World number one, Great Britain’s Oliver Townend, regained the individual lead he established on the first day of the Dressage phase with a perfect ride on Ballaghmor Class on Cross Country day of Equestrian Eventing at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 at Sea Forest today. And with foot-perfect performances from team-mates Laura Collett (London 52) and Tom McEwen (Toledo de Kresker), the British team go into tomorrow’s final Jumping phase with four fences in hand over their nearest rivals.

Oozing confidence, and riding at the top of their game, they look unstoppable for gold. But Townend wasn’t taking anything for granted this afternoon. With the second horse inspection still ahead in the morning, and a course of coloured poles to be tackled later in the day, he voiced a note of caution.

“This is a three-day sport, and you never know what you’ve got until you’re in the ring on the last day”, he said.

Snatched away

His individual lead had been snatched away by Germany’s Michael Jung yesterday morning as the Dressage phase drew to a close, but the double Olympic champion lost his grip on the top spot today when triggering the frangible device at the corner element of fence 14, the Lone Tree Moguls, on an otherwise faultless tour of the track with Chipmunk. The German National Federation lodged a protest against the resulting 11 penalties immediately after the cross country, but the protest was dismissed by the Ground Jury. 

Compatriot Sandra Auffarth’s gelding, Viamant du Matz, had a glance-off at the final element of fence nine, a left-hand corner that followed a bank out of water for 22.4. 

“It came up very quickly at the beginning of course, he was super fresh and I turned a little bit too early to the step”, Auffarth said. “He’s so quick in his turns, and I came too much to the inside of the line and I think he just was not seeing the question at the corner.” 

German pathfinder Julia Krajewski made no mistake with Amande de B’Neville, however, and goes into tomorrow’s final phase in silver medal spot. But the German team have dropped from second to sixth and look well out of medal contention.

Contrast

In stark contrast, both Australia and France enjoyed a superb day with spectacular performances that lifted them into silver and bronze medal spots. Lying sixth after Dressage, the Australians added just the 2.8 time penalties picked up by Kevin McNab and Don Quidam when both Shane Rose (Virgil) and Andrew Hoy (Vassily de Lassos) both kept a clean sheet.

Hoy was stopped on course when Swiss athlete Robin Godel’s Jet Set pulled up very lame after jumping the Mt Fuji water complex five from home. (See statement here)

The Sydney 2000 Olympic team gold medallist was grateful for the cooling facilities that kept his 12-year-old gelding safe while they waited on course. “It was excellent because until I got under the tent I could feel his temperature rising all the time. When you are galloping you have wind in your face and on your body so you stay very cool. But as soon as you stop you don’t have that so your temperature rises. Vasilly’s temperature went up half a degree from when it was first taken in the cooling area but it was still very low and his heart-rate was back to 100. He’s phenomenally fit”, said the man who is competing in his eighth Olympic Games.

Defending

The French are defending the Olympic team title, but things hadn’t been going their way until today when Christopher Six (Totem de Brecey) added just 1.6 time penalties to his scoreline, Nicolas Touzaint (Absolut Gold) were just over the time-allowed of 7.45 minutes to add 0.4 and anchorman Karim Florent Laghouag (Triton Fontaine) was clear inside the time. On a running score of 97.10, they are just over a single penalty point adrift of the Australians when the action resumes tomorrow, trailed by New Zealand (104.00) in fourth, USA in fifth (109.40) and Germany in sixth (114.20).

With just their combined Dressage marks of 78.90 however, the British look well in command. Laura Collett lies in bronze medal spot individually after a great round with London 52, and feels today’s result has confounded her critics. 

“I always said he’s a superstar and he just went out and proved to everyone just how good he is. I’m so relieved I did my job and to be selected on this team this year, I know everyone at home will understand this, we’ve had to fight for our place and he’s proved to everybody he well and truly deserved it, and I can’t tell you how proud I am of him!”, she said.

The margins are small on the Individual leaderboard however. Townend’s 23.60 leaves him just two penalty points ahead of Krajewski, and Collett is only 0.2 further adrift, with New Zealand’s Tim Price (Vitali) snapping at her heels carrying 26.80. Japan’s Kazuma Tomoto (Vinci de la Vigne) is on 27.50 and the third British team-member Tom McEwen on 28.90, only fractionally ahead of Australia’s Hoy in seventh spot.

