Cathrine Dufour: Dressage Young Gun

This podcast we have Danish dressage star Cathrine Dufour. I caught up with Cathrine at the Europeans in Rotterdam where she and her “pony” as she likes to call him, Cassidy won bronze in the Special with an amazing comeback from injury for the 16 year old gelding who has been Cathrine’s partner since Junior rider days and has partnered her through to Olympics and senior championships. The pair most recently won the Saab Top 10 beating the likes of Isabell Werth on Weihegold….not a bad way to finish the year! Cathrine also has another star ready to break through, Bohemian. She showcased the nine year old gelding in the 5* at Aachen this year where she finished top five in all three tests. In this interview, Cathrine talks about managing her older horse. What it comes down to on the day of competition and why it’s so important to know each other so well. She discusses her competition prep; the importance of corners, rider fitness and being an athlete and the importance of having a tough trainer. We talk about what it’s like working with Andreas Helgstrand and how that arrangement came about. Also, how the dressage scores are getting higher and higher and why there seems to be so many PBs at Championships. She tells us what it’s like working with Princess Nathalie and Kyra Kyrklund and Kyra’s creative solutions and training without force. And who will she take to Tokyo?