Olympic Dressage has long been dominated by Germany. Because since the first edition of the team event in Amsterdam in 1928 only four countries - France, Sweden, what was then the Soviet Union and Great Britain - have ever succeeded in doing so. And with a phenomenal 14 team golds from 21 team contests they arrive at the Paris 2024 Games with a pep in their step once again.
That extra energy is due in no small part to the emergence of a really exciting new partnership between the most decorated athlete in the history of equestrian sport and an exciting new horse.
At CDIO Aachen 5* a few short weeks ago Werth created a sensation with her performances from the 10-year-old mare Wendy which she only started riding six months ago, posting a hat-trick of victories in the Grand Prix, Grand Prix Special and Grand Prix Freestyle. Scoring 89.95 in the latter she threw down a marker clearly indicating her intentions, and the pair’s selection has given the German team a whole new dimension.
If Wendy takes to the stadium in Versailles with the same level of confidence as she did in Aachen then it’s definitely a game-changer, because when you add that talent to the most consistently successful partnership of recent times in Jessica von Bredow-Werndl and Dalera and further solid back-up from Frederic Wandres and Bluetooth OLD then the defending champions looks truly formidable.
Reigning
The British of course have the reigning individual World Champions in their toolkit.
Charlotte Fry, popularly called Lottie, and her black stallion Glamourdale who clinched world championship double-gold in 2022 before going on to take team gold and Freestyle silver at last year’s Europeans were noticeably absent from the competition arena for much of this year. However they did come out to produce a double of wins at the CDI 3* at Aachen, Germany in May and then another two top spots at the 4* at the same venue two weeks ago which suggests they remain a fiercely competitive force to be reckoned with.
Becky Moody and her 10-year-old home-bred gelding Jagerbomb were British reserves at the 2023 European Championship, and the pair’s third-place finishes in both the Grand Prix and Grand Prix Freestyle at the World Cup leg in London (GBR) last December placed them even further under the spotlight. Runner-up spot in the Grand Prix Special at CDIO5*-NC Compiègne (FRA) in May and third place in the Grand Prix Special at CDIO5*-NC Rotterdam (NED) in June confirmed the form of the big horse and his popular and talented rider who is also a successful coach and horse-producer working from her base in the Yorkshire countryside in England.
Moody regularly travels more than four hours to train with her team-mate Carl Hester whose presence in these Games is enormous. Not only because he, like the inimitable Werth, is something of an institution in the sport but also because of his massive influence as the trainer of so many other successful athletes and their horses. He has always been a great team player, helping his country to that historic first-ever Olympic team gold on home soil in London in 2012 and to silver at the Rio 2016 Games and then bronze in Tokyo three years ago.
Together these three Britons are sure to make waves when the Paris action gets underway.
Veteran
It was Team USA that slotted into silver medal position in Tokyo and two members of that side are lining out once again in Paris.
Steffen Peters is a veteran of five Olympic Games beginning with Atlanta in 1996 where the US team took bronze and he brings his Tokyo ride, the 16-year-old Suppenkasper who finished fifth in the Grand Prix and fourth in the Grand Prix Freestyle at last year’s FEI Dressage World Cup Final in Omaha (USA). Just a few short weeks ago they finished third in the CDI4* Grand Prix Freestyle in Aachen (GER) to cement their selection.
Adrienne Lyle, competing at her third Games, brings the 12-year-old gelding Helix who scored numerous victories in Florida (USA) this year before coming to Europe and posting two fifth-placings at Hagen (GER) CDI3* and two runner-up placings CDI4* Kronberg (GER) in June.
Completing the American team is Marcus Orlob who only took over the reins on the 10-year-old mare Jane earlier this year. The pair competed in their first international competition together in March and it’s been a meteoric rise to a place in the US side backed up by good results in Europe too, also at Hagen and Kronberg.
The reigning world champions and European bronze medallists from Denmark are amongst the 15 countries vying for a place on that Olympic team podium, while in the battle for the individual title the reigning gold and silver medallists are back for more.
And they are both Germans
Jessica von Bredow-Werndl is determined to make it happen when she comes out to defend her individual title with Dalera but Werth, who had to settle for silver in Tokyo, has something of a secret weapon in her new ride Wendy. And there are plenty of others whose stars are just waiting to shine.
What is Dressage?
Germany bidding for 15th Olympic Dressage team title is about training the horse to a high level, highlighting its athleticism and the beauty of its movement and the harmony between horse and rider.
How it will play out…..
The FEI Grand Prix test, in which all athletes must participate, will take place on 30 and 31 July and is a qualifier for both the team (Grand Prix Special) and individual competition (Grand Prix Freestyle). The qualification ranking for the team competition will be decided by the combined results of all three team members in the Grand Prix.
Athletes compete in six groups, with three groups competing on each day. The composition of the groups is based on the FEI World Ranking list position of the horse on the date of definite entries.
The top 10 teams in the Grand Prix (including any team tied for 10th place) will qualify for the FEI Grand Prix Special on 3 August which is the team medal-decider.
The FEI Grand Prix test is also the individual qualifier from which the top 18 will go through to the Grand Prix Freestyle Individual Final on Sunday 4 August.
The FEI Grand Prix Freestyle test is the Individual Final Competition open to 18 combinations qualified from the FEI Grand Prix. The qualified athletes will be the top two combinations from each of the six groups and the combinations with the six next highest scores.
The Dressage Tests are the FEI Grand Prix, the FEI Grand Prix Special and the FEI Grand Prix Freestyle.
Some Facts & Figures
30 countries.
15 teams.
15 countries represented by individual competitors.
60 horse/athlete combinations.
Youngest athlete - 24-year-old Canadian team member Camille Carier Bergeron riding Finnlanderin
Oldest athlete - 65-year-old Juan Antonio Jiminez Cobo from Spain riding Euclides Mor.
Of the 60 athletes competing in Dressage in Paris, 35 (56.65%) are female and 25 (43.35%) are male.
Both British team member Carl Hester, and German team star Isabell Werth will be competing at their seventh Olympic Games.
Both became first-time Olympians in Barcelona in 1992.
Germany are defending team champions and are chasing down their 15th team title.
In the history of Olympic Dressage, Germany has long been the dominant force taking 14 team and 8 individual titles.
Defending individual champion is Germany’s Jessica von Bredow-Werndl riding TSF Dalera BB. Von Bredow-Werndl set a new Olympic record with a score of 84.666 in the Grand Prix Special at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
The most medalled athlete in the history of equestrian sport, 55-year-old Isabell Werth from Germany has 12 Olympic medals in her trophy cabinet including six team gold, one individual gold and five individual silver. She claimed her first team gold and individual silver in Barcelona in 1992 and the last at the Tokyo 2020 Games.
The Officials
Ground Jury President: Raphaël Saleh (FRA)
Ground Jury Members:
Henning Lehrmann (GER)
Isobel Wessels (GBR)
Mariette Sanders (NED)
Magnus Ringmark (SWE)
Michael Osinski (USA)
Susanne Baarup (DEN)
Judges Supervisory Panel Members:
Andrew Gardner (GBR)
Mary Seefried (AUS)
Henk van Bergen (NED)
Countries fielding Teams: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and USA.
Countries fielding Individuals: Brazil, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, India, Ireland, Korea, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Morocco, Moldova, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, Switzerland and Venezuela.
Full List of Nations: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, India, Ireland, Korea, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Morocco, Moldova, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, USA and Venezuela.
Timetable here