Rio Olympic Day 2 Morning Dressage Live Updates

By on Aug 7, 2016 8:52 am -
Lauren Billys and Castle Larchfield Purdy. Photo by Jenni Autry. Lauren Billys and Castle Larchfield Purdy. Photo by Jenni Autry.

… and world’s largest collection of terrible dressage puns!

Jenni is tweeting the action ringside in Rio; she’ll be bringing us a lunch update and full report at the end of the day. For those of us following along from home, here’s how to watch the live stream.

The competitors are performing OG 4* Test B – Short Version and will be judged by Marilyn Payne of the United States at C, Andrew Bennie of New Zealand at E, and Sandy Phillips of Great Britain at M.

Be sure to check out Maggie Deatrick’s “Dressage Powerhouses of Rio: Day Two,” wherein she spotlights the combinations that we’re likely to see at the top of the leaderboard at the end of the day. And be sure to cheer extra loud (even if you’re just sitting at home alone — it still counts!) for the North American contingent.

Sunday U.S. ride times:
12 p.m. BRT (11 a.m. EST): Lauren Kieffer and Veronica
3:38 BRT (2:28 EST): Phillip Dutton and Mighty Nice

Sunday Canadian ride times:
10:16 a.m. BRT (9:16 a.m. EST): Colleen Loach and Qorry Blue a’Argouges
1:54 p.m. BRT (12:54 p.m. EST): Rebecca Howard and Riddle Master

Keep refreshing and checking back for photos, social links and behind-the-scenes info. Go Eventing!

#Rio2016: Website, Schedule & Results, Dressage Ride Times, EN’s Ultimate Guide to Rio, How to Watch Live, EN’s Coverage, Twitter, Instagram


Dressage live updates:

11:24 a.m. EST: So, Heading into the lunch break. The action kicks up again in just over an hour, at 12:30 a.m. EST, with China’s Alex Hua Tian and Don Geniro.

11:16 a.m. EST: Yoshiaki Oiwa and Duke of Cavan (JPN)

Yoshi won the dressage at the 2012 London Olympic Games with Noonday de Conde, and everyone was gutted for him when a cross country tumble knocked him out of contention. You can tell, just by looking at his face, that he’s a fierce competitor. In his test today on Duke of Cavan, a relatively inexperienced horse, he rides through the odd problem and puts it behind him — his rider coefficient scores of 7.5 and an 8 are well deserved.

11:08 a.m. EST: Ruy Fonseca and Tom Bombadill Too (BRA)

Ruy is competing in the second Olympic Games of his career aboard the same horse in Tom Bombadill Too, with whom he finished 42nd individually in London in 2012. The pair puts on a solid show for the home crowd, and the Brazilian fans lose their mind completely after their final salute.

11 a.m. EST: Lauren Kieffer and Veronica (USA)

Lauren and “Troll” present one of the best first impressions of the day, earning a 7.5, 8 and 8 on their canter up the centerline and laying down the gauntlet for the test they intend to lay down. Lots of pressure on this pair to make up ground lost yesterday for Team USA. Their trot work is some of the best we’ve seen today but scores trend downward in the canter — they pick up a string of 4s in the collected canter.

Lauren Kieffer and Veronica sit in 25th place on 47.3 for #TeamUSA #Rio2016 #TwoHearts #JoinTheJourney

A photo posted by Eventing Nation (@goeventing) on


10:52 a.m. EST: Sara Algotsson Ostholt and Reality 39 (SWE)

10:44 a.m. EST: Julia Krajewski and Samourai du Thot (GER)

What a huge stage for this 27-year-old rising star, who was called in to replace Andreas Ostholt after his So Is Et was withdrawn after the first horse inspection. Not quite turning on the style today like she did at Luhmuhlen and Aachen. “We’ve seen a few chinks in the German armor,” says announcer John Kyle, referring to Michael Jung and Sam’s uncharacteristically less-than-perfect test yesterday.

10:36 a.m. EST: Clark Johnstone and Balmoral Sensation (NZL)

Another case of a heavy hitter not quite hitting their target. You have to wonder if Brazil’s heat and humidity are taking their toll on some of these horses, taking a little spring out of their step. Lots of 6.5s and 7s — not bad but not the stellar 40.8 test they laid down at Badminton.

10:28 a.m. EST: Alice Naber-Lozeman and Peter Parker (NED)

This pair hovered around 69% for the second half of the test and couldn’t quite make it to 70%. The judge at M, Sandy Phillips, scored them consistently lower than the other judges. Still good enough for 12th place.

10:20 a.m. EST: Pippa Funnell and Billy the Biz (GBR)

A few blemishes here and there but a score of 43.9 is good enough to keep them in the top 10.

10:05 a.m. EST: Session one, over and out! Short break, with Pippa Funnell and Billy the Biz to lead off the second session at 10:20 a.m. EST.

9:56 a.m. EST: Andrey Mitin and Gurza (RUS)

9:48 a.m. EST: Stuart Tinney and Pluto Mio (AUS)

Not “a great day at the office” for Stuart — a couple disagreements between Pluto and Stuart will drag their score down a bit.

9:40 a.m. EST: Pietro Roman and Barraduff (ITA)

Mary Hollis, you’re slaying me. And making me hungry.

9:32 a.m. EST: Jonty Evans and Cooley Rorkes Drift (IRE)

Canter work is through the roof for this pair, earning them a string of 8s. A really impressive performance for Jony and “Art” for Team Ireland.


9:33 a.m. EST: Thibaut Vallette and Qing Du Briot (FRA)

A lovely test for this pair, further bolstering France’s position in the team rankings — they were fourth after day one dressage.


9:16 a.m. EST: Colleen Loach and Qorry Blue a’Argouges (CAN)

Colleen and Qorry pick up an unfortunate 2 early on, when Qorry Blue d’Argouges cantered through the first medium trot after appearing to be spooked by feedback from the sound system. They work hard to pick their score back up for the remainder of the test.

9:08 EST: Lauren Billys and Castle Larchfield Purdy (PUR)

Now in the ring, California girl Lauren Billys! Everyone is excited to see Lauren in Rio, realizing her longtime dream of representing Puerto Rico on the biggest world stage. Flying changes a little rough around the edges but she’s clearly very happy with her horse’s performance.

Look who it is! Good morning, Mary Hollis.

Pretty punny, haha.

9 a.m. EST: Joris Van Springel and Lully Des Aulnes (BEL)

Joris Van Springel and Lully Des Aulnes are our centerline trailblazers. A couple low marks in the walk but trending 6s, 7s.

8:55 a.m. EST: Despite my best efforts to hire my buddy Mary Hollis Baird to run the live stream today…

Puns and live-streaming dressage = good morning

A photo posted by Mary Hollis Baird (@littlestbaird) on

Dressage tweets afternoon edition part 1

A photo posted by Mary Hollis Baird (@littlestbaird) on

Afternoon dressage puns part 2

A photo posted by Mary Hollis Baird (@littlestbaird) on

… you’re stuck with me again. The first pair out is Joris Van Springel and Lully Des Aulnes for Belgium at 9 a.m. EST.

8:50 a.m. EST: