A New Dressage World Order

Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro of Great Britain on their way to victory in the Grand Prix Freestyle and individual Olympic gold. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

The Germans have been toppled off the dressage pedestal. The Dutch have lost their grip on the top spot. There's nary a Dane nor a Swede to be seen. What has dressage come to?

What it's come to is a complete erasure of the conventional wisdom about which nations do and do not belong on the dressage world stage. If there was any doubt about Great Britain's dominance after it won 2012 Olympic team gold on August 7, those doubts were wiped away when two British team members stepped back on the podium today to claim individual Olympic dressage gold and bronze.

The 26-year-old phenomenon Charlotte Dujardin rode Valegro to a movie-soundtrack medley including The Great Escape and Live and Let Die, which segued into canter pirouettes to the bonging of Big Ben, extended canter to "Pomp and Circumstance," and passage to John Williams's "Summon the Heroes," better known as the Olympic theme we hear on TV. Together the musical selections made for an enjoyable freestyle; my main quibble would be over some choppy edits and musical transitions.

British fans go wild after Charlotte Dujardin's score of 90.089 went up on the board. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

"With the Olympics being in London, I wanted something special," Dujardin said of the freestyle. She described being "totally unprepared" to do a freestyle until she rode a Grand Prix Special test at the 2012 CDI Hagen (Germany) to which organizers used The Great Escape as background music. "I thought it was brilliant, and I thought that's what I'm going to do: I'm going to have a British theme. I went back to Tom Hunt, the composer, and I said I want a British theme, and I want Big Ben, and I want all the other stuff. And he was like, 'I'm not sure if I can do that.' And I was like, you can, and he did, and he produced an amazing freestyle, and it's really, really great to ride to."

The musical selections suited the ten-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding (by Negro), who executed a technically outstanding test marred only by a bobbled transition from an extended canter down center line to passage at D. Judges Stephen Clarke (C), Leif Tornblad (K), Wim Ernes (E), Jean-Michel Roudier (H), Maribel Alonso (M), Evi Eisenhardt (B), and Gary Rockwell (F) awarded Dujardin's effort a technical average score of 86.750 percent and an artistic average score of 93.429 percent for a combined average of 90.089 percent--an Olympic Games record.

"It's unbelievable," said an emotional Dujardin afterward. "[Valegro] felt tired, but he still gave me everything. I can't believe it was only last January that we did our first Grand Prix, and now we have two Olympic gold medals."

Individual silver medalists Adelinde Cornelissen and Parzival of the Netherlands. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

Finishing a close second for the individual silver medal was the Netherlands' Adelinde Cornelissen on Parzival. Showing great musicality to pleasantly amped-up versions of The Nutcracker Suite, the Dutch pair earned marks of 92.286 (artistic) and 84.107 (technical) for a total score of 88.196 percent.

Parzival's piaffe to the "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy" was a highlight of Cornelissen's freestyle, as was his extended canter to the "Russian Dance." The routine featured numerous double pirouettes, clearly one of Parzival's strong suits. The fifteen-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding (by Jazz) was short in the neck at times in the extended trot, and later piaffes started to get a bit croup-high.

Stephen Clarke, who served as president of the ground jury today, said of the rides: "I think the first two horses were very close. The impression we had was that Adelinde had huge power and expression, but for us there needed to be a little more lightness and self-carriage. You could see sometimes that the horse crosses his jaw a little bit, so that took down the harmony mark a touch.

"Charlotte's [horse] generally has a little more self-carriage but maybe not quite as much power and expression in some of the piaffe-passage," Clarke continued. "So they were very close together. I'm sure lots of people will have different opinions, but our decision was for the harmony."

Of her ride, Cornelissen said: "Parzival felt great. I think it has been one of his best tests ever. I gave it all."

Great Britain's Laura Bechtolsheimer exults after her bronze-medal-winning ride aboard Mistral Hojris. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

Dujardin's gold-medal teammate Laura Bechtolsheimer and her longtime partner, Mistral Hojris, had a lovely interpretation of music from The Lion King. "Alf's" movement harmonized well with the music, including a passage half-pass to a piaffe pirouette that was right on the beat, and a piaffe-passage tour that showed great musical interpretation. Alf's movement looked a bit flatter than in the Grand Prix Special, but Bechtolsheimer was exuberant at the conclusion of her performance, which earned a technical score of 80.679 and an artistic score of 88.000 for a combined total of 84.339 percent and the individual bronze medal.

