KILDARE dressage Olympian Heike Holstein finished fourth in the Freestyle to Music at the three-star CDI in Keysoe, Britain, last weekend,

Riding her home-bred 11-year-old Samarant-sired mare Sambuca, Holstein scored 72.39% in Saturday evening’s classes to slot into fourth place and make up for a mishap in the previous day’s Grand Prix when she lost 2% for forgetting the rein back.

Holstein was just behind a strong group of British riders, led by two-time Olympic champion Charlotte Dujardin who won the class on a score of 83.36% with Gio. Lara Butler (Rubin Al Asad) finished on 77.45% for second with Gareth Hughes (Kk Woodstock) in third on 76.50%.

“Sambuca felt super,” Holstein said afterwards. “We had a slight miscommunication in the tempi changes but fortunately I was able to use my ‘joker’ line to repeat the two tempi changes.

“I love my music and her piaffe was much better. I was also very pleased with the pirouettes. Sambuca was great in the Grand Prix too and has improved since my last international outing in March.”

The pair finished ninth in Friday’s Grand Prix with a score of 69%. Holstein was frustrated afterwards and, writing on her social media, said: “Sambuca was great today, I was not. I had a serious senior moment when forgetting the rein back which cost us two percentage points!”

Dujardin led the victory lap once again, this time aboard her WEG silver medallist Mount St John Freestyle (83.19%) and, for good measure, placed second with Gio (79.34%). Gareth Hughes completed the home domination when scoring 77.67% with Classic Briolinca for third place.

Irish pony rider Martha Jobling-Purser completed a remarkable weekend when winning the FEI Pony Individual Test class on Saturday at the British venue. Riding Valido’s Starlight, the pony she rode at the FEI European Championships during the summer, she won the class for a second consecutive year on a score of 72.21%.

Sofia Games (Mister Snowman) scored 70.86% to secure second place for Great Britain with compatriot Mette Dahl (George Clooney B.S) on 69.22% in third. Ireland’s Shauna Fitzgibbon and Damocles LL scored 66.62% for seventh place.

The previous day, Jobling-Purser and Valido’s Starlight won the FEI Pony Team Test on 69.38%. Crowning the weekend and finishing her pony career on a high, she scored 72.61% in the Freestyle to Music to place second.