Horse Illustrated Magazine

The top ten dressage teams, based on scores in the Grand Prix Test competition from July 30 and 31, returned to the main arena for the FEI Grand Prix Special Test here at the Château de Versailles today for the 2024 Paris Olympics. After a string of four hot, humid days dotted with intermittent thunderstorms, the skies were mostly overcast (but without rain) and temps were in the high 60s (Fahrenheit) when competition began. The stands were full to witness today’s battle for team medals.

Teams (of three riders) competing today were Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands and Sweden. While the seven judges today were the same as for the Grand Prix Tests, they sat at different letters. They were: Judge at C, Henning Lehrmann (GER); Judge at K, Raphaël Saleh (FRA); Judge at E, Magnus Ringmark (SWE); Judge at H, Mariette Sanders (NED); Judge at M, Michael Osinski (USA); Judge at B, Isobel Wessels (GBR), and Judge at F, Susanne Baarup (DEN).

The competition was divided into three groups of ten riders each, with one rider from each country in each group. A running score was kept to mark the ranking of each country’s team after each ride was completed. With team medals on the line, riders gave it their all.

The top three performances from the first group were Becky Moody and Jagerbomb from Great Britain who had the highest score of 76.489 percent, Denmark’s Daniel Bachmann Anderson and Vayron second best (75.973) and third best, Germany’s Frederic Wandres and Bluetooth OLD (75.942).

The final three riders in the second group topped scores from the previous group as expected. Third to last to go in the group was British rider Carl Hester. Riding in his seventh Olympic Games, he guided the 14-year-old KWPN stallion Fame (by Bordeaux 28) to a 76.520 percent to best his teammate Moody’s earlier score.

Right after Hester in the order, Denmark’s Nanna Skodborg Merrald and Zepter, a 16-year-old Oldenburg gelding (by Blue Hors Zack), laid down a beautiful test to top the leaderboard (but just for a few minutes) on 78.480 percent. Then, the most decorated equestrian in Olympic history, Germany’s Isabell Werth riding Wendy, entered the arena as the last to go in Group 2. Werth and Wendy posted the highest score from the first two groups and one that figured heavily into the final team results of the day (79.894).

With all of the riders from Group 1 and Group 2 having finished and Group 3 yet to compete, the team standings were super close in the top three. They were as follows: Germany, first (155.836); Denmark, second (154.453); Great Britain, third (153.009); the Netherlands, fourth (143.328); France, fifth (142.569); Belgium, sixth (141.565); Australia, seventh (139.863); Sweden, eighth (138.480); Austria, ninth (137.751), and Finland, tenth (137.735).

After a short arena grooming break, the final group of riders began their quest to seal the deal for their country to win a medal. Among them, the reigning World Champions, Charlotte Fry and the KWPN stallion Glamourdale who would go third from last, and the reigning Olympic Champions, Jessica von Bredow-Werndl and the Trakehner mare TSF Dalera BB, the final pair to go for the day.

Also in the final group were several others ranked in the current top ten world standings including Sweden’s Patrik Kittel (sixth in current world rankings) who rode the Swedish Warmblood gelding Touchdown. Another one of those, Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour from Denmark (currently ranked seventh in the world) riding the Hanoverian mare Freestyle, was expected to score well — possibly in the top three or four at the end of the day. They would go next to last today.

Representing the home country France and going fourth in the final group was Pauline Basquin and the Zangersheide gelding Sertorius de Rima Z, who had scored very well in the Grand Prix Test three days ago (73.711) to move on to the individual finals tomorrow. Today, their Grand Prix Special test was quite nice, marred only by issues in the first piaffe and the one-tempi changes. Their score was 72.720 and kept France in the hunt for a top-five finish here.

As forecast by many, the team results rested on the final three performances of the day, plus that of Werth and Wendy who had competed in the second group earlier. Fry and Glamourdale put in another fantastic test to score 79.483 percent, but it was not enough to catch Werth and Wendy.

