Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour (DEN) and Mount St John Freestyle earned first place in the CDI5* FEI Dressage Stockholm Grand Prix, with a new personal best score in the Grand Prix Freestyle.
The duo’s impressive performance also elevated them to the 90% club on the one-year anniversary of their partnership.
Dufour is no stranger to *5 classes. She has competed in 65 across the world, winning 28 of them (seven of these were achieved on “Free”). She also earned a spot in the Rio Olympics, Tokyo Olympics, and Paris Olympics. In Paris, Dufour and Free brought home a silver team medal and scored an 80.82% in the Grand Prix.
Free was previously campaigned by Olympian Charlotte Dujardin (GBR), who is currently under suspension by the FEI. In only a year, Dufour debuted Free at the *5 level, showcasing the 15-year-old mare’s talent in the upper division.
“We really didn’t know if [Free] could return to top-level sport,” Dufour admitted. “But from the first rising trot I did on the long side, I felt there was something very unique in this match.”
And unique there was. With this win, they become the eleventh pair to obtain a 90% score after Dufour also became the tenth rider to enter the club two years prior with her famous horse, Zen Elite’s Bohemian.
All judges in Stockholm unanimously scored Dufour and Free at the top of their class with an 81.609% in the Grand Prix. The following day, the pair made history with a spectacular 90.715% in the Grand Prix Freestyle.
When asked about their performance at Stockholm, Dufour expressed how proud she was of Free. “She is just wonderful, and I felt today that she was a tiny bit sharper, in a good way… It’s always a nice feeling to come out of the ring when you’ve managed to stay with the music and do everything the way you dreamed.”
In Stockholm, Isabell Werth (GER) achieved a 79.152% in the Grand Prix and 89.065% in the Grand Prix Freestyle on Wendy De Fontaine. Werth’s second place comes on the heels of her impressive sweep of the Grand Prix and Grand Prix Freestyle at the FEI Dressage World Cup Qualifier Stuttgart three weeks prior. In third place, Dinja Van Liere (NED) and Hermès N.O.P. achieved 76.435% in the Grand Prix and 84.805% in the Grand Prix Freestyle.
CDI5* competition continues in Salzburg, Austria, December 5-8.