Olympic gold medallist Carl Hester brought his dressage magic to the TheraPlate UK Liverpool International Horse Show to close an action-packed opening day.
Carl, who helped Great Britain to team gold at the London Olympics, delighted an appreciative, enthralled audience at M&S Bank Arena.
Riding his 2016 Rio Olympics challenger Nip Tuck, Carl marked a Liverpool debut for grand prix dressage by taking the combined Equitop GLME intermediate 1/grand prix class on a score of 83.063%.
The penultimate starter in a 10-rider class, Carl showcased all his experience to draw a fine test from one of the sport’s most experienced campaigners.
The chasing pack was led in impressive fashion by Henriette Andersen, who took second spot with Flavio on 76.938%.
And Warwickshire-based Louise Bell finished third aboard Into the Blue on 76.250%, narrowly ahead of Jessica Dunn and Alicante Valley.
