She is also riding for the British team in the Lambertz Nations’ Cup, but because she is only 18 years old, Annabella Pidgley is also allowed to compete in the Prize of Liselott and Klaus Rheinberger Foundation for young dressage riders. She won hands down.

Annabella Pidgley and Espe won the FEI Individual Classification of the Young Riders in the Prize of Liselott and Klaus Rheinberger Foundation on a score of 74.441 percent, ahead of the Swedish rider, Hedda Thunberg with Diva (71.059) and Erin Nichols from the USA with Elian Royale (71.029).

Whilst she is riding Amigos in the Nations’ Cup of the dressage riders, the Westphalian-bred gelding that won team gold and individual silver at the World Championships in Herning with Cathrine Dufour, Annabella Pidgley opted for the nine-year-old Espe by Escolar for the Young Riders competitions. She represented her country with the mare last year at the European Championships of the Juniors in Hartpury at medium level. She secured her team the bronze medal and also came third in the individual classification as well as second in the Freestyle. After that she moved up to Young Riders level where she has already worked her way up to seventh in the world ranking list.

Hedda Thunberg also took part at the European Championships in Hartpury last year with her Diva, whereby she already competed in the Young Riders category. She too claimed the bronze medal with the team. Fun Fact: The dam of Thunberg’s mare Diva, Deja by Silvano, also already competed in Aachen, namely at the European Championships for Sweden in 2015 under Patrik Kittel.

Erin Nichols, 19, is taking part in her first shows in Europe. The Young Rider has already won U25 Grand Prix in a row in the USA with her Dutch-bred Johnson son, Elian Royale. The pair made their European debut at the Future Champions in Hagen, where among others they came sixth in the Freestyle on a score of 74.158 percent. So, let’s wait and see if they succeed in obtaining such a good score for their Freestyle routine in Aachen tomorrow. The second competition of the Prize of Liselott and Klaus Rheinberger Foundation begins at 3.45 p.m. on Saturday.