Last minute change sees Hester win Freestyle

Carl Hester made it a clean sweep at Hickstead when he won the CDIO3* Grand Prix Freestyle with Dances With Wolves (3 August).

First Freestyle

It was the giant gelding’s first time in the Freestyle, but he produced the winning score of 77.425%. Carl had planned on riding Fine Time, but at the last moment decided to ride Dances With Wolves instead.

“We’ve been waiting to find out what he’s like with music, so I thought it was a great opportunity, while ‘Golly’ was going so well, to swap them over and see how he goes,” Carl told H&C.

“After all he’s the reserve for WEG [World Equestrian Games] which is in three weeks time, and you never know, he might be needed.”

Test of nerves

Carl used the same music he has used his Olympic gold medal-winning partner Uthopia. His decision to compete Golly was so last minute he didn’t even get a chance to practice the test with the 12-year-old gelding.

“I wasn’t quite sure how he would cope as he really reacts to noise, so I wanted to see how his nerves held out,” said Carl. “I was very happy with him. It was a really good test with a very good score, especially considering it was his first test to music.”

Sweden’s Mads Hendelio Witz came second on Weihenstephane with a score of 74.050%, while the USA’s Lisa Wilcox was third with Denzello on 73.625%.

New layout

The next highest placed Brits were Carl’s FEI Nations Cup team-mates Michael Eilberg and Nikki Crisp. Michael and Marakov scored 68.600% to place 11th while Nikki and Pasoa were just behind him on 68.475%.

It was a disappointing few days for Michael, as his father’s 14-year-old gelding didn’t fully settle in the arena.

Dances With Wolves also suffered some anxiety with the new arena layout, but Carl managed to coax the best out of him to win the Grand Prix Special. Carl also won the Grand Prix with Fine Time – to lead the British team into second place in the Nations Cup, less than one percent behind the Danes.