Gal and Totilas Triumph
Edward Gal and Moorlands Totilas claimed the honours at the 25th anniversary FEI World Cup Dressage Final in s'Hertogenbosch. (Photo: Kit Houghton.)
Gal's stallion was tipped to take the honours throughout the entire 2009/2010 FEI World Cup Dressage season during which he secured his third record-breaking score of 2009 at London Olympia last December. But two days ago fellow-Dutch rider Adelinde Cornelissen took advantage of an edgy test from her team-mate to win the preliminary Grand Prix with a great performance from Jerich Parzival, and for the first time in a long while, Gal's stallion began to look vulnerable. Ultimately, however, he was considerably more composed as he strutted his way to victory by a margin of almost seven percentage points: "when I came into the arena I thought it could be better – and it was!" said the relieved 40 year old rider who clinched the trophy for The Netherlands for the tenth time.
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