Welcome to our Olympics Sunday dressage open thread, presented by SmartPak! Check back on this post regularly for quick updates on the most important and exciting rides of Sunday–I will be posting updates throughout the day. Reader beware, all scores are provisional, please forgive the typos, and please understand this is written in real time.
5:04am ET — Atsushi Negishi and Pretty Darling (JPN): Sunday starts with the third Japanese rider of the competition. Pretty Darling worked her way through an elegant test that was by far the best Japanese performance we have seen yet in the Olympics. They scored 50.4 to jump into the top 15 at the time.
5:11am ET — Serguei Fofanoff and Barbara (BRA): Serguei was the first rider of day 2 to wear his helmet and, sadly, just the third rider of the Olympics so far to wear a helmet. Barbara’s better phases are yet to come and Serguei will be happy to be moving onto the cross-country.
5:18am ET — Zara Phillips and High Kingdom (GBR): The Twitter world was abuzz this morning with word that the royals might come watch Zara ride. Zara nailed her first halt and salute and High Kingdom started the test with lovely and elegant trot work. The canter work was much the same except for a few bobbles in the changes. Zara has the weight of England on her shoulders and the British media won’t let her forget it this weekend. High Kingdom scored 46.1 to deliver in the clutch for a British team that needed a good score.
5:32am ET — Sara Algotsson Ostholt and Wega (SWE): Sara and the lovely mare Wega tied Ingrid Klimke for the lead with a 39.3. The large Wega showed off huge extended movements to the judges and Sara rode with absolute precision to bring home a great score for the Swedish team. Sara’s sister Linda rode on Saturday. Wega has an excellent cross-country record, but it will be interesting to see how she handles the terrain.
5:38am ET — Caroline Powell and Lenamore (NZL): The veteran Lenamore looked half his age skipping around the arena and spooking at the clapping after Caroline’s final salute. A 52.2 is a decent score for New Zealand at this point–it doesn’t move them up but it doesn’t hurt them either. Lenamore is on the Kiwi team because of their confidence that he will jump well.
5:54am ET — Nina Ligon and Butts Leon (THA): Nina is competing in her first Olympics for Thailand at just 20 years old. She has worked so hard with her coach Kim Severson to prepare for these Games and you could see Kim’s influence throughout Nina’s dressage test. Nina rode with absolute composure and accuracy aboard Butts Leon to squeeze every possible point out of the test. I couldn’t have been more impressed with how Nina handled the pressure and her use of the aids looked nearly perfect–clearly another influence from Kim’s tutelage. The Ligons are a great example that eventing is an entire family effort and I hope they take the time to relax and enjoy the incredible experience that is the Olympics for a moment at least once this weekend.
6:20am ET — Will Coleman and Twizzel (USA): Riding down the centerline for Team USA has been a long time coming for Will Coleman and he made that dream come true this morning in Greenwich. This might have been Will’s first Olympic ride, but he rode like a veteran and expertly directed Twizzel through each movement. Twizzel was as relaxed and focused as I have ever seen him. Twiz danced through that test so forward and light on his feet. If I had to find a fault I would say that their changes could have been slightly better. They earned every bit of their 46.3, perhaps earned an even better score in my opinion, and produced the best score yet for Team USA.
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6:36am ET — Lucinda Fredericks and Flying Finish (AUS): The Aussie team continued it’s dominant performance with a 40.0 from Lucinda and Flying Finish to put 4 Aussies in the top 10 when they finished. This horse just qualified for the Olympics this year but what he lacks in experience he made up for in rideability and that is all Lucinda needed.
6:47am ET — Sandra Auffarth and Opgun Louvo (GER): Sandra entered the arena with the first rain clouds of the Olympics forming above her head and needing a quality score to keep Germany close to the Australian team. Opgun Louvo showed some tension early in the test–likely due to the storm blowing in–but he made up for it with a lovely and relaxed movement through his shoulders and nearly perfect changes. I had hoped the judges would be sympathetic about the spooks and they were very sympathetic, giving the pair a 40.2.
7:04am ET — Jessica Phoenix and Exponential (CAN): “Tucker” entered the arena with ears pricked but Jessica managed her lovely horse to perfection. She rode every step of the test and squeezed out every possible point for Team Canada. The ex-racehorse is built perfectly to skip his way around Sue Benson’s twisty and technical Greenwich course. This pair is in great position to move up big time this weekend. They scored 54.8.
7:46am ET — Kenki Sato and Chippieh (JPN): Kenki performed the best test I have ever seen from a Japanese rider at an international competition, scoring a 42.0 and jumping into the top 10. Chippieh was extremely relaxed and obedient for his Buddhist monk rider and the result was a great performance for Japan.
7:55am ET — Tina Cook and Miners Frolic (GBR): Tina Cook must have felt right at home this morning when the skies opened up in a steady rain with thunder overhead just in time for her ride aboard Miners Frolic. Neither Tina nor Miners Frolic looked bothered by the weather and they worked together for a professional effort. The crowd gave Tina an appreciative and understanding cheer as she finished. The judges gave her a 42.0 to help bring Great Britain closer to the Germans and Aussies. The rain and thunder during Tina’s test was so significant that immediately after she stopped the officials called a 10 minute break. The rain stopped as quickly as it arrived.