After Fry, Laudrup-Dufour and Freestyle entered and laid down the gauntlet with the first score of the day to top 80 percent (81.216) to roaring cheers from the crowd. The final pair, von Bredow-Werndl and Dalera put in a gorgeous test, but lost some points going from walk to piaffe in the middle of their test, and in the end scored slightly behind Laudrup-Dufour and Freestyle (79.954).

However, it was still Germany’s day. They captured gold with 235.790, just 0.121 points ahead of Denmark in silver (235.669). Great Britain persevered to garner bronze (232.492). Fourth was the Netherlands (221.048) and fifth was Belgium (215.714). Other team placings were: France, sixth (215.289); Sweden, seventh (212.811); Finland, eighth (212.036); Austria, ninth (211.505), and Australia, tenth (207.203).

Interesting tidbits from today:

◆ There were at least two riders competing today who trained at famous European classical riding schools: Austria’s Florian Bacher who rode Fidertraum OLD was a rider at the Spanish Riding School in Vienna, Austria, and France’s Pauline Basquin, who rode Sertorius De Rima Z, is currently a trainer at the Cadre Noir in France.

◆ British rider Becky Moody was mounted on a horse bred by her and foaled at her family’s home farm in Yorkshire: Jagerbomb, a 10-year-old KWPN gelding by Dante Weltino OLD, out of Udysee by Jazz.

◆ Isabell Werth from Germany is currently the most decorated Olympic equestrian in history with a seventh Olympic Games under her belt and 13 medals (8 gold including today’s win and 5 silver).

◆ The dressage team medal today was Germany’s third consecutive dressage team gold medal and the country’s 15th gold dressage team medal overall.

◆ Full Dressage Team Results
◆ Judges’ Individual Marks

Final Day of Olympic Dressage Tomorrow

The top 18 horse and rider combinations from the Grand Prix Tests held on July 30 and 31 will return tomorrow to ride the FEI Grand Prix Freestyle Test to compete for the individual Olympic medals. But, first tomorrow morning, the horses will again be presented to the Ground Jury for inspection. If for some reason a horse is not accepted to compete, then the next highest horse and rider combination from the Grand Prix would move up to compete in the Freestyle instead.

Once the horse inspection is finished in the morning, an order of go will be published. Currently qualified for the Olympic individual dressage finals (Grand Prix Freestyle Test) are:

◆ Germany’s Jessica von Bredow-Werndl and TSF Dalera BB
◆ Denmark’s Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour and Freestyle
◆ Germany’s Isabell Werth and Wendy
◆ Great Britain’s Charlotte Fry and Glamourdale
◆ Denmark’s Nanna Skodborg Merrald riding Zepter
◆ The Netherland’s Dinja van Liere riding Hermes
◆ Great Britain’s Carl Hester and Fame
◆ Denmark’s Daniel Bachmann Andersen riding Vayron
◆ Norway’s Isabel Freese and Total Hope OLD
◆ Germany’s Frederic Wandres riding Bluetooth OLD
◆ Great Britain’s Becky Moody and Jagerbomb
◆ The Netherland’s Emmelie Scholtens riding Indian Rock
◆ Sweden’s Patrik Kittel and Touchdown
◆ Austria’s Victoria Max-Theurer riding Abegglen FH NRW
◆ Sweden’s Therese Nilshagen riding Dante Weltino OLD
◆ France’s Pauline Basquin riding Sertorius De Rima Z
◆ Finland’s Emma Kanerva riding Greek Air
◆ Poland’s Sandra Sysojeva riding Maxima Bella

The Freestyle competition runs from 10:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Central European Time (4:00 a.m. – 7:30 am. U.S. Eastern Time) with the medal ceremony to follow.

For more coverage, visit our 2024 Paris Olympics main page.

For broadcast information, go to NBCOlympics.com. All equestrian coverage is streamed live and available for replays on Peacock.

Thanks to CareCredit for our spring and summer equestrian coverage.