Carl Hester, in the first CDI5* since getting the ride back on Liebling II, won the €30,000 Moorlands Grand Prix Special at the Exquis World Dressage Masters Sunday.
Hester has most likely secured a place on Great Britain’s team for the World Equestrian Games in Kentucky next month.
Carl and Liebling scored 72.417 per cent, with Brett Parbery,the first Australian to compete at a World Dressage Masters, on Victory Salute in second place with 70.167 per cent and Britain’s Maria Eilberg on Two Sox third with 69.875 per cent.
The 13-year-old gelding that Carl rode to team silver at the European Championships in 2009 was sold earlier this year to businessman John Risley with the hope of providing a Canadian team WEG mount for Cheryl Meisner. She did not have enough time develop a relationship with Liebling to qualify and Carl was offered the ride on the horse as a possible WEG mount.
“I’m really grateful to the owner for giving me the chance to qualify,” Carl said.
He had a lot at stake in the Grand Prix on Saturday as it was the last opportunity to get a score to qualify for the British team as well wanting to do well for the new owner.
Brett Parbery said that the mistakes that produced low scores in Saturday’s Grand Prix “turned out to be today’s silver lining.”
If he had done as well Saturday as he did Sunday, Brett and the 14-year-old gelding would have ridden in the musical freestyle and not the Special that was successful.