8:20am ET — Andrew Nicholson and Nereo (NZL): Andrew Nicholson cantered into the arena with much improved but still very much raining weather. Nereo’s trot work showed a picture of forward and supple movement. The walk work was very relaxed despite the setting. Although the canter lacked a little rhythm, it was very obedient and precisely ridden. They scored 45.2, which bumped New Zealand into the 5th team place at the lunch break.
8:40am ET — Lunch Break: Dressage resumes at 9:30am ET with the anchor riders for each team. Expect some seriously low scores!
9:36am ET — Stefano Brecciaroli and Apollo WD Wendi Kurt Hoev (ITA): First to ride after the lunch break, Stefano blew the judges away with fantastic fluid and bouncy movement from Apollo. There was hardly anything to criticize about the test which featured especially dramatic extended gaits. A perhaps unexpected but very well deserving score of 38.5 for the pair from Italy.
9:41am ET — Phillip Dutton and Mystery Whisper (USA): Phillip and Whisper had the unfortunate challenge of following Stefano’s brilliant test, but Wisper’s movement can compete with anyone in the world. Phillip and Whisper didn’t disappoint–their performance was a combination of big movement, suppleness, and accuracy. If all of that wasn’t enough, their changes were brilliant. I was incredibly impressed with how steady Whisper’s head stayed while his frame moved behind it to accommodate the lovely movement. I am certainly biased but I thought that test deserved way better than the 44.3 it received.
9:46am ET — Clayton Fredericks and Bendigo (AUS): Clayton has been a huge fan of Bendigo since he first started riding the horse and the pair has a number of impressive results together including winning Saumur last year, placing 4th at the test event here at Greenwich, and placing 6th at Pau last year. Clayton rode into every corner as deep as you possibly can and made the hard look easy for Bendigo. A couple of tiny bobbles including a change behind after the extended canter held their score back, but they still finished on a 40.40 to give Australia 5 brilliant team rides.
10:05am ET — Michael Jung and Sam (GER): This pair hasn’t placed worse than second in an FEI event since they won the World Equestrian Games in 2010. They suffered a bobble early when Sam broke to the canter after a medium trot and Michael gave the judges a couple of other tiny moments to take points away. In my opinion, Sam was not as expressive in his gaits as I have seen him, but he carried himself so “up” in the frame, moved so correctly forward, and reacts to the slightest aid from Michael that the judges couldn’t help but give him a nice score despite the mistakes. A 40.6 moved them into the top 10.
10:20am ET — Rebecca Howard and Riddle Master (CAN): “Rupert” bobbled in a couple of changes and had an unsteady angle in a shoulder-in, but those were the only major problems in an otherwise quality test from this pair. The judges obviously found more fault with the test than I did and scored it as 50.7. Canada will have some big work to do in the cross-country tomorrow but they have just the team of great horses and clutch riders to get the job done.
10:47am ET — Karin Donckers and Gazelle de la Brasserie (BEL): Karin is as smooth of a rider as you will ever see ride dressage and Gazelle de la Brasserie worked effortlessly through the test for her longtime partner. Their career includes a 9th in the Beijing Olympics and a 4th at WEG 2010. They are in great position to get that elusive international medal after scoring 40.0 in the dressage today.
10:54am ET — Elaine Pen and Vira (NED): As one commenter in our live blog pointed out before their ride, the pair is dutch, and it’s dressage time, so we should expect great things. Vira is a really lovely horse with a ton of reach especially through the knee, but Elaine didn’t quite have her mare’s attention today with all of the distraction of an Olympic main arena.
11:05am ET — Yoshiaki Oiwa and Noonday De Conde (JPN): Japan’s fantastic day of dressage continued with a rock-solid ride from Yoshiaki. No single movement was extraordinary but every movement looked like it belonged in the Olympics and the horse was very straight and through the bridle. The judges rewarded the superb consistency with a 38.1 to take the lead. Japan has a very tall order ahead of themselves tomorrow, but they should be proud of their performance today. Remember that the Japanese team beat the Aussies in the Olympic qualifying event at Blenheim last year, so these guys can really ride as a team at big events.
11:10am ET — Ruy Fonseca and Tom Bombadill Too (BRA): Ruy was the second rider of the day and the fourth rider of the Olympics to wear his helmet. They finished on a 53.7 for Brazil.
11:16am ET — William Fox-Pitt and Lionheart (GBR): William, as always, presented Lionheart with exactly the right tempo and pace in each gait for the judges. William is one of the quietest riders in the world and yet he does so much to make horses look and move better underneath him. Despite William and Lionheart’s best efforts, the test suffered a few bobbles and scored a 44.1. Coach Yogi Breisner and the other British team connections were thrilled with the ride as William left the arena. This pair placed third at Pau last year as their best international result to date.
11:35am ET — Mark Todd and Campino (NZL): Mark Todd is working for his third individual Olympic gold medal this weekend and he took one step closer with a quality performance from Campino. Toddy rode quietly but purposefully and although you could barely see him move you could see the effect of his aids on Campino. The changes in particular were fantastic. The judges gave them a 39.1 for 3rd. An appreciative British crowd gave him a huge cheer as he left the arena. Mark said after his test “at this stage I don’t think he could do any better.”
Thank you very much for reading our open thread from the Olympics dressage and stay tuned to EN throughout the day for much more from London.
Visit the USEF Network, SmartPak’s Youtube channel, @SmartPakerSarah, @SmartPakerColby, and the SmartPak blog throughout the weekend for the best of London.
Go eventing.
