After a second-place finish in the individual competition and team gold in the Grand Prix, Charlotte Dujardin also claimed an individual bronze medal in the Grand Prix Special at the European Dressage Championships in Riesenbeck with her just ten-year-old horse Imhotep. Leading world champion Glamourdale, ridden by Charlotte Fry, finished in fourth place with a score of nearly 82%, coming very close to the podium.

The horses of the winner and the silver medallist have KWPN-recognized stallions as their sires: Jessica von Bredow Werndl with TSF Dalera BB (by Easy Game) secured the gold, while Nanna Skodborg Merrald with Blue Hors Zepter (by Blue Hors Zack) earned the silver. The bronze medallist Imhotep (Everdale out of Della d'Ottie, bred by T. Huizing from Donderen) scored an impressive 82.58%. At just ten years old, the gelding performs confidently in the Grand Prix Special. Dujardin is more than pleased with Imhotep's performance, nicknamed Pete. She said, "Sometimes I still need to hold Pete's hand a bit, but he is a phenomenal horse to ride. He has a heart of gold."

Four KWPN horses in the top
Leading world champion Glamourdale (Lord Leatherdale out of Thuja, bred by J.W. Rodenburg from Ouderkerk aan den IJssel) scored a fantastic 81.76% and finished in fourth place. British rider Charlotte Fry showed her satisfaction with the Van Olst Horses stallion, saying, "He performed much better than in the Grand Prix, much more focused." Her British teammate Carl Hester, riding Fame (Bordeaux out of Bonaventura, bred by V.O.F. G. & M. Gerritsen from Leerdam), also scored above 80% and secured fifth place. Emmelie Scholtens riding Indian Rock (Apache out of Crisjena, bred by J. de Bruijn from Schelluinen) was the top Dutch combination, finishing ninth with a beautiful score of nearly 76%. The stallion performed well and presented excellent piaffe and passage work.

Two sons of Johnson and Apache
The Grand Prix Special featured two direct sons of KWPN stallions Johnson and Apache. In addition to Indian Rock with Emmelie Scholtens, Jovian (Apache out of Zinith, bred by E.T. ten Bosch from Driel) also performed well under Andreas Helgstrand finishing twelfth. However, due to the rule allowing only three combinations per country to proceed to the freestyle, they did not qualify for Denmark. Johnson also had two direct sons in the Grand Prix Special: Hero (out of Alanda, bred by J.L. van de Moosdijk from Someren) ridden by Devenda Dijkstra and Jolene, a mare registered in Denmark ridden by the Frenchman Alexandre Ayache. Johnson also appeared in another horse that directly qualified for the freestyle on behalf of the Netherlands, Habibi DVB (Don Schufro out of Davina DVB, bred by Dressuurstal van Baalen from Brakel), who delivered an energetic performance together with Marlies van Baalen.

Qualified for the freestyle
Also qualified for the freestyle are the KWPN horses Habana Libre A (Zizi Top out of Daiquiri A, bred by Y. Ackermans from Heerewaarden) ridden by the French rider Morgan Barbancon and Flambeau (Ampère out of Lakarla, bred by J. van Eijkelenburg from Oisterwijk) ridden by the Belgian Larissa Pauluis. Like in the Grand Prix, the KWPN mare Classic Briolinca (Trento B out of Trolinca, bred by Gebr. van der Steen from Den Dungen) performed outstandingly well under the British rider Gareth Hughes with a score of 74.65%. However, as the fourth-placed British combination, their European Championship journey ends in the Special.

Media Guide
Read all about the European Dressage and Para Dressage Championships in the media guide.

BvH for KWPN
Photo of Imhotep: Dirk Caremans