Team Germany overtook the first-day leaders from Denmark when the Grand Prix drew to a close at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Versailles (FRA) today, giving them a big boost as they continue on their mission to lift their 15th Olympic Dressage team title.
Great rides from Isabell Werth with Wendy and Jessica von Bredow-Werndl and Dalera secured pole position at the end of the competition that decided the 10 best nations qualified for Saturday’s medal-decider, the Grand Prix Special, in which all teams will start from scratch.
Joining the defending Olympic team champions, and the feisty Danish side who look set to challenge them every inch of the way, will be the British who finished third ahead of The Netherlands, Sweden, Belgium, France, Austria, Finland and Australia.
There was less than two percentage points between the two top sides, Germany completing with 237.546 while the Danish total was 235.730. The British were not far behind on 231.196.
Meanwhile, the 18 athlete/horse combinations that have made the cut for Sunday’s Individual medal decider, the Grand Prix Freestyle, are also confirmed. The finalists are made up of the best two from each of the six qualifying groups plus the six next highest ranked.
The 18 through to the Freestyle are: - Jessica von Bredow-Werndl/Dalera (GER), Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour/Freestyle (DEN), Isabell Werth/Wendy (GER), Charlotte Fry/Glamourdale (GBR), Nanna Skodborg Merrald/Zepter (DEN), Dinja van Liere/Hermes (NED), Carl Hester/Fame (GBR), Daniel Bachmann Andersen/Vayron (DEN), Isabel Freese/Total Hope OLD (NOR), Frederic Wandres/Bluetooth OLD (GER), Becky Moody/Jagerbomb (GBR), Emmelie Scholtens/Indian Rock (NED), Patrik Kittel/Touchdown (SWE), Victoria Max-Theurer/Abegglen FH NRW (AUT), Therese Nilshagen/Dante Weltino OLD (SWE), Pauline Basquin/Sertorius de Rima Z (FRA), Emma Kanerva/Greek Air (FIN) and Sandra Sysojeva (POL), the latter something of a sensation as her mare, Maxima Bella, is only eight years old.
Target score
Reigning world champions, Great Britain’s Charlotte Fry and Glamourdale, raised the target score to 78.913% when pathfinder this morning.
“First to go on the second day is not always the best position, but I think in this weather (it was another very hot day) it was really to our advantage. Glamourdale doesn’t know that, he just goes in and sees the crowd and he had a great time in there! And I think the moment at the end was very special, with him very relaxed, on a long rein and enjoying the cheering and the flags waving!”
Charlotte Fry
(GBR)
“That test is what we needed to do today. Our whole team the last two days has really performed amazingly and really put us in a good position for the weekend”, she added.
However, 30 minutes later, Denmark’s Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour pushed the target even further when posting 80.792% for a lovely test with Freestyle. The mare won double bronze with Charlotte Dujardin (GBR) at the FEI World Equestrian Games™ in Tryon (USA) in 2018, but has been out of top sport for a number of years more recently. Laudrup-Dufour took up the reins towards the end of 2023, and although they are still finding their way together the new partnership is clearly blossoming.
Plan
“My plan today was to not push her but just see what she offered. When I picked up the first passage I said to her - you just give me whatever you want and then I'm just gonna say what we are supposed to do. So I'm really proud of her, and I think it was a perfect start for me and her at the Games here in Paris!”, said the Danish star who took team gold and double silver at the FEI World Championship in 2022 with Vamos Amigos.
Talking about building an understanding with Freestyle, she explained, “the main thing has been to really create a proper friendship with her, not just like, pretending, but really see if she could allow me in there, which she did quite quickly. I was quite amazed. Animals are amazing if you treat them well and show them trust. Another key word for me has been respectful leadership. Because in some way I had to be the leader to show her around in a dressage test but at the same time respect where she's coming from, because she's a skilled young lady. She has done a lot and she has been educated amazingly, and she is a performer”, Laudrup-Dufour pointed out.
High score
This first group of the day produced yet another high score when, last to go, Germany’s Isabell Werth put 79.363% on the board with her new ride, Wendy.
“She was so focused and so with me that it was amazing!”, said the multiple champion who is competing at her seventh Olympic Games. “We have only done six or seven Grand Prix, but it’s so amazing how we are growing together and how honest she is to me”, she said.
Werth is determined to help the young mare develop, improve and reach her maximum potential. “You can only do that in competition, so Aachen (in June) was really helpful, with three competitions there. She is only a 10-year-old horse and as they get older they get more muscles, they get more power, they get more experience so everything works together. Riding her is really a pleasure”, she added.
Her result bolstered Team Germany’s chances when added to Frederic Wandres’ score of 76.118% from yesterday with Bluetooth OLD. But, with the last ride of the day in the final group, defending Olympic double-gold medallists Jessica von Bredow-Werndl and Dalera needed to top up the German total if they were to overtake the Danes and remind everyone that they will be the ones to beat on Saturday.
Style
And they did it in their own inimitable style when scoring 82.065% to seal the deal with dignity and grace. It looked effortless for the 17-year-old mare, whose record includes five European gold medals, back-to-back FEI Dressage World Cup™ titles and team gold at the FEI World Equestrian Games™ in 2018 along with her Olympic medal haul from Tokyo three years ago.
“It was a fantastic feeling inside the arena and breathtaking to see how the audience carried us into the ring! I’m happy because I had some hiccups in the Grand Prix at the German Championships in Balve which was the rehearsal for here. But sometimes when the rehearsal is bad then the performance is good, and that’s how it worked out!”
Jessica von Bredow-Werndl
(GER)
She didn’t hold back during the test. “I was really going for it, I took full risk in the extensions and the extended canter! There were two tiny things that didn’t go right but that’s good because now I know there is room for improvement and I can focus on that”, she pointed out.
But she is well aware that Denmark’s Dufour is a major threat and could swing the balance in both the team and individual medal-deciders.
“I didn’t see Cathrine’s test but I know she also had a mistake, so it’s clear she was closer to me than it looks in the result”, von Bredow-Werndl said.
The Danes indeed look ready to tip the scales in their favour if they can. There’s a real cohesion in the team that all three of them have mentioned this week, and Laudrup-Dufour emphasised it again today.
“Nanna (Skodborg Merrald) and I have been riding together since she was four and I was five at her mom's riding school for 15 years. It's not like we see each other every week, but we are really close and we trust each other. I've been in the team many, many, many times, but this team (which includes Daniel Bachmann Andersen) I trust with everything I have, and that's sort of the best feeling you can ride into the arena with really!”, she said.
The battle for Olympic Dressage team glory will resume on Saturday and looks set to be a thriller….
How the Grand Prix Special will play out…..
Competitors will be divided into three groups of 10 with one Athlete/Horse per National Federation in each group. The order-of-go for each group will be decided by the Chef d’Equipe.
After Group 1 and Group 2 have competed there will be a break (45-60mins). and an Intermediate team standing will be established. Group 3 will start in reverse order of the intermediate team standing.
Substitutions can only be made between today’s FEI Grand Prix and up to two hours before the start of FEI Grand Prix Special (3 August). An Athlete/Reserve Horse that is substituted in cannot compete in the Grand Prix Freestyle.