Great Britain’s Charlotte Fry and Glamourdale made themselves household names in the dressage world with their gold-medal performance at the world championships in Denmark over the summer, so it might be surprising to learn the famous pair had never properly competed on British soil—until now.

In the fitting setting of the London International Horse Show, a British holiday tradition and marquee event on the U.K.’s annual show calendar, Fry and Glamourdale made their home-country debut an encore to their double-gold and team silver performance at the Blue Hors FEI Dressage World Championships in Herning, Denmark. In their first post-Denmark competition, the pair first topped the Short Grand Prix with an 84.02% on Dec. 15, then truly wowed the crowds at the ExCel London center with a Dec. 16 freestyle performance that beat their Herning score (90.65%) and set a new personal best of 90.99%.

Charlotte Fry and Glamourdale won the fifth leg of the FEI Dressage World Cup 2022/23 Western European League series on Dec. 16 at ExCel London. FEI/Jon Stroud Photo

“After last night [in the Short Grand Prix], I could feel he was in great form,” Fry said after her freestyle win. “He has really strengthened up since Herning, and tonight he was so keen that he tried to go into the ring before he was supposed to because he was so excited.”

The pair overcame a mistake in the one-tempis with a test that showcased Glamourdale’s power, rideability and gasp-inducing extended canter. Fry’s test with the 11-year-old Dutch Warmblood stallion (Lord Leatherdale—Thuja, Negro) owned by Van Olst Horses put them more than 6 points in front of their nearest competition.

“I had such an easy, fun ride,” Fry said. “He is better than he was in Herning, and we keep improving, so I can’t wait for the years to come. Paris [Olympic Games 2024] is for sure the goal, and we will see how it goes until then.”

Fry also talked about finishing her year and winning the fifth leg of the FEI Dressage World Cup 2022/23 Western European League in London.

“It is almost impossible to sum up 2022: It has been incredible, and coming to London and performing in front of my home crowd is the best feeling and the best way to end the year,” she said.

Her Herning teammates Gareth Hughes and Classic Briolinca scored 84.95% to take second place, while Germany’s Ingrid Klimke and Franziskus FRH were third with 83.17%. See complete results here.

Watch Glamourdale’s personal-best freestyle performance, courtesy of FEI.tv: