Team PracGreat Britain’s Charlotte Fry and Glamourdale added Grand Prix Freestyle gold to the Grand Prix Special title they won Friday at the FEI Dressage World Championships in Aachen, Germany.
Scoring 91.90% with their freestyle, they brought the packed stadium to its feet. Denmark’s Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour and Mount St John Freestyle took silver, while dressage legend Isabell Werth (GER) and Wendy de Fontaine claimed bronze.
Every seat in the main stadium was sold for a finale that saw Fry and Glamourdale repeat their Herning 2022 double, claiming both the Grand Prix Special and Grand Prix Freestyle titles to make it four consecutive individual world championship gold medals.
It was an exceptionally close freestyle final, with the eventual medalists joined by reigning European champions Justin Verboomen (BEL) and Zonik Plus and Becky Moody (GBR) and Jagerbomb among the combinations in contention for the podium. The crowd’s energy built throughout the evening, with fans clapping through the final centerlines from the opening group onward.
A Flight to Remember
Fry entered the arena immediately after reigning European champions Verboomen and Zonik Plus. The Belgian combination had produced their best test of the week, scoring 88.43% and drawing the crowd to its feet. As Fry and Glamourdale entered, the stallion appeared to think the applause was already for him and grew even taller.
Before they had even reached A, Fry had won over the crowd, with the words “Welcome to Glamourdale Airlines, enjoy your flight” incorporated into her freestyle. The combination delivered a mistake-free test with a beautiful uphill frame. Their powerful canter work drew cries of admiration from the stands, and the crowd was on its feet before they had even begun their final centerline.
“This was the most amazing feeling in the world,” Fry said. “We’ve never done a test like this. As soon as he goes in, he relaxes. Neither of us was sweating; we just enjoyed it. It couldn’t have been any better, and I couldn’t be happier.
“In Herning in 2022, it felt as if ‘Glammie’ still had to prove himself to the world. This year we put everything into this week. It has been a huge commitment from our whole team, so for this to happen is a dream come true.”
Silver Won, Not Gold Lost
Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour entered immediately after Fry, with Mount St John Freestyle. The previous day, she was disappointed with silver after mistakes in the Grand Prix Special. This time, the Danish rider was delighted with the same color medal. Their fluent performance earned 91.23%, a new personal best.
“Yesterday it felt as though we lost the gold, but today I truly won the silver,” she said. “Freestyle felt fantastic. This was the ride of a lifetime. To ride into this atmosphere, in this arena, was something I have never felt before. It was only the second time we had ridden this freestyle, but it felt as though we had never done anything else.”
Werth Delivers for the Home Crowd
Werth had the honor of closing the competition in front of her home crowd with Wendy de Fontaine. She entered the arena in a determined mood and maintained that focus throughout the freestyle.
“To go last here and hear all those scores that had already been posted… The only thing I could do was take every risk,” Werth said.
The home favorite kept her composure and went for everything. Her composed freestyle held the crowd’s attention, with only an error in the two-tempi changes affecting the final score. When 88.65% appeared, Werth knew immediately that she had secured bronze. It added an individual bronze medal to the team gold she won earlier this week in Aachen.
“It was amazing today,” Werth said. “Wendy gave me everything. Our one-time changes worked. I’m very happy. With the whole crowd clapping on the final centerline, and being able to ride Wendy with just one finger on the rein in the piaffe and passage, it was amazing.”
Fine Margins Decide the Medals
Verboomen and his black stallion came extremely close to an individual medal. Their 88.43% left them just 0.21 percentage points short of bronze, but it represented their best performance of the championship.
Becky Moody (GBR) and her homebred Jagerbomb finished close behind in fifth. Their faultless Beatles-themed freestyle earned 87.47% and briefly placed them at the top of the standings.
See full results from the class here.
