'Pressure is a privilege'

Laura Collett keeps her cool to lead throughout on her horse of a lifetime, achieving her third five-star victory

- LUCY ELDER

LAURA COLLETT and London 52 led from the front to win their third five-star title in superb style and head a British one-two-three.

The pair arrived in Germany as favourites – a label they rose to by delivering a masterclass in all three phases to win on their dressage score of 20.3. They finished ahead of Kitty King and Vendredi Biats, who put the gremlins of recent five-stars to bed by coming second on 27.2, and world champion Yasmin Ingham with Rehy DJ who were third on 27.9.

“He’s my horse of a lifetime and I will never sit on another like him,” said Laura, who owns the 14-year-old gelding with Keith Scott and Karen Bartlett. “He’s got such a reputation that I don’t want to let him down; he deserves to be a multiple five-star winning horse so I’m glad I’ve allowed him to be that.”

“Pressure is a privilege,” Laura said earlier this week, admitting with a chuckle that it didn’t feel quite so much like a privilege before their showjumping round on Sunday morning.

But hiccups in their past – including a rider fall at the European Championships here in 2019 – were firmly behind them.

Boekelo at the end of 2019 was their turning point and they have now claimed their rightful crowns at three different five-stars, as well as an Olympic team gold medal. What a place, too, for London 52’s breeder, Ocke Riewerts, to be reunited with that once leggy, slightly too-small foal, for the first time in 14 years.