Facts and Figures:

60 horse-and-athlete combinations started in today’s Cross-Country phase of Eventing.

49 completed the course. 

2 Retired and 9 were Eliminated.

Sara Algotsson was announced as replacement for Ludwig Svennerstal on the Swedish team before today’s cross-country phase but withdrew when the team was no longer viable due to elimination for Therese Viklund after a fall from Viscera at fence 18B.

The most influential obstacle on the 23-fence course was 14C, a left-handed corner that followed a large oxer, where there were two refusals and the frangible device was triggered seven times.

Quotes:

Oliver Townend (GBR): “Once I got into the course I started to pick up very good quick fast distances, almost racing distances, to the straightforward fences and he answered beautifully. 

“The earlier distances didn’t happen quite the way I imagined, like the first two waters, having said that they were very comfortable distances, and I have a lot of trust in Derek di Grazia’s courses. I think the man is one of, if not the best in the world in what he’s doing and even when I think a distance is going to be a certain way, I know even if it isn’t it’s going to be a safe distance.”

Michael Jung (GER) – “I’m very happy, he was very good. I had a little mistake there (at fence 14), I didn’t realise it fell down but when I galloped away from the fence I heard the sound. It was quite a surprise for me. Everything else was really nice.”

Tim Price NZL - When asked what the course felt like: “It felt fast and furious, with lots of big jumps just around the corner! They come up the hill and even though they’ve warmed up over some fences it sort of dawns on them that it’s actually another cross country day and not another training day, and it looks like it’s a fairly seriously day at the office and they have to absorb all that in about two minutes. Particularly on a young horse you want to get them out on the track and let them find themselves, the rhythm, the breathing, the jump, the scope, and out here you don’t have time to give them an easy couple of minutes so it’s asking quite a lot of a young horse.”

Andrew Hoy AUS - “As those that have seen Vassily run before, he’s just the most phenomenal horse cross-country. I had a really nice ride, up until the time I was stopped it was really good, just fingertips and I ride him in the same bridle and bit in all three phases, he’s just so on the ball and so focused.”

Results here  

It is with great sadness that we announce that the Swiss horse Jet Set, ridden by Robin Godel has had to be euthanised after pulling up extremely lame on the Sea Forest Cross Country Course during Equestrian Eventing at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 on 1 August 2021.

Clear to this point, the 14-year-old gelding, pulled up extremely lame after jumping the final Mt Fuji water complex (fence 20) on the Sea Forest Cross Country Course today.

The horse received immediate veterinary attention at the fence and, after an initial assessment, was transferred by horse ambulance to the onsite Veterinary Clinic.

Sadly, ultrasound scans revealed an irreparable ligament rupture in the lower right limb, just above the hoof, and on humane grounds and with the agreement of the owners and athlete, the decision was taken to put the horse to sleep.

In line with the FEI Veterinary Regulations, samples have already been taken from the horse and a post mortem will be conducted.

The first horse inspection for Jumping horses competing at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games took place at Baji Koen Equestrian Park this evening. 

There were two sent to the Holding Box and they will be reinspected at 17.00 tomorrow. They were Argentina’s Cannavaro 9 (Matias Albarracin) and China’s Caesar (You Zhang).

The horses were beautifully turned out and so were the athletes, The Netherlands’ Willem Greve, Marc Houtzager, Harrie Smolders and Michael van der Vleuten really cutting a dash in suits that blended an “Our Man in Havana” look with a touch of Vaudeville. 

Many of the horses were on their tippy-toes. Explosion, the ride of Great Britain’s Ben Maher, lived up to his name when unable to contain his excitement, and two of the Swedish steeds were in high spirits too.

Peder Fredricson looked like he was grappling with a tiger before All In settled and trotted up like the true professional he is. And team-mate Malin Baryard-Johnsson’s mare, Indiana, was a real handful after strutting her stuff.

But they can all look forward to familiarisation and training over the next few days, taking in the sights and sounds of the fabulous Baji Koen stadium before the Jumping action gets underway next Tuesday.  

