Horse & Hound – 01 August 2019

60 Horse&Hound1 August 2019

Pictures by kevinsparrow.co.uk

DRESSAGE

HICKSTEAD CDI

25-28 July

ditedbyPollyBryan

[email protected]

@pollybryan

HicksteadCDI,WestSussex

LARABUTLERswepttheboard

intheCDIO3*,just 10 weeksafter

returningtothesaddlefollowing

thebirthofherfirstchild.Her

sonJackwasborninApriland,

eversince,Larahasbeenona

determinedpathtogetbackon

topformwithherlong-term

partnerRubinAlAsad(Rufus).

Thisis theirthirdshowback,

andvictoryinboththegrandprix

and freestyle — the latter with a

LaraButler

provesshe’sat

herpeakahead

ofteamselection,

whileother

Britsarealsoon

winning form

plus-78%personalbest—proved

thispairarebackattheirbest.

“ThatwasthebestfeelingI’ve

everhadfromhiminthering,”said

Laraaftertheirbrilliantfreestyle

settoa DireStraitsmedley.

Indeed,the17-year-oldRubin

Royalgeldingseemstogetbetter

everyyear.Everyaspectoftheir

polishedroundoozedquality

andLarareceivedninesforher

pirouettes,tempichangesand

Rufus’trademarkpassage.

“Thepowerwasthere,the

concentrationwasthereand,

whenthat’sinplace,it is amazing

whathecando,”addedLara,who

is long-listedwithRufusforthe

EuropeanChampionships.

“EveryyearI seemtoleaveit

tothelastminutetopeak[ahead

ofteamselection],butI’mjustso

pleasedforhimandme.I actually

feel even stronger in the saddle

ByPOLLYBRYANand

LESLIEBLISS

Butler’s back at her best

Ontopformafterherbabybreak:

LaraButlerandRubinAlAsadwinthe

CDIO3*grandprixandthefreestyle

with a plus-78% personal best

JoãoTorrãoandEquador

headthegrandprix

specialandleadPortugal

to the Nations Cup win