"Today I wanted to do him justice," Bechtolsheimer said, referring to the little mistakes of her previous tests at the 2012 Olympic Games. "I wanted to go out and enjoy the atmosphere and enjoy riding to an awesome freestyle in front of so many spectators and fans. He rose to the occasion. He gave me a very special ride. I felt like finally I'd done him justice."

Anky van Grunsven thanks Salinero for a job well done. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

The previous Olympic individual champion, the Netherlands' Anky van Grunsven on Salinero, ended the eighteen-year-old Hanoverian gelding's (by Salieri) competitive career on a high note. Salinero gave his best performance of these Olympics, and in fact it's the best I've ever seen him look. He showed greater softness over his topline and relaxation to a French-themed medley that showcased van Grunsven's famous freestyle artistry. The freestyle was so good that I wouldn't have been surprised if she had medaled. The ride scored 77.714 (technical) and 86.286 (artistic) for a combined score of 82.000--and I actually thought it might have deserved a tick higher.

"I am not sad. It has been an emotional week, but it was always in my head that it was my last time, and I wanted to enjoy it," van Grunsven said afterward.

You can tell everything you need to know about how Steffen Peters felt about his GP Freestyle on Ravel by the expression on his face. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

The other emotional ride of the day, unfortunately not in a good way, was that of the lone American rider to qualify for the Grand Prix Freestyle. Steffen Peters and Ravel's ride to music from the movie Avatar was artistically compelling but riddled with minor mistakes. Supporters, including Peters' wife, Shannon, teared up watching the ride, which Peters acknowledged afterward was indeed Ravel's competitive swan song.

"We did a super warm-up," Peters said of the freestyle. "We can't blame the heat; we are used to that, and I had plenty of horse. There were just too many mistakes. That is it for Ravel. He is retiring now to his owner's [Akiko Yamazaki] stud in California. I will remember him for his great career. If you put it all together, today was only a glitch. He has given us so much, and it is so sad, but it was not quite happening today."

Endings are always a little sad. The 2012 London Olympic Games have been a thrilling and memorable experience. The organizers did a superb job, and the Greenwich Park venue received accolades from every rider, veterinarian, and official I talked to. Over the past fourteen days we've seen outstanding displays of horsemanship, and we've seen the sport of dressage lifted to new standards. I will go home with memories of the friendly and welcoming staffers and volunteers and the hospitable locals, who seemed to enjoy sharing Greenwich and London with us. But I will also go home feeling sad for the American riders and their wonderful horses, owners, and supporters who worked so hard and yet will go home empty-handed.

Medals aren't everything, but at this level they are of course what competitors are striving for. Teams and individuals want to bring home medals to make their nations and their supporters proud. I know that Steffen Peters in particular is having a bittersweet evening, for this is not how he wanted to end Ravel's career. But I think I speak for the American dressage community when I say that we are proud, we appreciate Ravel's incredible legacy to US dressage, and we look forward to seeing Steffen doing great things in the future. He is a great rider and a great horseman, and his own legacy, although secure, is far from over.

The Changing of the Guard

History-making victory gallop: Team GB dressage gold medalists Laura Bechtolsheimer on Mistral Hojris, Charlotte Dujardin on Valegro, and Carl Hester on Uthopia. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

Those of us of a certain age remember a time when the thought of someone other than Germany or the Netherlands dominating dressage was unthinkable. Those nations were well-oiled machines that cranked out title after title--the headlines were continually dominated by Nicole, Isabell, Anky, Isabell, Anky--and seemed unstoppable.

The US began knocking on the door in the 1990s, earning a string of Olympic team bronze medals. But Great Britain? They weren't even taken seriously in the world of international dressage.

Well, the previously unthinkable happened today: Team GB won its first-ever Olympic dressage team gold medal (total team combined average score of the Grand Prix and today's Grand Prix Special: 79.979 percent), leaving in its wake silver medalists Germany (78.216) and bronze medalists the Netherlands (77.124). And Team USA? Sixth (72.435), behind Denmark (73.846) and Sweden (72.706).