Facts and Figures

The first Individual competition will take place on Tuesday 3 August and is a qualifier for the Individual Final on Wednesday 4 August.

The Individual Final is open to the 30 best-placed athletes from the first Individual competition and will be Table A, one round against the clock, with a jump-off for the medal placings if there is a tie on penalties. All athletes start on a zero score in the Individual Final and starting order will be in reverse order of merit following the first Individual competition. 

The first Team competition is open to 20 teams of three athletes and all teams will start on a zero score. It will take place on 6 August and is a qualifier for the Team Final on 7 August.

The best 10 teams, including those tied for tenth place, will qualify for the Team Final.

Team France are the defending Olympic champions having clinched gold for only the second time in Olympic history at the Rio 2016 Games.

Germany however holds the record for the greatest number of Olympic gold medals, with 5 Individual and 8 team titles since Jumping joined the Olympic programme in 1900. 

35 countries 

19 teams

75 horse/athlete combinations

16 countries represented by individuals

Jumping Course Designer is Spain’s Santiago Varela.

Teams will consist of three athlete/horse combinations with all three scores counting for the result. 

The leaderboard began to look a bit more familiar after the final session of Eventing dressage at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Baji Koen today. Great Britain remains at the head of affairs, but it is now Team Germany that sits second ahead of New Zealand in third, while the host nation of Japan continues to shine in fourth place going into tomorrow’s cross country phase.

An amazing score of 21.10 from defending double-champion, Michael Jung, lifted Germany from overnight fifth to just over two points behind the British leaders, whose position at the top of the leaderboard was bolstered by a solid test from Tom McEwen and Toledo de Kerser with a mark of 28.90. 

Jung was really pleased with his 13-year-old gelding Chipmunk. “We had a very good partnership today, everything worked like I wished. Since the European Championships in 2019, I’ve had more time to train with him. We had a long winter to work more and have had many more competitions this year, so everything is going much better”, he said.

He may not have realised it, but he was being watched by IOC Member HSH Prince Albert II, who paid a visit to the Equestrian Park today to watch some Eventing Dressage, including the start of Jung’s Olympic title defence. After a traditional Japanese tea ceremony in the Olympic Family Lounge together with fellow IOC Member and FEI President Ingmar De Vos, the Prince was taken on a full tour of the venue, including a visit to the stables and the onsite veterinary clinic.

Dramatic improvement

Meanwhile world number two, Tim Price, was responsible for the dramatic improvement for Team New Zealand, who rose from sixth to third. His score of 25.60 with Vitali puts his side – that includes his wife Jonelle – on a tally of 86.40, exactly six penalty points behind Germany and just over eight points off pole position. “That’s good, that’s what we want!”, Price said when he realised his result had made such a big difference. “We just want to be a solid team, we’re only a little nation with a few riders to choose from!”

Sweden dropped from overnight second to fifth, but Australia was another to rise meteorically thanks to a classic ride from the oldest competitor in Eventing at these Olympic Games. Andrew Hoy (62) and Vassily de Lassos posted 29.60, and all scores below 30 proved highly influential.

“I believe it is the maximum (score) we could have had from today”, Hoy said. “There were tiny little things that I can always improve. The joy I get from riding this horse is unbelievable, and I use one word to describe what I’m trying to achieve - harmony…when you see the great riders with harmony then it is poetry in motion!”

Chinese team

The Chinese team slipped from fourth to seventh, but pathfinder Alex Hua Tian is sitting in individual bronze spot with Don Geniro going into cross country day. The 31-year-old made history when becoming the first Chinese athlete to compete in Olympic Eventing at the Beijing Games in 2008 at the age of 18. And, based in Cheshire in England since 2013, he took individual silver at the Asian Games in Incheon (KOR) in 2014 before finishing eighth individually at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. 

He’ll be hoping to hang on to that bronze medal spot at the end of tomorrow’s cross country contest. As today’s dressage phase came to an end, Great Britain’s Oliver Townend was in silver medal position behind Jung who is chasing down his third consecutive individual gold. 

But all the athletes are a little in awe of the cross country challenge that course designer Derek di Grazia (USA) has set for them.

