GBR Dressage 2015 European squad named (videos)

The British Dressage website has reported that their selectors have announced the UK Sport National Lottery funded dressage squad for the upcoming FEI European Championships, which take place in Aachen, Germany (12-16 August 2015). (Videos of the team and their horses are featured below)

Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro
Photo credit: Kevin Sparrow Hartpury FOD

This summer’s event is the last major Championship before next year’s Olympic Games in Rio, where GBR will be represented having already qualified a Dressage team place following Team Silver at the World Equestrian Games in 2014.

The selected squad has been named as (in alphabetical order):

•Fiona Bigwood (39) from Horsham, West Sussex with Penny Bigwood’s Atterupgaards Orthilia and shown here competing at Hartpury earlier this month

•Charlotte Dujardin OBE (30) from Newent, Gloucestershire with Mrs Roly Luard, Mrs Anne Barrott and Mr Carl Hester’s Valegro and shown here competing at Hartpury earlier this month

•Michael Eilberg (28) from Redditch, Worcestershire with Mr Ferdi Eilberg’s Marakov  and shown here winning the British National Championship in 2014

•Carl Hester MBE (48) from Newent, Gloucestershire with Miss Jane de la Mare and his own Nip Tuck and shown here competing at Hartpury Festival of Dressage in 2014

Selected Reserves (in order of selection):

• Spencer Wilton (42) from Thatcham, Berkshire with Jen Goodman and his own British Bred Super Nova II seen here at Stoneleigh in 2014

• Anna Ross (42) from Salisbury, Wiltshire with Mrs Jane Sewell’s Die Callas

All four selected athletes contest the team competition (with the three best scores counting); the top thirty athletes after the Grand Prix [team test] then go forward to contest the Grand Prix Special, with only the top fifteen athletes progressing through to the Grand Prix Freestyle.

Text Source British Dressage website