Charlotte Dujardin’s golden run on board Valegro continues after she retained her freestyle title in dramatic style at the European Dressage Championships in Germany.
Fresh from defending her Grand Prix Special title on Saturday, as well as helping Great Britain to team silver earlier in the weekend, Dujardin went into Sunday’s competition full of confidence.
However home rider Kristina Broring-Sprehe put down a stern marker to beat when she scored 88.804% as the penultimate competitor.
That left the spotlight on double Olympic champion Dujardin and Valegro – but the duo rose to the challenge, overcoming a couple of early errors to come out with a score of 89.054%.
"I'm really proud and relieved," said Dujardin, who admitted that work would now start on a new freestyle routine as she prepares for next year’s Rio Olympics.
"I wish I had done a mistake-free test but you can't be perfect all the time and I am proud of what we have achieved.
"With the errors, I knew I had to keep on and not let it affect my performance and just focus and concentrate to the bitter end. "The pressure builds and builds on me every year but I try to use that as a drive to keep going." © Sportsbeat 2015