Fantastic

“The ground is fantastic and the fences are beautiful, like at every Olympic Games the presentation you cannot question. It’s a proper challenge, and I don’t mean just with the height of the fences”, Andrew Hoy said. “The layout of the course, the flow - it’s going to be a challenge to get the time. But I’m sitting on one of the greatest cross country horses in the world and we’ve got a wonderful relationship and I believe it’s achievable, but only time will tell!”

“It feels like a proper three-phase test to us this time, mainly because of what Derek has done it’s going to be a good competition for us all”, Tim Price said.

Germany’s Michael Jung is feeling super-confident, partly because his team has such a good draw. “We have a very good start position”, he said. “Our first rider is number 14, so before she (Julia Krajewski) goes, some nice information will have come through which we can use. You need a lot of luck with the weather and other things you can’t control, but definitely it’s good if you start towards the end.”

As German anchorman he has a great draw himself, going second-last in the field of 61.   

Facts and Figures: 

There was one withdrawal from today’s second day of dressage - Katrin Khoddam-Hazrati from Austria.

Lara de Liedekerke-Meer from Belgium, who competed in yesterday’s first day of Eventing dressage, has also withdrawn.

61 horse-and-rider combinations will tackle Derek di Grazia’s cross country track at Sea Forest tomorrow morning.

Quotes:

Tim Price NZL - Talking about his horse Vitali - “He’s had to do everything right and he’s 95% done that since last year when I first sat on him to now, otherwise I wouldn’t be here. I’m very confident in him but it’s a short time in terms of partnership, because that’s one of the key things on display at the Olympics is the partnership between horse and rider and how they can rely on each other. I’m very confident with him, he’s a very genuine guy and I feel very comfortable on him.”

Michael Jung GER - Talking about his horse Chipmunk - “He’s a very powerful horse but very nice to ride cross country, this helps a lot, you don’t need too much preparation before the fence. The time is very tough tomorrow so you need good communication with your horse. In the end they have to listen and you need to be focused and to concentrate.”. 

Andrew Hoy AUS - Talking about the evolution of the sport of Eventing - “We are light years ahead of where we were when I started out. I rode my first championship in 1978 and it’s changed immensely, I believe for the good. In my lifetime I’ve looked at some of the changes and totally disagreed, but now I’m at the stage - if there’s a change I think about what I have to do to be there. It’s not about fighting change, it’s about working with change.”

Boyd Martin USA - Talking about his test that didn’t go to plan - “Thomas (Tsetserleg TSF) has been so good in the dressage for years….some great moments and some disastrous. You come here hoping to give a personal best. Cross country tomorrow is so difficult it’s so hard to get the time but I think we (Team USA) are in with a chance if we can deliver three good rounds cross country with three good seasoned horses that are older and experienced. We’ve nothing to lose by going out there and giving it a crack!”

Results here  https://tokyo2020.live.fei.org/

 

World number one, Oliver Townend, gave the British team the best possible start when taking the individual lead as the Dressage phase kicked off equestrian Eventing at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Baji Koen today.

Going second in the first of today’s two sessions, with a further 20 horse-and-rider combinations to go tomorrow morning, the 38-year-old athlete who is a triple European team gold medallist, produced what he described as “a very safe test” for a score of 23.6 with the Irish-bred grey, Ballaghmor Class.

Team-mate, Laura Collett, then backed that up with a score of 25.80 for overnight fourth place individually with London 52, but she wasn’t overly pleased with her own performance. “He’s been phenomenal all year and I was aiming for (a score of) 21/22. This year he’s been very close to Ballaghmor Class, but unfortunately it didn’t come off today”, said the rider who, with the same horse, won the CCI5*-L at Pau, France last October. 

However her result was plenty good enough to secure pole position for her country this evening.

Leaderboard

It’s a fascinating leaderboard with two-thirds of the dressage competitors now completed. Lying second are Team Sweden, with the hosts from Japan in third and China in fourth place. Few would have expected Germany to be lying fifth and New Zealand, France, Switzerland, USA and Australia stacking up behind them in the field of 15 nations.

