British Dressage star Charlotte Dujardin on her horse, Valegro, won her second gold medal of London 2012 when she was crowned Olympic Individual champion at Greenwich Park today.
The 27-year-old was the last rider to go, and she broke her third Olympic record of London 2012 by scoring 90.089 per cent. Dujardin, who had not even ridden a competitive grand prix test 20 months ago, added Individual gold to the Team gold she won earlier this week with Bechtolsheimer and Carl Hester.
Dujardin on Valegro - Olympics 2012
British Dressage star Charlotte Dujardin on her horse, Valegro, won her second gold medal of London 2012 when she was crowned Olympic Individual champion at Greenwich Park today.
© 2012 by Nordlicht8
Dujardin's routine to music with patriotic British tunes, such as Land of Hope and Glory and I Vow to Thee, My Country, and also including the chimes of Big Ben added to the thrill of the moment for audience members.
Adelinde Cornelissen of the Netherlands, riding Parzival, won silver, while Laura Bechtolsheimer of Britain on Mistral Hojris took the bronze. World Cup champion Cornelissen scored 88.196 and Bechtolsheimer had 84.339.
Dujardin and Cornelissen both broke the Olympic record score for a freestyle, set at 85.825 by Dutch rider Anky van Grunsven and Salinero in 2004. Cornelissen picked music from "Nutcracker Suite" and Bechtolsheimer music from "The Lion King" to highlight their horses' best athletic attributes.
Britain also won team gold in dressage earlier this week, beating Germany and the Netherlands. The three medals, including two golds, were the first Olympic dressage medals ever won by Britain.
During the team competition, Ann Romney, wife of U.S. presidential candidate Mitt Romney, was in London to watch the horse she co-owns compete. Rafalca, ridden by Jan Ebeling, finished 28th out of the 50 horses entered.