For a while the US was keen to move up to the silver-medal spot on the podium; now I think we'd be happy just to get back on there again.

I don't mean to sound like Debbie Downer. I myself don't get too hung up on the "medal hunt," especially when horses, in all their unpredictability, are concerned. But after today, it's clear that the game has changed, and yesterday's stars don't quite measure up to today's.

Charlotte Dujardin and Valegro. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

The 2008 Olympic individual gold medalists, Anky van Grunsven and Salinero, looked outclassed among this new breed of horses and riders. Salinero has not diminished over time; rather, the new stars--Charlotte Dujardin's mount Valegro chief among them--have raised the bar. Horses like Valegro, Carl Hester's mount Uthopia, Helen Langehanenberg's Damon Hill, and Dorothee Schneider's Diva Royal show great expression, range of movement, collection, and brilliance and relaxation, obedience, clear transitions, and suppleness. Gone is the brilliance fueled by tension. These horses still have plenty of spark; Diva Royal and Laura Bechtolsheimer's famously explosive partner Mistral Hojris got pretty wound up while their riders were on the medal podium, and during the victory gallop "Alf" looked more or less out of control. But they do not look that way in the arena.

Laura Bechtolsheimer and Mistral Hojris. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

The changing of the guard goes beyond Great Britain's ascendance of the dressage throne. The entire 2012 German team (Langehanenberg on Damon Hill, Schneider on Diva Royal, and Kristina Sprehe on Desperados) consisted of Olympic Games first-timers. And with the absence of 2010 World Equestrian Games gold medalist Totilas and current rider Matthias Rath, there was no pre-anointed German superstar, either.

German team silver medalists Dorothee Schneider, Kristina Sprehe, and Helen Langehanenberg. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

The one who stands to give the Brits the most competition in Thursday's Grand Prix Freestyle and individual medal final is Langehanenberg, whose Damon Hill, a Westfalen stallion by Donnerhall, has evolved from 2005 Five-Year-Old World Young Horse Champion to a supreme blend of athleticism and elegance. They earned a score of 78.937 percent for their effort in the Grand Prix Special today, behind Valegro (83.286), the Netherlands' Adelinde Cornelissen and Parzival (81.968), and Uthopia (80.571).

But back to the Brits. According to Carl Hester, the senior member of the team, "Hard work and dedication have paid off for all three of us." His own story is fairly well-known: Born in Sark on the Channel Islands, Hester began riding a donkey and moved to England at the age of sixteen to pursue a riding career. He spent many years in groom and apprentice-type positions, eventually working his way up to training, riding, and competing.

Dujardin, a former champion pony exhibitor, is Hester's protege and has trained with him for six years. "We are like a married couple, I guess; that's what everybody calls us," Dujardin said. "We do bicker. I shout at him; he shouts at me.

"I owe everything to Carl, really," Dujardin continued. "Training me, giving me fantastic horses to ride.  He's very special to me."

The dressage world got acquainted with Bechtolsheimer when she and "Alf," a 1995 Dutch Warmblood gelding by Michellino, won team and individual silver at the 2010 WEG. The granddaughter of a billionaire German department-store-chain founder, Bechtolsheimer has had a more privileged entree to the horse world than her teammates. But it's clear that all are on equal footing when it comes to their riding and their horses.

"It was very emotional for me at the end of Charlotte's test when I knew that we'd done it," Bechtolsheimer said afterward. "It wasn't just about beating the Germans; it was about beating everybody else, which in Olympic history Britain's never done in dressage. To come here and win any medal would have been amazing, but to come here and win gold--I don't think it's sunk in completely yet. I think we're all really proud of each other and proud of our horses."

Although I'm sure the Germans and the Dutch are a teensy bit disappointed not to have won gold, I think I can safely say that everyone at Greenwich Park today was thrilled to see the fine British performances rewarded and to see the evidence that dressage excellence is expanding geographically. But I feel for Steffen Peters, Tina Konyot, and Jan Ebeling, who had one of those competitions when things just don't go the way one would like.

A happy Jan Ebeling waves to the crowd after his GP Special test on Rafalca. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

First to go for Team USA, Ebeling had a solid test with Rafalca to earn a score of 69.302 percent, putting them in 28th place individually, well out of the running for the GP Freestyle (only the top eighteen will advance). But he seemed genuinely pleased with his test on the steady fifteen-year-old Oldenburg mare by Argentinius.

