{"piano":{"sandbox":"false","aid":"u28R38WdMo","rid":"R7EKS5F","offerId":"OF3HQTHR122A","offerTemplateId":"OTQ347EHGCHM"}}
Trending:

Britain’s pathfinder eliminated at the European Dressage Championships

Martha Terry Martha Terry

    • There was huge disappointment for Andrew Gould on his European Dressage Championships debut in Crozet, France, when he was eliminated on veterinary grounds during his grand prix test.

    His ride, the 12-year-old Negro stallion Indigro, was not moving with his usual fluency from the outset, and the judge rang the bell when they came to halt at C. After a brief discussion with the C judge, Denmark’s Hans-Christian Matthiesen – who is a veterinarian by training – the world number 37 left the arena on a long rein in walk.

    Andrew was Britain’s pathfinder of the team of four. However, as only three of the nation’s scores count towards team placings, his elimination will not jeopardise Britain’s challenge. It does mean there is no room for error for the remaining three, Carl Hester, Becky Moody and Lottie Fry.

    Becky, who was on youth teams alongside Andrew, said that his elimination didn’t affect the pressure on the three British combinations.

    “I’m just so sad for Andrew, it was such an unfortunate thing to happen,” Becky said, after scoring a solid 74.82% on her Paris team bronze medallist Jagerbomb.

    “Obviously, we have to focus on getting the horse right for him, but we have a job to do – the three of us – so we will do our very best and see what we can do.”

    This was a long-awaited senior championship debut for Andrew Gould, who was on the British youth teams 25 years ago with Koffee Break. He was also travelling reserve, with Indigro, for the Paris Olympics last year.

    You may also enjoy reading

    Stay in touch with all the news in the run-up to and throughout the major shows and events during 2025 with a Horse & Hound subscription. Subscribe today for all you need to know ahead of these major events, plus online reports on the action as it happens from our expert team of reporters and in-depth analysis in our special commemorative magazines. Have a subscription already? Set up your unlimited website access now

    Martha Terry
    Martha Terry

    H&H features editor
    Martha is an experienced journalist who is mad-keen on horses and dogs. Her reporting CV includes the Paris Olympics, European championships, Aachen World Equestrian Festival and World Cup finals. After growing up with assorted liver and white springer spaniels, she enjoyed 14 years with two rescue dogs. Now, her constant companion is Fidget, an extremely energetic and habitually muddy black and white springer. Martha has written on topics as diverse as a top horse’s clone to the best GPS trackers for dogs, as well as equestrian and rural matters for Country Life, The Field, The Times, The Spectator and The Telegraph alongside Horse & Hound.
    Martha Terry

    You may like...