BASEL, Switzerland--Charlotte Fry on Glamourdale, one of the favorites, won the Grand Prix on a score of 77.152% at the Dressage World Cup Final on Friday, April 4.

Charlotte Fry on Glamourdale (Photo by Kim MacMillan)The Grand Prix was the qualifier for Saturday’s Freestyle. 

Adriene Lyle on Helix was the U.S. top finisher, placing ninth on 72.565%.

Isabell Werth of Germany, undoubtedly the most experienced athlete in the field, placed second place on DSP Quantaz, closely followed by Isabel Freese of Norway on Total Hope OLD in third.

Several top combinations had to go early in the impressive St. Jakobshalle arena in Basel, including Freese on Total Hope OLD.

The striking black stallion has two former Dressage World Cup winners as parents: Totilas as sire and Weihegold OLD as dam.

Total Hope OLD entered the arena with a tense halt, but grew into the test as it progressed.

The score of 74.413% held firm for a long time and ultimately secured third place — the first ever World Cup Final podium finish for a Norwegian combination.

“Total Hope is a real macho, but he learns quickly and is fantastic to ride. Today we lost some valuable marks at the beginning, but I’m very proud of the rest of our test,” said Freese.

Only Werth with DSP Quantaz and  Fry with Glamourdale managed to surpass that score later in the field.

 

THE VERY first combination of the day also made a strong impression: Larissa Pauluis of Belgium on Flambeau posted a nearly error-free test for 72.935%, which was eventually good enough for seventh place.

Adrienne Lyle on Helix (Photo by Kim MacMillan)“It hasn’t always been easy with Flambeau, but we kept believing in our dream, and here we are,” she said.

One of the three American riders also earned a top-10 placing before the break: Lyle on Helix.

The long-legged chestnut grew in confidence throughout the test, scoring 72.565% and finishing ninth.

Pauline Basquin of France on Sertorius de Rima Z IFCE followed just behind with 72.348%.

After the break, the energy in the arena quickly ramped up with many top combinations aiming for a place in the top three.

Several mares stole the show, including Forever Young HRH, ridden by reigning champion Patrik Kittel of Sweden.

He chose the elegant mare instead of last year’s winner, Touchdown, as his partner for the Final.

With 73.130%, he came close, but a costly mistake in the two-tempis prevented a higher score.

Kittel finished in sixth place.

Directly after him, Bianca Nowag-Aulenbrock of Germany delivered an impressive Grand Prix with the chestnut mare Florine OLD, scoring 72.609% and placing eighth.

Another mare who captured the hearts of the audience was Maxima Bella, ridden by Sandra Sysojeva of Poland.

The imposing black mare, who also competed in the Freestyle Final at the Paris Olympic Games, impressed with her piaffe and passage tour, earning a score of 74.283% for fourth place.

This was a tie for fourth place with Corentin Pottier of France, who rode the test of his life aboard the gelding Gotilas du Feuillard.

His 74.283% marked a new personal best, and as the final athlete of the day, his exceptionally correct and harmonious performance also won over the crowd.

Werth is riding her 26th World Cup Final in Basel, and her third with DSP Quantaz.

She placed third in the Finals in Omaha in 2023 and fourth in Riyadh in 2024.

Earlier this year, she won both the Grand Prix and Freestyle in the World Cup qualifier in Basel.

Her goal was to climb one place higher in the Final ranking this year, and with 74.848% in today’s Grand Prix, she managed just that, finishing second.

“I was very pleased with Quantaz,” she said. “The first two days here weren’t easy for him. He was very spooky and not focused. Today, as soon as I got on, he was more relaxed, and he stayed focused throughout the test.”

As the 12th to go, Fry laid down a score with Glamourdale that no one could top: 77.152%.

It wasn’t their highest score ever, but it was enough to take the win.

The first piaffe, where the black stallion briefly hesitated, cost them some marks.

“Today he was definitely more impressed in here than he was in other arenas this World Cup season," said Fry. "I really had to give him quite some confidence today, but he trusted me. We had some amazing moments today, I’m very happy with the flying changes and with a lot of the trot work.”

“I want to present everyone a beautiful freestyle and give Glamourdale every possibility to be as good as he can be," she said. "He is such a personality and a real showman.”

For the other two U.S. riders, Kevin Kohmann on Duenensee placed 14th on 69.130%, and Genay Vaughn on Gino placed 17th on 62.978%.

All riders in today’s Grand Prix met the minimum score requirement of 60%, meaning we’ll see them all again in tomorrow’s Freestyle Final.

With such close scores at the top of the leaderboard, everything is still to play for in the Freestyle.

Competition in the Les Trois Rois FEI Dressage World Cup Final kicks off tomorrow at 19:30 CET.