Welcome to the first day of eventing at the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games! Yesterday marked the beginning of the competition, with the first horse inspection occurring in the afternoon and today we’ll have the first half of dressage. Click here to see the order of go with ride times for today and here for all the details on how to watch live, with live scores here.
Although there are a few tests that will be worth watching today, most of the teams have unsurprisingly put their heavy hitters into the latter half of the order of go, so make sure to check back with EN tomorrow for the top players broken down into morning and evening sessions.
The competitors will be performing 2017 FEI 4* Test B, which was used for the first time this year. At this point, anyone who has ridden in a 4* this year has had a chance to perform this test, but competitors who haven’t made it to a 4* in 2018 will be trying it out for the first time.
A huge change in dressage scoring this year is the loss of the 1.5 multiplier on the penalty marks, making the scoring a straight conversion to penalties. An average of 70.0% from the ground jury will translate into 30.0 penalty points, instead of 45.0 as it would have in previous years. This will cluster the competitors closer together after the first phase, making the jumping phases more influential.
Judging the competitors will be Anne-Mette Binder of Denmark, who presides over the ground jury. Andrew Bennie of New Zealand and Jane Hamlin of the United States join him as members of the ground jury.
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THURSDAY MORNING, MORNING SESSIONS
Pietro Roman and Barraduff. Photo by Leslie Threlkeld.
Pietro Roman (ITA) and Barraduff: Pietro and Barraduff have only one 3* start since the European Championships at Strzegom last summer; they scored a career personal best of 27.3 at Strzegom, then bested it at the Luhmühlen CIC3* this June with a 24.5. They won’t be a favorite for a top-10 placing after dressage but could be a dark horse for a surprisingly strong score.
Aiming for: 24.5
Expected: 31.0
Ride Time: 10:27 a.m.
THURSDAY MORNING, AFTERNOON SESSIONS
Julia Krajewski and Chipmunk FRH. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
Julia Krajewski (GER) and Chipmunk FRH: With this pair’s personal best of 19.4 at Bramham in June, they may not quite have the best 3/4* dressage score in the field but they own the best 3* average (23.3), best 12 month average (22.2), and best 2018 average (22.2) in the whole field. Chipmunk FRH is attempting the 4* test for the first time this weekend, but even so expectations are high.
Aiming for: 22.2
Expected: 22.2
Ride Time: 1:31 p.m.
Piggy French and Quarrycrest Echo. Photo by Jenni Autry.
Piggy French (GBR) and Quarrycrest Echo: This is a horse who bounces a little between almost cracking 75% and almost cracking 70%, without much in between. That puts their 3* average of 28.1 solidly in the top 10 range of the field, and after day one of dressage they’ll likely be near the top overnight.
Aiming for: 28.1
Expected: 28.6
Ride Time: 1:47 p.m.
OTHERS OF NOTE
Maxime Livio and Opium de Verrieres. Photo by Tilly Berendt.
In the morning session, Kai Ruder and Colani Sunrise have hit the 75% mark previously, and Gemma Tattersall and Arctic Soul have proven they can break the 70% on a 4* test.
In the afternoon, Billy the Red with Tina Cook and Opium de Verrieres with Maxime Livio have also proven they can approach the 75% mark on a good day.
Keep it locked on EN for the latest and greatest from WEG. Go Eventing.
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