A brilliant ride by China’s Alex Hua Tian with Don Geniro brought him closest to Townend’s leading score when putting 23.90 on the board for individual second place while Germany’s Julia Krajewski and Amande de B’Neville lie third on 25.20.

The short action-packed dressage test, specially created for these Olympic Games, takes just 3.5 minutes to complete and, underlining the quality of the field, a total of seven combinations scored below 30 during this morning’s first session. Three more joined that elite group as the day progressed and amongst them was India’s Fouad Mirza riding the experienced 15-year-old gelding Seigneur that competed so successfully for Germany’s Bettina Hoy. “I’m so lucky to ride such a great horse, he’s a gentleman in every sense, kind and honest”, said the athlete who is only the third rider from his country to compete in Olympic Eventing.

Overnight there were some changes to the teams, with both Australia’s Stuart Tinney (Leporis) and Ireland’s Cathal Daniels (Rioghan Rua) withdrawing. Tinney has been replaced by Kevin McNab (Don Quidam) and Daniels by Austin O’Connor (Colorado Blue).

Pressure

Townend said he wasn’t bothered by the pressure of being second into the arena and first to ride for his country. “It wouldn’t be my chosen job in life to be pathfinder but at the same time the first bit is out of the way and he’s (Ballaghmor Class) done a very commendable job. So fingers crossed we keep the work up over the next three or four days and see where we end up”.

There is a lot of talk about the course at Sea Forest where the cross-country phase will take place early on Sunday morning.

“It’s very intense”, Townend said about the track designed by America’s Derek di Grazia. “You’re always on the climb or camber or in the water, or in a combination. The questions are extremely fair, it’s very horse friendly, and if you took each fence individually there wouldn’t be too many problems but at the same time when you add the heat, the terrain, the Olympic pressure and then speed on top of that, it’s going to be causing a lot of trouble and it’s going to be very difficult to get the time.

“Derek is a horseman to start with, and I think he’s a special, talented man at the job. He wants the horses to see where they are going, there’s no tricks out there. Derek doesn’t try to catch horses out, he builds very see-able questions and lets the terrain and the speed do the job for him”, Townend added.

Quotes: 

Doug Payne USA (lying 21st): “We prepped at Tryon and to me this course feels a lot like there, lots of turn backs…”

Germany’s Julia Krajewski (lying 3rd): Talking about her mare Amande de B’Neville  - “She’s a real galloping machine and a great jumper, she’s always willing to perform and especially this year after Sam (Samurai du Thot, her team silver medal winning horse at Rio 2016 Olympic Games) got seriously ill, it felt as if she really stepped up. Sometimes I think it’s when they feel they are the number one in the stable that they step up then!”

Philip Dutton USA (lying 12th) - Talking about Sunday’s cross-country course:  “I’ll spend tomorrow getting to know the course well so I can shave off every second I can and figure out how close I can get to the jumps before I steady up, really get to know it well. It’s a course you have to understand, you have to keep thinking ahead before the next combination comes up.

Kevin McNab AUS (lying 18th) - Kevin was called onto the Australian team when Stuart Tinney had to withdraw - “Unfortunately one of those sports where it does happen, I’m sorry for Stuart but it’s great to be here and there’s such a wealth of knowledge between the team that I’m lucky to be making my debut with them.”

Victoria Scott-Legendre RSA (lying 37th) - Talking about the challenges of competing in her home country - “We are lucky enough to have some really nice venues in South Africa that have wild animals on the property and I’ve had a dressage test where a herd of zebra have come through and there are a couple of places where some giraffe have popped over the trees - the horses really are quite spooky with that, they do a 360 and off we go!”

Results here  

 

The state-of-the-art Veterinary Clinic at Baji Koen Equestrian Park, specially built for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, is fully equipped to ensure that all onsite equine athletes have access to world-class veterinary facilities.

The Japan Racing Association (JRA), owner of the Baji Koen facility, has invested in a complete refurbishment of the entire venue used for the Olympic equestrian events in 1964. This includes construction of the brand new Veterinary Clinic and stables, providing an unprecedented post-Games legacy for both the racing and equestrian sport community in Japan.