"I was really happy with the horse; she went great, no real mistakes. She's been really good this whole week. She's given it all, and that's all I can ask," Ebeling said.

The "three amigos," as Ebeling called them--Rafalca's owners Amy Ebeling, Ann Romney, and Beth Meyer--were in the audience watching.

Steffen Peters and Ravel piaffe on center line. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

Steffen Peters' mount, Ravel, had an unfortunate stumble on the center line after the first canter pirouette that Peters said cost them a few points. "But I'm very, very happy with that," he said, referring to his score of 76.254, the highest US score, which tied Peters with Germany's Kristina Sprehe for seventh place individually and qualified him for the Freestyle.

"The half-passes felt great; I pushed the changes a bit more forward than the other day; the pirouettes felt really good," Peters said. "The piaffe even felt better than the first day. I'm just excited that he still wants to do it after all these years," he said of the fourteen-year old Dutch Warmblood gelding by Contango, owned by Akiko Yamazaki.

Tina Konyot and Calecto V in the GP Special. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

Of the US riders, only Peters will be riding in the individual medal final. Tina Konyot and her fourteen-year-old Danish Warmblood stallion, Calecto V (by Come Back II), had some mistakes in their test for a score of 70.651 and 25th place individually.

"I can feel that he is now a little bit tired," Konyot said.

The guard is changing in other ways, as well. Van Grunsven confirmed that Salinero will be retired after these Games. Although Peters said that "We haven't really discussed retirement," he did say that "This might be the last time that Ravel goes down center line" and that he "hopes he has one more really good freestyle." Hester confirmed that both Uthopia and Valegro will most likely be offered for sale after London. German team member Dorothee Schneider became tearful during the post-competition press conference when she confirmed that she, too, will lose the ride on Diva Royal, who is scheduled to go back to her owners.

So who knows where things will stand in two years, when the dressage world convenes for the 2014 FEI World Equestrian Games in Normandy? Peters thinks that Legolas, the young star who won this year's US Equestrian Federation national Grand Prix title, will be "ready to play with the big boys and girls" by then. We'll have to see where Uthopia and Valegro end up, who van Grunsven will be campaigning, and how Totilas is doing. I may be writing a completely different story in two years. I'd be delighted to be writing about the continued success of the British dressage team--but I wouldn't mind also being able to tell you about great news for Team USA.

Dressage Team Final Tomorrow!

Today my time is going to be devoted to the jumping team final (have you been following the competition? What a thrilling ending this is going to be!). Before I get too involved, I wanted to share with you the order of go for tomorrow's Olympic Grand Prix Special, aka the dressage team final. It all begins Tuesday at 10:00 a.m. London time.

If a rider is an individual (i.e., not competing for a team medal), I've put an (I) after the listing. Teams consist of three horse-rider combinations.

10:00 Anabel Balkenhol/Dablino (GER) (I)
10:09 Jessica Michel/Riwera (FRA) (I)
10:18 Mikaela Lindh/Mas Guapo (FIN) (I)
10:27 Patrick van der Meer/Uzzo (NED)
10:36 Emma Kanerva/Spirit (FIN) (I)
10:45 Jan Ebeling/Rafalca (USA)
10:54 Jose Daniel Martin Dockx/Grandioso (ESP)
11:03 Minna Telde/Santana (SWE)

11:25 Tina Konyot/Calecto V (USA)
11:34 Morgan Barbancon Mestres/Painted Black (ESP)
11:43 Tinne Vilhelmson Silfven/Don Auriello (SWE)
11:52 Steffen Peters/Ravel (USA)
12:01 Juan Manuel Munoz Diaz/Fuego (ESP)
12:10 Patrik Kittel/Scandic (SWE)
12:19 Ashley Holzer/Breaking Dawn (CAN) (I)
12:28 Victoria Max-Theurer/Augustin (AUT) (I)

1:45 Richard Davison/Artemis (GBR) (I)
1:54 Valentina Truppa/Eremo del Castegno (ITA) (I)
2:03 Goncalo Carvalho/Rubi (POR) (I)
2:12 Claudia Fassaert/Donnerfee (BEL) (I)
2:21 Dorothee Schneider/Diva Royal (GER)
2:30 Carl Hester/Uthopia (GBR)
2:39 Anne van Olst/Clearwater (DEN)
2:48 Anky van Grunsven/Salinero (NED)

