Carl Hester and Nip Tuck. Photo courtesy of FEI/Jon Stroud.
Carl Hester was the best of the night at Olympia last night in the World Cup Freestyle, taking home the title aboard Nip Tuck. This was Carl’s first victory at Olympia in 11 tries, scoring an 83.75% for a win over Charlotte Dujardin.
“I’m really glad to get my ‘secondits’ over having finished second so many times!” Carl said after his win. “I’m very proud of him. He’s not your typical dressage model but he has the brain of a gold medallist and just keeps improving all the time. For me, it’s a special win because I never imagined winning with him and seeing him transform from something we didn’t know we had.”
Charlotte Dujardin rode Uthopia to the same music she often rides Valegro to in the freestyle, earning a 82.55% for second place. Charlotte was nothing less than thrilled for Carl, however. “He was incredible tonight. He inspires me every day but tonight I had goose pimples watching. He’s worked hard on the floor plan and I knew he’d nail it. It was as it should be; effortless and easy. I know what this win means for him and I couldn’t be happier if someone was going to beat me it was him!”
Watch Carl and Nip Tuck’s routine here, and prepare to be amazed:
