Denmark & Britain Leading Olympic Dressage team qualifying Tuesday, First of 2 Days of Grand Prix to Move to Special for Medals
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By KENNETH J. BRADDICK
PARIS, July 30, 2024–Denmark and Britain were leading Olympic dressage team qualifying Tuesday, the first of two days of Grand Prix to move to the Special to decide medals. The biggest disappointment was the elimination of the United States team when the mare Jane ridden by Marcus Orlob knicked her right hind leg and displayed a splotch of blood.
Denmark’s Nanna Skodborg Merrald on the 16-year-old Zepter posted the highest score of day of 78.028% with 30 of the 60 horses competing to qualify 10 teams for the Grand Prix Special for medals in a formula that breaks the lineup into six groups of 10 each.
Dinja van Liere of the Netherlands on Hermes was second highest scored with 77.764% and Britain’s Carl Hester on Fame third highest on 77.345%.
Charlotte “Lottie” Fry of Britain leads off Wednesday’s competition to be followed by top Germans Jessica von Bredow-Werndl, the Tokyo Olympic champion on TSF Dalera BB, and Isabell Werth on Wendy, Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour of Denmark on Freestyle and six-time American Olympian Steffen Peters on Suppenkasper.
Competitors–horses and riders–as well as thousands of spectators and media in stands with no shade baked in temperatures as high as 37C/98.6F with the humidity in the historic Chateau Versailles.
Carl Hester on Fame, his 2023 European Championship team gold medal mount, had the third highest score of 77.345%.
The United States was eliminated from the team competition when Jane ridden by Marcus Orlob displayed blood on the right hind leg during the first Olympic appearance of the relatively new partnership.
Jane, a 10-year-old mare, was found in a veterinary examination to have caused a tiny nick that was washed off after the ride. Susanne Baarup of Denmark, president of the ground jury, rang the bell when the blood was spotted and stepped into the arena to advise Marcus he was eliminated from the competition.
With three riders on each team and no drop score that had the effect of eliminating the U.S.
However, under the rules Adrienne Lyle’s ride on Helix later in the day scored 72.593% for third place in the third group. Only the top two in each group plus the next best six overall go into the Freestyle, so whether she makes it will not be known until after the second group of three complete the competition Wednesday.
Results of Wednesday’s three groups:
Horse | Total %Score |
|---|
| 1 |  DEN | SKODBORG MERRALD Nanna T | ZEPTER | 78.028 | Q Qualified |
| 2 |  NED | van LIERE Dinja T | HERMES | 77.764 | Q Qualified | |
| 3 |  GBR | HESTER Carl T | FAME | 77.345 | ||
| 4 |  FRA | POTTIER Corentin T | GOTILAS DU FEUILLARD | 70.683 | ||
| 5 |  BRA | MARCARI OLIVA Joao Victor
| FEEL GOOD VO | 70.093 | ||
| 6 |  LTU | VANAGAITE Justina
| NABAB | 69.208 | ||
| 7 |  AUS | BROWN Jayden T | QUINCY B | 68.991 | ||
| 8 |  CAN | MOREIRA LALIBERTE Naima T | STATESMAN | 68.711 | ||
| 9 |  AUT | LEHFELLNER Stefan T | ROBERTO CARLOS MT | 68.183 | ||
| 10 |  SGP | CHEW Caroline
| ZATCHMO | 63.351 |
Horse | Total %Score |
|---|
| 1 | DEN | BACHMANN ANDERSEN Daniel T | VAYRON | 76.910 | Q Qualified |
| 2 |  GER | WANDRES Frederic T | BLUETOOTH OLD | 76.118 | Q Qualified | |
| 3 |  FIN | KANERVA Emma T | GREEK AIR | 73.680 | ||
| 4 |  BEL | de WINNE Flore T | FLYNN FRH | 73.028 | ||
| 5 |  SWE | RAMEL Juliette T | BURIEL K.H. | 71.553 | ||
| 6 |  IRL | LYLE Abigail
| GIRALDO | 69.441 | ||
| 7 |  VEN | FERRANDO Patricia
| HONNAISSEUR SJ | 67.143 | ||
| 8 |  POR | VALE Antonio T | FINE FELLOW – H | 66.910 | ||
| 9 |  POL | MILCZAREK Katarzyna T | GUAPO | 66.910 | ||
 USA | ORLOB Marcus T | JANE | EL Eliminated |
Horse | Total %Score |
|---|
| 1 | GBR | MOODY Becky T | JAGERBOMB | 74.938 | Q Qualified |
| 2 | SWE | KITTEL Patrik T | TOUCHDOWN | 74.317 | Q Qualified | |
| 3 | USA | LYLE Adrienne T | HELIX | 72.593 | ||
| 4 | BEL | PAULUIS Larissa T | FLAMBEAU | 72.127 | ||
| 5 |  KOR | HWANG Young Shik
| DELMONTE 7 | 70.000 | ||
| 6 |  ESP | CASTILLA RUIZ Claudio T | HI-RICO DO SOBRAL | 69.829 | ||
| 7 | CAN | von MARTELS Chris T | ECLIPS | 66.863 | ||
| 8 | POR | CAETANO Maria T | HIT PLUS | 66.630 | ||
| 9 |  MDA | GLINKA Alisa
| ABERCROMBIE | 66.056 | ||
| 10 |  SUI | SUTER Andrina
| FIBONACCI | 65.590 |
