlands' world gold medal team and the reigning European silver medallist, said: "I was lucky to have a good draw (last to go), but the main thing was to get the horse relaxed and then I didn't have to take any risks."
Laura Bechtolsheimer, who triumphed in the previous day's Grand Prix Special, had a challenging task to contain the powerful Mistral Hojris, whose talents are better suited to the outdoor season, and at one point he shot into reverse. However, she came within 3% of Adelinde's winning score to take second place, and only just missed becoming the first British rider to win Olympia's Dressage World Cup qualifier, the fourth of 10 legs in the Western European League.
"It was a little bit tricky," admitted Laura of her triple world silver medallist. "He's not really made for the indoor season. He did some fantastic work, and is so powerful that even with a few mistakes he can still get a good mark."
World champion Edward Gal was a pleasing third on the mare Sisther de Jeu. Dutch riders are perennial and popular visitors to Olympia - Edward said that he enjoyed the opportunity to indulge in some London culture.
American rider Catherine Haddad, who has been taking the circuit by storm, finished fourth with a rousing performance on the white-faced chestnut Winyamaro, and has risen to the top of the Reem Acra leaderboard.
However, Olympia proved a great showcase for Britain's ever-improving performance on the world dressage stage. Amy Stovold, a product of the Lottery-funded World Class Performance programme, finished fifth on Macbrian, and the highly experienced Richard Davison was sixth on Hiscox Artemis, a result which has propelled him to second place on the Reem Acra leaderboard.
A packed house of 7,000 clearly revelled in the evening's entertainment, none more so than Chelsea captain John Terry and his dressage enthusiast wife Toni (see radio interview below.)
You can listen to audio interviews with the top three at: Adelinde Cornelissen - Laura Bechtolsheimer - Edward Gal - John and Toni Terry
Related Links
Scores 2010 CDI-W London
Bechtolsheimer Rocks the House Beating Cornelissen in London Grand Prix