Isabell Werth and Weihegold OLD. Photo by Hippo Foto/Dirk Caremans.
What a day! The Grand Prix Special was a nail-biter for naming team medals. While Germany held a commanding lead and Great Britain had the ultimate ace in Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro, the Netherlands and United States battled through to the very last ride with USA’s Laura Graves and Verdades sealing the team bronze with an 80.63%. Click here for final results.
Germany wins gold, Great Britain takes silver, U.S. takes bronze. Photo by Arnd Bronkhorst/FEI.
The top 18 individual riders after today’s competition go on to compete for individual honors on Monday in the freestyle. Only three riders per team can qualify for the freestyle. Individual riders begin on Monday with a blank slate; no scores from this week’s rounds will count.
Here are the final team standings:
Didn’t get to catch the Grand Prix Special today? Don’t worry, because our good friends at The Chronicle of the Horse kept a live thread running all day long. Scroll to the bottom and work your way up to relive the ups and downs of the day, as well as fun trivia facts about individual riders and great photography. [Round-By-Round: Rio Olympic Games Grand Prix Special]
One of the biggest upsets of the day was Isabell Werth and Weihegold OLD marking better than Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro. All in all, it was a red-letter day for Isabell, who made history by equaling Reiner Klimke’s six gold medals and Anky van Grunsven’s nine medals overall. Her first medal was earned in Barcelona in 1992 and since then Isabell has become a dressage icon. Germany reclaimed the team gold today after Great Britain took those honors in 2012. [Germany Reclaim Dressage Title As Werth Joins The Greats]
The U.S. bronze is extra special as it’s the first time USA has won a medal in dressage since Athens. That was 2004, and the team included Lisa Wilcox, Guenter Seidel, Debbie McDonald and Robert Dover. It’s come full circle this year, with Robert serving as chef d’equipe and Debbie as the personal coach of USA’s Laura Graves and Kasey Perry-Glass. [U.S. Dressage Team Reclaims the Podium With Team Bronze]
If you watched the action today, you might have noticed something about Great Britain’s Fiona Bigwood: She’s riding with an eyepatch due to double vision lingering after a fall two years ago. Though she was wearing a helmet, she still suffered a concussion and nerve damage to her right eye. Her mount Orthilia is a quiet and steady companion, and Fiona credits the mare with bringing her back to international competition thanks to her big heart and their strong partnership. If that’s not the ultimate #TwoHearts story, we don’t know what is. [Orthilia Brought Fiona Bigwood Back To The International Stage]
Judy Reynolds is making Irish Olympic history: She is the first Irishwoman to make the freestyle finals in dressage. Her horse “JP” or Vancouver K belongs to her parents, and her father as well as her husband have been notably and wildly supportive spectators in Rio. She’ll be riding on Monday in the freestyle. [Judy Reynolds becomes first Irish woman to reach Olympic finals in dressage]
And one note for the show jumpers: Three horses were sent to the holding box and one will be re-inspected on Saturday. A total of 87 horses were presented for the show jumping competition, which kicks off on Sunday. Three were sent to the holding box: Nino Des Buissonets (Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat, defending champion), Amarillo (Australia’s James Paterson-Robinson) and Eliot DWS (Argentina’s José María Larocca and the reserve horse). The first two horses passed upon re-inspection but Eliot DWS will be re-inspected on Saturday. [Defending champion held at Rio Olympic’s showjumping trot-up]
Keep it locked on Horse Nation for more Olympic coverage!
