‘I did not expect that'

A surprise grand prix win with one of her rising stars delights Alice Oppenheimer, while the Mount St John team are among other big winners

- LUCY ELDER

ALICE OPPENHEIMER’S homebred Headmore Dirubinio came of age to blossom with new-found confidence in his winning grand prix test.

The 17.3hh 12-year-old (Dimaggio x Rubinstein) made the movements look effortless. His athleticism shone through, moving forwards and collecting for fun, with his changes and pirouettes highlights of the test.

The pair were rewarded with a score of 69.23%, clinching the win ahead of Fiona Bigwood on new ride Fame XX and Louise Bell with star campaigner Into The Blue, joint second on 68.97%.

“I was not expecting that this morning at all,” said Alice, crediting trainer Erik Theilgaard for his help. “It’s not because he’s not talented – this horse is phenomenal – but because he hasn’t done a lot of competing on the way up the levels because of his size. We gave him a lot of time to mature, so he’s not done very much. He’s also quite a wuss.”

She explained that Charlotte Dujardin has also been helping her with him and told her not to worry about the scores, but to get him out and build his confidence, which she has done.

“I really feel we are getting there with his confidence,” said Alice. “It wasn’t perfect – I can do a much better piaffe than I did today. But if I can keep building his confidence, then I’ve got a really amazing grand prix horse. The talent is phenomenal and he doesn’t really have a weakness.”

Alice added that “Robin” spent six months with Carl Hester a few years ago, which “gave me a way forward with how to produce him”.