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World No. 1 Scores 90% to Win Dressage World Cup Opener
· 2 min read
At the opening leg of the FEI Dressage World Cup 2026/27 Western European League in Herning, Denmark, on 16 and 17 October, world number one Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour won both the Grand Prix and the Freestyle, scoring 90.000% in the Freestyle.
Denmark's Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour and the 17-year-old mare Mount St John Freestyle won the FEI Dressage World Cup Grand Prix Freestyle in Herning, Denmark, on 17 October with a score of 90.000%. According to the FEI, the event was the first of 10 qualifiers in the 2026/27 Western European League, and it was the pair's third win in a row in Herning. The victory earned them the maximum 20 points towards the series standings.
First in both the Grand Prix and the Freestyle
In the Grand Prix the day before, on 16 October, the pair also finished first with 82.413%. Dressage-News reported that all five judges scored them above 80%. Marieke van der Putten (Netherlands) and Zantana were second on 75.957%, and Daniel Bachmann Andersen (Denmark) and Flash Gordon were third on 75.652%.
In the Freestyle, one small mistake in the two-tempi changes, where the leading leg in canter switches every second stride, was more than offset by piaffe, passage and pirouettes that earned several nines and tens. Van der Putten and Zantana were second with a personal best of 86.235%. Maria von Essen (Sweden) and Invoice were third (81.475%), Bachmann Andersen fourth (81.225%), and Nadja Aaboe Sloth (Denmark) and Favour Gersdorf fifth (80.545%). Five combinations scored above 80%.
First show since the World Championships
The FEI noted that all of the top five combinations had reached the Grand Prix Freestyle final at this summer's World Championships in Aachen, Germany. Laudrup-Dufour won two individual silver medals in Aachen and helped Denmark to team bronze. In Herning last year, she won with 81.935% in the Grand Prix and 90.175% in the Freestyle.
Laudrup-Dufour said she had not done much work with the mare since the World Championships "because she is already 17", and that the crowd lifted them. Van der Putten explained that Zantana always needs a little time to adjust to indoor competition. Young riders who have moved up from the under-25 ranks also stood out, led by 23-year-old Alexander Yde Helgstrand (Denmark) in sixth place on 77.770%.
What comes next
The second Western European League qualifier takes place in Lyon, France, on 29 and 30 October, followed by Stuttgart and Madrid in November and London and Mechelen in December. The top nine riders in the league will go to the 40th World Cup Final in Gothenburg, Sweden, from 24 to 28 March 2027. Last season's champion, Becky Moody (Great Britain), qualifies automatically if she competes in at least two qualifiers.