Charlotte Fry claimed a memorable freestyle dressage gold at the FEI World Equestrian Championships in Denmark, her third medal of the week.
Fry is only the third rider, after Charlotte Dujardin and the Netherlands' Edward Gal, to win both individual dressage world titles at one championship.
The 26-year-old scored an impressive 90.654% on 11-year-old stallion Glamourdale, while Dujardin and Imhotep, on his first ever freestyle test, recorded 83.132%.
Fry had put out several social media teasers on what her new Joost Peters-masterminded music entailed, but it did little to prepare for the splendour of her performance.
It was a charming routine that used the best of British music, including the Beatles’ ‘Hey Jude’ and the Verve’s ‘Bittersweet Symphony’ as the background to a floorplan of maximum difficulty, expertly executed by a young pairing who stole the show with their power, personality and presence.
Welcome to the 90% club @lottiefryy & Glamourdale 😲
— Team GB (@TeamGB) August 10, 2022
Time to take a moment & watch this jaw dropping performance 🤩#Herning2022
pic.twitter.com/bkCbCEbaN0
The triumph follows gold medal success in the grand prix special and silver in the team event.
“It’s absolutely incredible, unbelievable,” she said.
“I just had the best feeling in there I’ve ever had. I had so much fun and he had so much fun and we literally just loving it the whole way round. It’s just a really nice, relaxed feeling, the crowd were seriously amazing.
“Glamourdale went in there and knew what he had to do and he could feel the atmosphere. If there’s a big crowd, he’s going to show off even more – I can just sit there, it felt so easy and he was just bouncing through his music.
“I didn’t dare to imagine this. I know everything is possible with Glamourdale – he is the best horse in the world, but to be able to show off what he did tonight is amazing.
“Hopefully, this is just the beginning – it’s his first major championships, and I think the next few years will be really exciting for him."