Karen O’Connor and Mr. Medicott lead the way for Team USA, photo by Erin Gilmore
Dirk Schrade and King Artus of Germany sit atop the leader board at the lunch break of the first day of Olympic dressage. At some point, judges have to decide if they prefer accuracy and correctness or flashy movement. After a less than ideal first test from Peter Thomsen, Germany needed a good test from Dirk to stay in the competition. King Artus was extremely rideable for Dirk and, although the smaller horse doesn’t have the most movement in the world, his test was a picture of correctness. The judges rewarded accuracy over bounce and gave the German pair a 39.8. As mentioned, it is lunch break time in London and still very much the morning in North America.
Saturday Lunchtime Scores:
1. Dirk Schrade and King Artus (GER) 39.8
2. Sam Griffiths and Happy Times (AUS) 45.4
3. Chris Burton and KP Leilani (AUS) 46.1
4. Karen O’Connor and Mr. Medicott (USA) 48.2
5. Virginie Caulier and Nepal Du Sudre (BEL) 48.3
6. Hawley Bennett-Awad and Gin & Juice (CAN) 48.7
7. Aoife Clark and Master Crusoe (IRL) 48.9
8. Boyd Martin and Otis Barbotiere (USA) 50.7
9. Nicola Wilson and Opposition Buzz (GBR) 51.7
…
14. Michelle Mueller and Amistad (CAN) 57.0
Team USA was counting on a good lead-off ride from Boyd Martin and Otis Barbotiere in their Olympics debut and the flashy pair delivered just that, scoring a 50.7 as the first pair to ride today. Boyd has since suffered from being the first to go as several tests that I thought were clearly a few points inferior scored better. If I had to throw out a number, I’d say that after watching all of the morning rides, Otis would have scored about two points lower than he did if he had ridden later.
The other Team USA pair to ride this morning, Karen O’Connor and Mr. Medicott, were one of many morning pairs to be afflicted by the tension-inducing Greenwich main arena. Karen used all of her five Olympics worth of experience to show off Mr. Medicott’s impressive athleticism and the result was an appealing test that left a few points on the table. Mr. Medicott scored a 48.2. That is the fourth best score of the morning and I thought it was generous by one or two points. Team USA should feel confident so far with one of their top two dressage pairs–Tiana Coudray and Ringwood Magister–set to ride later today.
The Australian team had to fight their way to London the hard way–they needed to qualify five individuals to compose a team after losing to Japan at the Blenheim qualifier last year. But they proved that they are very much here to compete for gold with two impressive tests this morning from Chris Burton and Sam Griffiths. Burto and HP Leilani knocked Boyd off of the top of the leader board with a 46.1. Sam Griffiths was just added to the Aussie team on Thursday when Megan Jones had to withdraw Allofasudden due to injury, but they made the most of their opportunity by scoring a 45.4.
At the lunch break, 8 of 14 teams have competed two riders. The Aussies lead with 91.50, Germany is second with 98.30, the USA is third on 98.90.
From riders to horses to coaches to vets to selectors to fans, Canada has one of the best true teams in eventing. That great team leads to consistent quality at international events. Michelle Mueller and Amistad gave Team Canada a very solid performance in their first team ride. Amistad got quieter and quieter for Michelle throughout the test and she looked really proud of him after their halt. Amistad is a great jumping horse and Michelle should expect to rise up the leader board over the next two phases.
The excitable mare Gin & Juice gave Hawley Bennett-Awad her full attention and Hawley should be really proud after their test, which scored a 48.7. Gin & Juice showed some tension and shortness in her frame, which held back her score slightly. Canada has invested a lot in this pair and that investment paid off well today. I did think that Otis’ test was a few points better, but that’s the curse of going first.
The atmosphere in the Greenwich main arena has been giving most horses something to think about other than their riders. The horses leave the warm-up and walk through essentially a solid purple hallway and then out into a main arena that is packed tightly on three side but the tall bleachers. Much of the trot work this morning has been marred by tension, but the riders seem to be able to get better scores in their canter work as the horses settle into a more fluid and relaxed gait. Jonelle Richards of New Zealand provided an exception to this rule when her horse Flintstar blew up in the canter work.
The quality of the live video streaming from NBC here in the States has been very high. NBC has a ton of cameras around the arena and the video player itself has a lot of functionality including pausing, buffering, and returning to live feed. Multiple people on our live blog have reported the video freezing, but refreshing the player seems to fix that issue so far. There is no commentary on the NBC feed, but I have heard from Samantha that the BBC coverage features commentary by Ian Stark and Mike Tucker. Can you say “jealous!”
Bonnets are all the rage today in London. Almost all of the morning horses wore them. The idea is that the bonnets help muffle the sound slightly, helping the horses to stay calm. Even though the crowd has been very quiet during the tests (they are instructed by the announcers no to clap until after the final salutes), there have been planes circling overhead, the occasional child screaming, and other distracting sounds at Greenwich.
Unfortunately, there have been considerably fewer helmet sightings this morning, with Linda Algotsson of Sweden as the first rider to wear her helmet. Linda’s sister Sara rides for Sweden tomorrow. The only other rider of the Saturday morning session to wear a helmet was Marcio Jorge of Brazil.
Check out our dressage open thread from SmartPak for more detailed coverage of the morning action, and please join our afternoon dressage live blog as you watch the action on your computer. Mary King and Imperial Cavalier are first to ride after lunch.
Go eventing.
