Dressage-News

By KENNETH J. BRADDICK

LONDON, Aug. 3–A performance by Valegro and Charlotte Dujardin that stunned 23,000 spectators into silence and earned the pair the highest ever Olympic Grand Prix score Friday, gave Great Britain a lead over Germany of a little over one-half of a percentage point midway through the London Games team competition.

Whatever happens in the Grand Prix Special Tuesday, Britain is virtually guaranteed to win its first ever medal in 100 years of Olympic dressage–and if it is gold will end Germany’s supremacy that has been uninterrupted since the 1984 Games in Los Angeles.

The partnership between Charlotte, 26, and the 10-year-old KWPN gelding was the climax of two days of the best horses and riders in the world battling for team medals at the historic and atmosphere-laden Greenwich Park, in which only three pairs were scored above 80 per cent–Adelinde Cornelissen and Parzival of the Netherlands and Helen Langehanenberg and Damon Hill NRW of Germany joining the British combination.

Britain leads the team standings with 79.407 per cent–the average of the scores of the three team members–with Germany on 78.845 per cent and the Netherlands third with 76.809 per cent. After the top three are Denmark on 73.845 per cent, USA 72.801 per cent, Spain 72.467 per cent and Sweden 71.940 per cent.

Only those seven teams move on to the Grand Prix Special scheduled for next Tuesday that is the second phase of the team competition, the first time the two-stage format has been used in an Olympics and so far has fulfilled the hopes of the creators of generating massive excitement. Each of the two phases count equally for the final result.

Poland, Australia and Canada did not make the cut and the Olympics is over for those three dressage teams.

Friday’s performance by Charlotte and Valegro came three months after the partnership set a new world Grand Prix Special score in Germany and assured the British team of Carl Hester and Uthopia and Laura Bechtolsheimer and Mistral Hojris who had both ridden Thursday, the first day of Grand Prix, of the slim lead over Germany.

“Unbelievable,” Charlotte said after the ride. “I wanted to come here and have fun. I wanted to go out and show what this horse can do. It is a once in a lifetime opportunity. I loved every minute. When you finish your final halt it is wonderful. The applause is just amazing…”

Tuesday’s Grand Prix Special is shaping up to be one of the hghlights of the entire Olympics in a nation that has a long history of horse sports and the Olympic equestrian events garner headlines in the mass circulation daily newspapers. Tickets to all equestrian events have been sold out for months and scalping is illegal in Britain–dozens of scalpers are arrested daily–but for those willing to break the law, the price of entry is likely to be high.

The Special has been formatted so that riders from the top four nations will go last, guaranteeing eage-of-the-seat excitement to the end.

Will Connell, the Team GB Equestran Team Leader, said: “I’m very proud of the team effort that has put us slightly in front of Germany at the half way stage. This is absolutely where we wanted to be, however it’s still far too close to call and one mistake could change it all. The next three days will be about relaxing and then building back up again and we’ll look forward to the competition concluding!”

More to come

Results of the Grand Prix, first of two phases of the team competition (click + for individual judge’s marks)

Rk	Bib	Rider	Horse	Result	+
1	226	DUJARDIN C	VALEGRO	83.663 Q	+
2	236	CORNELISSEN A	PARZIVAL	81.687 Q	+
3	229	LANGEHANENBERG H	DAMON HILL	81.140 Q	+
4	231	SPREHE K	DESPERADOS	79.119 Q	+
5	227	HESTER C	UTHOPIA	77.720 Q	+
6	254	PETERS S	RAVEL	77.705 Q	+
7	224	BECHTOLSHEIMER L	MISTRAL HOJRIS	76.839 Q	+
8	230	SCHNEIDER D	DIVA ROYAL	76.277 Q	+
9	233	TRUPPA V	EREMO DEL CASTEGNO	75.790 Q	+
10	219	MUNOZ DIAZ JM	FUEGO	75.608 Q	+
11	237	GAL E	UNDERCOVER	75.395 Q	+
12	213	KASPRZAK A	DONNPERIGNON	75.289 Q	+
13	216	ZU SAYN – WITTGEN.	DIGBY	74.924 Q	+
14	248	VILHELMSON SILFVEN	DON AURIELLO	74.271 Q	+
15	246	KITTEL P	SCANDIC	74.073 Q	+
16	239	VAN GRUNSVEN A	SALINERO	73.343 Q	+
17	205	MAX-THEURER V	AUGUSTIN	73.267 Q	+
18	225	DAVISON R	ARTEMIS	72.812 Q	+
19	217	BARBANCON MESTRESM	PAINTED BLACK	72.751 Q	+
20	210	HOLZER A	BREAKING DAWN	71.809 Q	+
21	207	FASSAERT C	DONNERFEE	71.793 Q	+
22	245	CARVALHO G	RUBI	71.520 Q	+
23	255	VAN OLST A	CLEARWATER	71.322 Q	+
24	228	BALKENHOL A	DABLINO	70.973 Q	+
25	238	VAN DER MEER P	UZZO	70.912 Q	+
26	222	LINDH M	MAS GUAPO	70.729 Q	+
27	252	KONYOT T	CALECTO V	70.456 Q	+
28	223	MICHEL J	RIWERA	70.410 Q	+
29	221	KANERVA E	SPIRIT	70.395 Q	+
30	251	EBELING J	RAFALCA	70.243 Q	+
31	240	HELLJESEN S	DORINA	69.985	+
32	214	SEIERSKILDE L	RANEUR	69.863	+
33	232	MERVELDT A	CORYOLANO	69.772	+
34	206	VOGLSANG R	FABRIANO	69.635	+
35	253	LYLE A	WIZARD	69.468	+
36	244	STREMLER B	MARTINI	69.422	+
37	203	OATLEY L	SANDRO BOY	69.377	+
38	242	MILCZAREK K	EKWADOR	69.271	+
39	220	MARTIN DOCKX J.	GRANDIOSO	69.043 Q	+
40	234	HOKETSU H	WHISPER	68.739	+
41	209	BROOKS J	D’ NIRO	68.526	+
42	202	OATLEY K	CLIVE	68.222	+
43	201	HANNA M	SANCETTE	67.964	+
44	247	TELDE M	SANTANA	67.477 Q	+
45	243	RAPCEWICZ M	RANDON	66.915	+
46	250	KISELIOVA S	PARISH	66.763	+
47	208	TAVARES DE ALMEIDA	PASTOR	65.866	+
48	241	HILL L	ANTONELLO	65.258	+
49	235	RAHMOUNI Y	FLORESCO	64.453	+
–	211	MARCUS D	CAPITAL	EL	+

Results

Official

Rk	Team	Result	+
1	Great Britain	79.407	+
2	Germany	78.845	+
3	Netherlands	76.809	+
4	Denmark	73.845	+
5	United States	72.801	+
6	Spain	72.467	+
7	Sweden	71.940	+
8	Poland	68.536	+
9	Australia	68.521	+
–	Canada	EL	+

Ground Jury

Position	Name
K	ERNES Wim (NED)
E	ROUDIER Jean-Michel (FRA)
H	TORNBLAD Leif (DEN)
C	ROCKWELL Gary (USA (President)
M	CLARKE Stephen (GBR)
B	ALONSO Maribel (MEX)
F	EISENHARDT Evi (GER)