Dressage’s All-Time High at Scandinavium

Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour trains in Sweden and loves competing in Gothenburg—and the feeling is mutual. The audience’s applause was already resounding as she entered the arena.
"The atmosphere here is absolutely fantastic, but I got a little too much applause before I even started. My horse thought it was already the prizegiving ceremony, and I needed a bit more of her focus at times," said Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour, who, as always, thought her horse was simply amazing.

"She’s a true ‘Show Woman,’ very curious, and she has been successful from an early age. I’m so happy I got to take over the reins, even though I had to work hard to earn her trust. It’s like a marriage—the horse has to say, ‘Hey, I want you too,’ otherwise, it won’t work," Cathrine Dufour explained.

Cathrine has not qualified for the World Cup final.
"I would need a wild card to go," she said playfully.

Second-placed Maria von Essen made a breakthrough in the 2024 World Cup with her horse Invoice, winning the Grand Prix and finishing second in the Grand Prix Freestyle. In 2025, she again secured second place behind Cathrine in both the Grand Prix and the Grand Prix Freestyle. This year, her score was more than six percentage points higher.
"We have great trainers and gained more experience in major arenas. I can support him better now too," said Maria, who had borrowed Cathrine’s freestyle music.

Both Cathrine and Maria train with Kyra Kyrklund—Maria since she was 14 years old and Cathrine for the past eight years.
"I’m so proud of both of them and know how hard they have worked. They are both part of 'Knytkalaset,' a fantastic training program where everyone helps each other. These two are very skilled riders who have worked hard to develop their horses," Kyra said.

Third place in the competition went to Frenchman Corentin Pottier, who was competing in Gothenburg for the first time.
"It wasn’t really planned. I was in Amsterdam, and everyone told me I should go to Gothenburg because it’s such a nice competition. I don’t agree with them—it’s a fantastic competition!"

Corentin also set a personal best in the Grand Prix Freestyle with his horse Gotilas du Feuillard.
"If someone had told me two weeks ago that I would join the 80% club, I wouldn’t have believed it, but my horse was amazing. He perked up his ears like, ‘Let’s go, baby!’—and we did!"

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