Charlotte Dujardin Wins the Grand Prix and Special with Brave Heart in Hartpury

The NAF Hartpury Festival of Dressage gave British dressage riders another chance to show that they’re in World Championship form. Charlotte Fry/Glamourdale, Carl Hester/Fame, and Becky Moody/Jagerbomb are likely to be the confirmed team, barring any unforeseen circumstances. But it’s still unclear who will be the fourth pair to make it to the World Championships in Aachen. Charlotte Dujardin and her new top horse—the Oldenburg Brave Heart, who has taken the number one spot in the stable since the sale of Alive and Kicking—made a strong case for themselves at Hartpury.

The pair won the Grand Prix with 74.804 percent and the Special with 74.702 percent. This allowed them to outperform their closest competitors for fourth place—Fiona Bigwood riding her home-bred horse Donna Bella—in both classes. Earlier in June, at the Grand Prix in Wellington, Heckfield, they had scored 74.609 percent in the Grand Prix and 73.447 percent in the Special.

Also competing in Hartpury from the World Championships long list were Sadie Smith and Swanmore Dantina. They, too, put on a strong performance. In the Grand Prix, they placed second with 72.652 percent. In the freestyle, they celebrated their first international victory, though a score of 79.940 percent was enough to secure the win in that field.

Nominations must be submitted to the FEI by tomorrow at the latest. These are all the pairs that are eligible to compete. The “Definite Entry Deadline”—that is, the date by which all teams must be named—is July 27.