The six-time Olympian and Ivanhoe dazzled in the FEI Dressage World Cup Grand Prix of Melbourne, AUS on Thursday, earning an average score of 71.370% to clinch the win. They also took second place in Friday’s Grand Prix Freestyle with a score of a 73.695%.
Just a month prior in October, Hanna and the 11-year-old KWPN gelding won the Australian National Championship where they claimed back to back wins in the Grand Prix and the Grand Prix Special.
“I thought afterwards [Paris Olympics] I might be announcing my retirement from the sport. However, it is quite the opposite. I feel so inspired and motivated, by the outstanding performance of everyone involved, that I plan to continue to follow my dreams,” posted Hanna on Instagram after the Summer Olympics.
At 69, she was the oldest competitor to represent Australia at the Paris Games.
For Hanna, a veteran of 18 championships, the journey with Ivanhoe has been a particularly significant one. She credits the “pocket rocket” gelding as her motivation to get back in the saddle after undergoing radiation and chemotherapy for squamous cell carcinoma, a type of skin cancer, in 2023.
The pair have competed in 14 international events together since 2022.
The Melbourne World Cup saw 12 of the best dressage competitors in the region come forward in the Grand Prix. Second place was earned by David McKinnon on Estupendo with a score of 68.891%. Roberta McKinnon on D’Esperanza took third with a score of 65.370%.
The Pacific League of the FEI Dressage World Cup culminates in Werribee, Victoria, December 5–8. The highest placed athlete from League will earn a berth in 2024 FEI Dressage World Cup Final in Basel, Switzerland next April.
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