Ros Canter did what Ros Canter does on Izilot DHI and rode straight to the top of the five-star leaderboard at the Longines Luhmühlen Horse Trials Friday on a score of 24.9.
It’s familiar territory for Canter and the 11-year-old KWPN stallion.
The pair led after dressage in four of their six international appearances in 2023, including the four-stars at Blair Castle, Chatsworth, Bramham and Alnwick. They went on to win two and finished second in a third. They were second after dressage in their other two appearances that season, going on to win their first 5* title at Pau.
It’s a trend that’s continued in 2024. Canter and Izilot DHI also took the lead after dressage at the 2024 CCI5*-L Badminton in May, but retired on cross country.
“He’s fantastic, I’m absolutely delighted with him,” said Canter of their performance in the German 5*.
“He’s become a real professional. He can obviously be a bit spooky, which he wasn’t today. He’s much more settled in his brain than he used to be and he’s very established with his movements now, so now I’ve just got to train the brain and keep him in a happy place.”
Joining her atop the leaderboard are her Tokyo 2020 teammates Tom McEwen and Laura Collett, who sit in second on Brookfield Quality (28.3) and third on Hester (30.6), respectively. McEwen also has a lock on fourth with CHF Cooliser.
“Brookfield Quality was absolutely brilliant,” said McEwen. “Outside he was struggling with people on benches but in there he switched to focus and was just mega! He’s pretty perfect and always performs on the day—whatever he’s up to outside you can always trust him.”
All eyes now are on Saturday’s cross country, a course Canter has walked four times.
“I’ve got a good plan and I’m going out with the intention of going fast and clear. I haven’t come here to be middle of the pack. So hopefully I can give him a good start. It’s quite nice here at the start in that it’s not overly dressed. I’m going to go out and give it a good shot.”
All divisions from the Longines Luhmühlen Horse Trials are streaming on Horse & Country TV.