3:10 Kristina Sprehe/Desperados (GER)
3:19 Laura Bechtolsheimer/Mistral Hojris (GBR)
3:28 Anna Kasprzak/Donnperignon (DEN)
3:37 Edward Gal/Undercover (NED)
3:46 Helen Langehanenberg/Damon Hill (GER)
3:55 Charlotte Dujardin/Valegro (GBR)
4:04 Nathalie zu Sayn-Wittgenstein/Digby (DEN)
4:13 Adelinde Cornelissen/Parzival (NED)

I don't know about you, but I can't wait!

Ebeling and Rafalca Get US Dressage off to a Strong Start

Jan Ebeling and Rafalca in the Grand Prix for Team USA. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

Jan Ebeling said he was "very happy" with his "good ride" on Rafalca in the Grand Prix at the 2012 London Olympic Games today.

Ebeling was the eighth to ride today and the first to go for the US dressage team. The fifteen-year-old Oldenburg mare (by Argentinius) put in a steady and accurate test with just a few moments of loss of balance or a slight loss of thrust from her right hind leg to earn a score of 70.243 percent.

"I think my second pirouette started out a little bit large; she jumped off the line a bit. But overall it was great. My piaffes were really nice, and that's something that's really improved over the last couple of months. I think the frame was good: She was up, and she felt really good. She's fit, and I think she's peaking just at the right moment," Ebeling said afterward.

Other than eventing's Zara Phillips, whose royal connections enthralled the mainstream media, Ebeling is probably drawing the most mainstream-media attention focused on an equestrian at these Olympic Games. The reason, of course, is Ann Romney's part-ownership of Rafalca, which was unremarkable before her husband, Mitt Romney, decided to run for the US presidency. So Ebeling fielded the expected questions from Bloomberg News and the like about Mrs. Romney and about how he's dealing with the spotlight.

"It really ended up being a good thing for the sport," Ebeling said. "I don't really get distracted by these things. I have a pretty good way of focusing. And if I don't want to talk to anybody, I don't answer my phone!"

And yes, Anne Gribbons, Ebeling's first halt looked pretty good. (He said the coach has been on him to improve that movement.) But he admitted to almost saluting with the other hand than the one he normally uses--his one admission of nervousness.

Ebeling had to explain to the mainstream media present what "amped up" means in terms of how Rafalca felt today. It's a good thing, in case you were wondering, but "the trick is to manage it," he said.

Ebeling's good showing gets Team USA off to a solid start. Fellow team members Steffen Peters/Ravel and Tina Konyot/Calecto V go tomorrow (Tina first of the day at 11:00 and Steffen at 2:35). Adrienne Lyle/Wizard, riding as individuals, go at 12:51.

But Team GB has definitely issued the challenge, with two of its riders earning today's top scores. Carl Hester on the 2001 KWPN stallion Uthopia (by Metall) holds the lead with a score of 77.720 percent. The dark-bay stallion put in a Grand Prix test with great suppleness, relaxation, elegance, and scope.

Great Britain's Carl Hester and Uthopia lead the GP standings with 77.720 percent. Photo by Jennifer Bryant.

Close behind Hester is teammate Laura Bechtolsheimer on the 1995 Dutch Warmblood gelding Mistral Hojris (by Michellino). The 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games individual silver medalist earned a score of 76.839 percent for a test that had plenty of expression but a couple of mistakes: an early change after the extended canter and a mistake in the two-tempi changes. "Alf" looked a bit "on the muscle," and although he didn't appear resistant or stiff, Bechtolsheimer appeared to be working pretty hard, with a decent amount of weight in the reins.

Team Canada, unfortunately, is left licking its wounds after David Marcus on Capital was eliminated after the horse had a meltdown in the middle of the sudden drenching downpour that came as quickly as it went. With teams of three and no drop score, Marcus's failure to finish knocks Canada out of the team competition. Ashley Holzer, who rides Breaking Dawn tomorrow, therefore will ride only for the individual-medal qualifier and not for a Canadian team medal.