Laura Tomlinson (née Bechtolsheimer) will pay tribute to her long-standing dressage partner, Mistral Højris – more fondly known as Alf – during a special moment in the evening programme on Tuesday 17 December 2013 to celebrate the superstar’s retirement.
Tomlinson and Alf have been instrumental in helping to define modern British dressage. The formidable duo broke on to the international dressage circuit in staggering style in 2005, and they have arguably been responsible for the dominant position that the sport finds itself in today in Great Britain.
Tomlinson and Alf’s medal haul began at the 2005 FEI European Championships for Juniors and Young Riders in Barzago (ITA), from which they can boast team silver and individual bronze medals. The pair’s most notable achievements include team silver and individual bronze at the FEI European Championships in Windsor (UK) in 2009; three silver medals at the 2010 FEI World Equestrian Games™ (WEG) in Kentucky (USA); team gold and individual bronze at the 2011 FEI European Championships in Rotterdam (NED); and of course, most recently team gold and individual bronze at the London 2012 Olympic Games.
On her 18-year-old gelding that she owns with her parents, Wilfried and Ursula, Tomlinson, commented, “Alf has given me and my family so much joy over the years, especially on the four occasions that we’ve competed together at Olympia, and in my eyes he’s more than earned his retirement.”
Alf’s retirement at Olympia, The London International Horse Show will mark the end of a highly successful eight year partnership; a partnership which has captured the hearts of dressage supporters worldwide, and one that has taken British dressage to a whole new level.
The programme on Tuesday 17 December will also feature the Reem Acra FEI World Cup™ Dressage Leg (Freestyle to Music) supported by Horse & Hound.