After becoming the first British rider ever to win an individual medal at the young rider European Dressage Championships last year, Annabella Pidgley made the step up to under-25 grand prix look effortless at this year’s European Champions in St Margarethen, Austria, winning individual silver and freestyle gold on Charlotte Dujardin’s double Olympic bronze medal-winning ride, Gio.
In the short grand prix which decided the individual competition, the margin between Annabella and Denmark’s Sophia Ludvigsen, who won on Blue Hors Quintana, was incredibly close, with less than 0.1% separating them.
But Annabella stormed her first-ever freestyle with Gio – or Pumpkin as he is known at home – winning on 79.52%. German combination Helen Erbe and Carlos FRH recovered from a disappointing individual test to place second on 78.08%, while Sophia was third on 77.99%.
Annabella Pidgley wins European gold in the under-25 freestyle at St. Margarethen, Austria. Credit: Lukasz Kowalski
“The last day was very special, as Charlotte let me ride her freestyle from Tokyo – it was such an honour,” said Annabella, who was last into the arena.
“I watched Helen and knew I had to ride really well. But I love that intensity, and having an amazing dancing partner like Pumpkin really raised my game.
“The freestyle has a high degree of difficulty, but Pumpkin knew where he was going and really brought some energy. Everything that Charlotte has taught him, he’s now teaching me – he’s incredible.”
Alongside Jessie McConkey (Dior III), Angus Corrie-Deane (Jack Johnson 2) and Anna Jesty (Commodore Platinum), Annabella was also part of the British under-25 team that finished just shy of the podium in fourth.
Chef d’equipe, Tom Hobday said: “All of them did a cracking job.”
The British young rider team of Isobel Lickley (Nymphenburg’s First Ampere), Oliver Gould (Virtue), India Durman-Mills (Escade) and Hermione Tottman (Exquisite) won team bronze – successfully defending the historic title they won last year.
The bronze medal-winning young rider team of Isobel Lickley, India Durman-Mills, Hermione Tottman and Oliver Gould. Credit: Lukasz Kowalski.
A medal was not necessarily on the cards, explained British Dressage’s international director Judy Harvey.
“Germany has huge strength and depth at this level, so their win was not unexpected,” she said.
“But looking at our scores, compared with others, statistically we weren’t that strong. Our riders really upped their game. They proved they can compete against the best in Europe, get their game faces on and keep that focus. It’s very exciting for the future.”
Best of the Brits in the team placings was Isobel, who stood 10th in the 64-strong field on a personal-best 70.2%.
Pathfinder Hermione Tottman scored 65.2% on her championship debut while Oliver and last-to-go India tied for 12th place in the team placings with 70.05%.
“The pressure was on so we went for a nice, clean test,” said India, for whom this was a third European Championships medal with the experienced Escade in as many years. “But I enjoyed being the final rider – pressure makes diamonds!”
Oliver scored personal bests in all three tests and was the overall highest-scoring British rider in the division, finishing fifth in the individual competition (72.06%) and seventh in the freestyle (75.09%).
“Achieving three personal bests in three tests at the Europeans – it doesn’t get much better,” he said. “We’ve been chasing 70% all year, so to get that in the team test was huge. I couldn’t have asked for more – a year’s worth of training came together in the arena.”
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