Reynolds rides out early scare to bounce back in good style in Freestyle test
Ireland's Judy Reynolds finished a strong sixth in Saturday’s FEI World Cup Freestyle in Stuttgart. Photo: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
Irish Dressage star Judy Reynolds, who currently sits 13th in the world rankings, made a good recovery from an uncharacteristically poor result in Friday's Grand Prix, finishing a strong sixth in Saturday's FEI World Cup Freestyle in Stuttgart.
A fright from a TV cameraman threw her evergreen 17-year-old gelding Vancouver K off his game in the Grand Prix, where they finished 11th on a score of 70.93. But despite getting the worst of the draw for Saturday's Freestyle, the German-based Kildare rider bounced back to post a score of 80.755, clinching sixth place in a field of champions, which included eventual winner Germany's Jessica von Bredow Werndl. The result gave the 38-year-old her first points towards qualification for the series final in Las Vegas next April.
Reynolds reset the full range of Irish dressage records with brilliant performances at the European Championships in Rotterdam in August, leading the Irish team to Olympic qualification for the very first time. With Vancouver K she finished fourth at the Dressage World Cup Final in Omaha in 2017.
Meanwhile, in yesterday's showjumping World Cup qualifier in Stuttgart, Richard Howley was one of 11 to qualify for the second-round jump-off.
The 28-year-old Sligo native posted one of the day's quickest times, but left a fence on the floor for four faults when first against the clock with Chinook.
The win went to Belgium's Pieter Devos and Apart who pipped World No 1 and three-time World Cup champion Steve Guerdat from Switzerland riding Venard de Cerisy.
