February 22, 2025 
Among dressage’s elite, there is a super elite club. The Elite-est of the elite. The 90%-ers.
Totilas was the first horse in history to break the 90% barrier, scoring 90.7% to take home individual and team gold at the 2009 European Championships.
Only a select few have scored a 90 in a CDI5* competition since. Fewer still have earned a 91.
Jessica von Bredow-Werndl (GER) and TSF Dalera accomplished the feat in 2021 with a 91.021% in the Freestyle at CHIO Aachen. In 2023, Charlotte Fry (GBR) and Glamourdale added their name to dressage’s most elite roster with a 91.5% at London International Horse Show.
On Saturday, Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour (DEN) and Mount St John Freestyle became the latest member.
In their first appearance of 2025, the pair earned a new personal best of 91.140% to win the Freestyle by an 8% margin in Gothenburg, Sweden. It’s the highest score of 2024/2025 FEI Dressage World Cup™ season.
“Freestyle is absolutely wonderful. A true show woman. I feel we are getting more and more comfortable together; she really starts to trust me,” said the world no. 2.
Since taking over the reins from Charlotte Dujardin in 2023, Laudrup-Dufour has made just six international appearances with the 16-year-old Hannoverian mare—and won all of them save the Grand Prix and the Freestyle at the Paris Olympics. (They were second and fifth, respectively. And took home team silver.)
They’ve never scored outside the 80s and ended 2024 with their first 90, taking the Freestyle at Stockholm, Sweden with 90.715.
With two World Cup qualifiers wins this season, they’d be favorites to medal in Basel. But don’t count on seeing the Danish athlete at the FEI Dressage World Cup™ Final in April.
“This was only our second World Cup competition this season, and the next one in ’s-Hertogenbosch comes too soon. Maybe we could go via a Wild Card, but our focus is on the European Championships this summer,” she explained.
Runnersup Maria von Essen (SWE) and Invoice (82.495%) and third place finishers Corentin Pottier (FRA) and Gotilas Du Feuillard (81.470%) also earned personal best scores in Gothenburg.
Germany continues to lead the Western European League standings with Isabell Werth, Bianca Nowag-Aulenbrock and Carina Scholz holding down the top three. Just one leg remains. The final FEI Dressage World Cup™ qualifier of the season will take place at The Dutch Masters in ’s-Hertogenbosch.
