Laura Collett smashes 20-year dressage record on day one of the Eventing World Championships

British riders make up three of the top five at the Eventing World Championships at the end of day one of the dressage, with Laura Collett and London 52 posting the best score seen at the championships in 20 years

You couldn’t ask for a better start to a World Championship campaign, with the British eventing team currently sitting in top spot overnight and British riders fielding three of the five top positions. Out in front are Laura Collett and London 52, with individual rider Yasmin Ingham sitting in second on Banzai du Loir and Ros Canter in fourth in Lordships Graffallo.

Badminton 2022 winners Laura Collett and London 52 looked like the ones to beat from the moment they entered the arena. With a trending score that started in the high teens, middled in the low-20s and finished at 19.3 – the best score seen at the championships in 20 eyars – it’s safe to say it’ll take a very special test to come in ahead of this formidable combination.

Showcasing his tremendous presence, the 13-year-old Holsteiner gelding – who was bought from Germany as a young horse and has made an enormous journey as his formerly fragile confidence has become stronger and stronger in recent years – made the test look effortless as he looked to smile his way round from start to finish.

“He definitely loves a crowd. He went in that arena and he was like, ‘Yeah, everyone’s here to see me’. He’s just a pleasure to ride when he’s like that,” Laura said after their test. “Obviously, he was pretty good at Badminton but there were bits that weren’t quite good enough, so we’ve just been really working on those.

“Once I’d got the first centre line out of the way, I thought, ‘Well, Carl [Hester] will be happy now’. From then on it just felt like ‘Dan’ got better and better and I could just have a lovely time, basically.”

Riding the current Badminton champion, who’s gone from strength to strength, the pressure was on Laura to perform. “I’m well aware that I’m sat on one of the very best horses in the world and people expect you to deliver – but luckily he delivered and I managed to steer in the right direction,” said Laura. “I’m just the luckiest person to be sat on him and he really does just keep getting better and better.”

“The main thing with him is keeping him happy and not stressing him out. If you do too much and ask too much he worries. He’s a trier and he wants to do it right, and if he thinks he’s not doing it right he gets a bit nervous. So, it’s just about telling him he’s amazing, which he is!”

Speaking briefly about the weekend’s cross-country challenge, Laura made one thing clear – it won’t be a dressage. “It’s a proper championship track,” she said. “I came here in 2005 for the Pony Europeans so I kind of knew roughly what to expect but I think from start to finish it’s full on. There was a lot of head scratching when we first walked it to work out actually what the direct route was because there’s so many options.

“We’ll find out on Saturday [whether the track will suit him]! But he’s been on amazing form for the last two years, so I have no reason to think it won’t suit him.”

Britain’s next best competitor is second placed Yasmin Ingham, who is competing as an individual. At 25 years old, Yasmin was making her senior championship debut and made it one to remember for more reasons than one when she scored an incredible 22.0. Partnered by Sue Davies and Janette Chin’s 11-year-old Banzai du Loir, with whom Yasmin secured her first four-start victory at Blenheim last year, this is the fourth-best dressage score delivered at a World Championship.

“Honestly, it’s the first time we’ve gone in the boards at an event and he’s felt completely listening and with me,” said Yasmin after her test. “Even though the crowds and the cameras and everything atmosphere-wise, he didn’t really seem to flinch or bother, I’m just so proud of him. I couldn’t really fault him today at all.

“He’s such a special horse and I still think there’s plenty more in there which is even more exciting.”

After winning Blenheim in 2021 and finishing second at Kentucky earlier this year, Yasmin explained that she’s been experimenting with her warm-up routine to get the best out of Banzai in the dressage phase.

“We’ve had more experience now in the bigger, atmospheric arenas,” said Yasmin. “We also had Burghley just before we came here where we got to practise this test. We’ve tried different techniques with the warm-up, how long we work him in for and what we do with him in those work-ins. Chris Bartle has been amazing in helping us too.”

Yasmin’s trot half-pass left and final halt and salute proved to be particular highlights.

“He’s come here really settled and I think he’s getting more used to travelling and coming to the bigger events now, so it’s becoming a bit more normal for him,” she continued. “So, we did half an hour at 8 o’clock this morning, just long and low with lots of simple changes and easy things, just to not stress him out and keep him quite happy and confident. We then worked him for half an hour at 9.45am and started to do a couple of changes and half-passes to make it a bit more difficult to get him ready for this afternoon. Then his final work-in was only 20 minutes before we came into the test

“He’s quite a fit and sharp character usually, so we have to make sure we give him enough working in so that he doesn’t go in there and just go, ‘Ahhh’. But I couldn’t fault him today.”

As one of the younger competitors at this year’s championships, it was exciting for Yasmin to be making her senior championship debut as an individual. “It’s so special. I’ve worked towards this since I started riding. It’s something that I’ve always wanted to do, it’s always been one of my goals and to achieve that has just been a dream come true,” she said. “Obviously, the team behind the scenes is what’s helped me get here and my owners, Sue Davies and Janette Chinn, and my family, all my trainers the World Class team – there’s just like an army that’s behind every rider and they’ve all helped me get here. It’s a big moment.”

Finally, in fourth place overnight was first to go for Britain, Ros Canter, who opened Britain’s campaign and scored a pleasing 26.2 riding the phenomenally talented but relatively inexperienced Lordships Graffalo.

Speaking afterwards, Ros – the current World Champion – was clearly over the moon with the gelding’s performance. “I’m absolutely delighted with ‘Walter’,” she said. “He’s only a 10-year-old so coming here is a big occasion for him. We were lucky enough to practice our test at Burghley and I was saying how every day is still a school day for him but we’re only just scratching the surface at this level.

“I’m delighted that he went in there and he was a complete professional – I don’t think he acted his age,” she said. “He’s a very self-confident horse, he’s very happy in his own skin. He adores attention!”

While Ros believes that the best from Walter is very much still to come, she praised the gelding’s impeccable behaviour. “As soon as I went in there, I knew he was with me,” she continued. “We got the preparation right today. When he’s like that, he’s very easy. He has beautiful balance, and he was very settled from the off.”

What’s next

Dressage action will continue tomorrow (Friday 15 September), with Tom McEwen and Oliver Townend still to come. They will ride at 11.16am and 3.54pm BST respectively. Then, Saturday (16 September) will be time for the cross-country.

Results as they stand

The top 10 individual results as they stand after day one of dressage are…

1. Great Britain’s Laura Collett and London 52 – 19.3
2. Great Britain’s Yasmin Ingham and Banzai du Loir – 22.0
3. New Zealand’s Monica Spencer and Artist – 25.6
4. Great Britain’s Ros Canter and Lordships Graffalo – 26.2
5. USA’s Will Coleman and Off The Record – 26.4
6. France’s Tom Carlile and Darmagnac de Beliard – 26.4
7. USA’s Lauren Nicholson and Vermiculus – 27.1
8. New Zealand’s Clarke Johnstone and Menlo Park – 27.4
9. Japan’s Yoshiaki Oiwa and Calle 44 – 28.0
10. Sweden’s Niklas Linbäck and Focus Filiocus – 29.0

After two riders from each nation having ridden today, the top 10 team standings overnight are…

1. Great Britain – 45.5
2. New Zealand – 53.0
3. USA – 53.5
4. France – 57.1
5. Japan – 60.2
6. Australia – 61.8
7. Germany – 64.1
8. Italy – 65.8
9. Belgium – 66.2
10. Switzerland – 67.7

Photo credit: Great Britain’s Laura Collett and London 52 © British Equestrian / Jon Stroud