With another staggering performance, Great Britain’s Phoebe Peters and SL Lucci added Freestyle gold to the Individual title they took yesterday at the FEI European Pony Dressage Championships in Arezzo, Italy today (Sunday 28 July) with an amazing score of 84 per cent.
The 14-year old rider and her super-talented 11-year-old gelding pinned The Netherlands’ Lisanne Zoutendijk and Champ of Class into silver medal spot while Germany’s Semmieke Rothenberger and Deinhard B took the bronze. British dressage supporters could not conceal their delight as the country that has risen to such prominence at senior level in recent years had never before taken a step on the medal podium for either the Individual or Freestyle at the European Pony Championships. So it was a very special moment for the girl from Morton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire who has taken the 2013 Dressage Championships by storm when doing it twice.
It was a morning of superb sport, with so many riders raising their game in this final competition. A total of 15 lined out in the Freestyle and it was Denmark’s Victoria Vallentin and Not for Sale who set the target at 74.450 as the first tranche of riders took their turn. But the remaining group just kept re-setting the parameters, with The Netherlands’ Demy Kurstjens (Kingsley Ciske) posting 74.575 and Great Britain’s Erin Williams and Dynasty scoring 74.750 before Peters took her turn.
From the outset the natural lightness of Peters’ pony and the graceful, flowing lines of her test saw the British rider’s score begin to soar as she took particular advantage of their exceptional symmetry in canter-work. The entire test had a sense of calm cooperation, and as they marched up the centre line it was clear they were about to create a sensation. The spectators gasped when 84 per cent went up on the scoreboard - that was always going to be near-impossible to beat.
And so it proved. With just four left to go, Germany’s Sophie Kampmann and Voyager earned a mark of 77.875 before Zoutendijk and Champ of Class took their turn. And, as Dutch Chef d’Equipe Tineke Bartels commented afterwards, “Champ of Class was even more fit than yesterday. His test was more fresh and he rode more uphill, and his attitude was very nice”. The Dutch partnership was rewarded with a great mark of 80.775 for silver medal spot with just one left to go. And that’s where they stayed when Germany’s Rothenberger and Deinhard B posted 80.625 for bronze medal position.
Peters was almost speechless afterwards - “I can hardly believe it!” she said, having earned two individual gold medals in a row and placing herself firmly into the pages of the dressage history books.
Silver medallist Lisanne Zoutendijk was more than happy with her result too. “It feels great!” she said. “I didn’t expect to finish so high, I came here hoping to finish in the top 10 so to take bronze (in yesterday’s Individual Championship) and silver (Freestyle) is amazing!” she pointed out.
Bronze medallist, Rothenberger, spoke like a seasoned professional when she said “these have been wonderful Championships and I’m really glad to be here. On the first day in the team event things didn’t go so well for us, I expected more, but in the Individual it was a lot better and we finished second, and then today it was very close and I took bronze” she said.
Ground Jury member, Susanne Baarup from Denmark, said the judges were all in agreement about the top three riders, and echoed the sentiments of so many of those who witnessed this amazing week of pony dressage. “The standard is getting so high, we just don’t know where it will end!” she said. “These have been fantastic Championships and I am very proud to have been appointed to be here” she added, and Foreign Technical Delegate for dressage, Maya Stukelj from Slovakia, also complimented the event organisers.
“Everything here in Arezzo has been so nice. It is never easy to run an event with three different disciplines, it takes a lot of effort but everyone has been very happy. On behalf of the FEI I would like to thank the organisers very much. It was quite emotional watching the last few riders go today. I judged at the Pony Championships last year and it seems the level just gets higher and higher. I would like to congratulate every one of the competitors who have competed here this week - from the first to the very last”.