The youngest competitor at this year’s FEI World Cup Final Laura Bechtolsheimer, who only celebrated her 21st birthday in January, rode her parents’ Douglas Dorsey to an emphatic, unanimous victory in the B Final.

It has been a phenomenal year for the Bristol University student, who won the British National title in September and gained a place in the World Cup Final in her first season. “It’s a dream to be here, I am so excited” said Bechtolsheimer. “In some ways I was disappointed not to reach the A Final, but our grand prix was below our normal standard. It was a shame as ‘Dougie’ was working so well in the run up, but by the time we went in perhaps he has fallen asleep a bit, he certainly was not his powerful self. But in other ways it is so much nicer to win the B Final, and we had no mistakes in our one-time changes, which can happen, so I am really happy with what we did today.”

The young rider attracted many fans for her cool, stylish performance, and she is undoubtedly an exciting prospect for her country and the future. After all, Anky van Grunsven competed in her first World Cup Final at the age of 21, with her first horse Prisco. The next aim in Bechtolsheimer’s programme is this summer’s World Equestrian Games in Aachen. She added, smiling: “It has been a very steep learning curve.”

Sweden’sGustav Svalling was at C. He commented: “Today Douglas Dorsey was carrying himself and looked fresh, much better than in the grand prix. He was a different horse, and his walk was more relaxed. The B Final was a nice final. The runner up, Tip Top, is a good-looking horse of a good standard, while Wilson, in third place, showed his marvellous canter. For me, it was very nice that the ‘B’ riders could be this good.”

RESULT
FEI World Cup ‘B’ Final Grand Prix Freestyle
1, Douglas Dorsey (Laura Bechtolsheimer GBR) 73.52
2, Tip Top (Leslie Morse USA) 71.45
3, Wilson (Kristian van Krusenstierna SWE) 71.20
4, Royal Black Label (Elena Kalinina RUS) 70.95
5, Proton (Cindy Ishoy CAN) 67.52
6, Zorro (Inessa Porturaeva RUS) 64.92

Media Contact
Cindy Velstra-Timmer
Mobile: +31 (0) 654 674396
Email: cindy@head2tail.nl

Website: www.jumping-amsterdam.nl

For further information on the FEI World Cup www.feiworldcup.org

For rider bios and further information on the FEI www.horseport.org

The FEI World Cup Dressage, initiated in 1985, is the only worldwide series in this discipline. It comprises qualifying leagues encompassing Western and Central Europe, North America, Canada and Australia. Each FEI World Cup Dressage qualifier comprises a Grand Prix test, which in turn is a qualification for the Freestyle to Music competition, where league points are accumulated towards places in the Final. Judged on both technical and artistic merit, the FEI World Cup Dressage combines art, sport and partnership between horse and rider at the highest level and consistently proves a winning formula with audiences all over the world.