After winning individual bronze at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, Laura Tomlinson retired her top ride Mistral Hojris, got married and become a mother of three. Her passion for the sport and the Olympic fire burning inside her remain unwavered. In 2021 Laura will come out guns blazing with a trio of Grand Prix horses
Post Mistral
In fact Laura was never really without top horses to ride, even after her Danish warmblood Mistral Hojris was retired in 2013. Mares Unique (by Carpaccio x Lord) and Rosalie B (by Rubin-Royal x Newcastle) quickly followed in "Alf's" wake but they could not immediately reconnect with the British top.
In 2015 the Bechtolsheimer family acquired the 8-year old KWPN stallion Capri Sonne Jr (by Rhodium x San Remo) as a Grand Prix hopeful. The stallion had won bronze at the 2012 World Young Horse Championships, in 2014 he became Dutch Indoor Champion at Z-Licht level, and in 2015 he claimed the Dutch Indoor Championships at small tour level.
Laura made her debut on Capri Sonne Jr, amicably named Cas, two months later at small tour level. She moved him up to Grand Prix in 2018.
Always on the look-out for high quality horses, Laura's mum Ursula and her late father Wilfried purchased Fallatijn (by Vivaldi x Cabochon) in September 2017 and Rose of Bavaria (by Bordeaux x Florestan) in November 2018.
Trio
The pair successfully competed in Le Mans, Donaueschingen and Hagen last year, and showed great form at the 2020 British Grand Prix Championships in December, where they finished fifth overall.
Her second GP horse Cas has been recovering from an injury since the autumn of 2020.
"Cas has been off for nearly 3 months, not sure how it happened, maybe in the paddock," Laura told Eurodressage. "He has been really good walking lots and has now started trotting again so we are building him up slowly and hopefully he will be back in full swing in another couple of months."
Brexit and Corona Challenges
Life has not become easier for dressage riders world-wide in corona times, seeing the majority of competitions cancelled and countries go in lockdown. With the British variant of Covid-19 spreading like wildfire across Europe, measures are tightened even more, in the U.K. as well as the European continent.
Laura planned on competing at the CDI Lier, but that show was cancelled this week, making the CDI Keysoe in March the next available option for her.
"I am trying to find another option in case Keysoe doesn’t happen," said Laura, proving how difficult it is to arrange a show schedule with all the uncertainty in the world. "It's very frustrating as Rose is going so well."
Laura played with the idea to accept the invitation to compete at the CDI 5* in Doha, Qatar, but the country does not allow riders to import their own feed.
"I had wanted to do Doha, but as I would have to change her feed just for the sake of the one show, I felt it too big a risk as she is on grain free feed," Laura explained. "In Doha you have two types of Cavalor, oats and bran, all supplied by the show."
Laura also hopes to put some Grand Prix mileage on her up and coming Fallatijn. "However, getting in to shows when there are so few will be hard with an unproven horse," she disclosed. "First world problems though."
In addition there is a fourth Grand Prix hopeful standing in the wings, the grey home bred Vincent (by Vivaldi x Don Davidoff).
Photos © Les Garennes - Astrid Appels
Related Links
Rose of Bavaria Sold to the Bechtolsheimer Family
Fallatijn, New Star in Laura Tomlinson's Barn