Staffed with a mix of domestic and international world leading professionals specialised in advanced veterinary medicine, the Clinic offers both routine and emergency services, treatment boxes for use by team veterinarians and physiotherapists, a clinical pathology laboratory for blood count and biochemistry analysis, a fully stocked pharmacy, radiography and ultrasound scanning, and – if needed – ultramodern hi-tech surgery facilities.

A veterinary ambulance service is accessible around the clock and emergency veterinary clinical services are available 24/7.

Stringent biosecurity measures to prevent any possible contamination are in place across the entire Equestrian venue, and are at an even higher level for all veterinary facilities, including the horse ambulances.

"In 2016 the JRA demolished the former veterinary clinic here at Baji Koen and built these fabulous facilities so that we can provide optimal care for the Olympic and Paralympic horses during the Games. And it has a double benefit as a great investment for the future”, said Tokyo 2020 Veterinary Service Manager Dr Hiroko Aida, who is also a leading veterinarian at the JRA. “The veterinary surgeons we have onsite are some of the best in the world and it is a real honour to be a part of this team."

Sea Forest Veterinary Clinic

A second Veterinary Clinic has been set up onsite at Sea Forest Cross Country Course (SFC). This temporary facility is in place especially for the cross country, the second of three tests in the Equestrian Eventing discipline at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. The SFC Veterinary Clinic will be fully operational throughout the stay of the Eventing horses at Sea Forest from the night of 31 July to post-competition on 1 August.

It’s the turn of the world’s best Eventing athletes to stand under the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games spotlight over the next few days as all but one of the horses presented at this morning’s horse inspection at Baji Koen Equestrian Park were confirmed for action by the Ground Jury.

The Polish reserve combination of Jan Kaminski and Jard have been called up because Pawel Spisak’s gelding, Banderas, did not get through. Meanwhile Castle Larchfield Purdy, competed by Lauren Billys from Puerto Rico, was sent to the holding box but was subsequently declared fit to compete. Canada’s Jessica Phoenix did not present her gelding Pavarotti, so the number of starters in the opening Dressage phase has been reduced from 65 to 63. 

First 

First into the arena tomorrow morning at 08.30 local time will be Thailand’s Arinadtha Chavatanont with Boleybawn Prince. The pair were on the bronze medal winning team at the Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia in 2018. It’s a history-making moment because both Thailand and China are fielding an Olympic Eventing team for the very first time.

Also making his mark, and elegantly turned out this morning, is the first-ever Eventing athlete to represent Hong Kong, Thomas Heffernan Ho who will partner the stallion Tayberry.

There will be two sessions of Dressage tomorrow and another on Saturday morning before the horses are transported for a sleepover at Sea Forest in Tokyo Bay where the Cross-Country phase will take place early on Sunday morning. They return to Baji Koen that afternoon and on Monday the final Jumping phase will decide the team and individual medals.

New test

A brand new Olympic Dressage test, taking just under four minutes to complete, will be performed for the very first time, and second to go tomorrow morning will be world number one Oliver Townend with Ballaghmor Class. The British rider will be aiming to put as much pressure as possible on reigning individual double-champion Michael Jung from Germany who will be second-last to go on Saturday morning with Chipmunk. France will be defending the team title.

There’s a 40-year gap between the oldest athlete in the field, 62-year-old Andrew Hoy from Australia, and the youngest, 22-year-old Lea Siegl from Austria. Every one of them will be hoping to hog the Olympic limelight, and you can keep up with all the results live at this link

Tears and cheers as von Bredow-Werndl takes individual gold

by Louise Parkes

Everything about the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games has been a journey into the unknown. But there was a ring of familiarity combined with spirit of great sport when Germany’s Jessica von Bredow-Werndl claimed the Individual Dressage title with the lovely mare TSF Dalera at Baji Koen Equestrian Park tonight where compatriot Isabell Werth had to settle for silver and Great Britain’s Charlotte Dujardin took the bronze. It was the perfect end to four fabulous days of competition in this first of the three Olympic equestrian disciplines.

The new champion was always on song, throwing down the biggest score in the opening Grand Prix and then setting a new Olympic record in yesterday’s Grand Prix Special to secure the team title for her country. Tonight she produced another performance that oozed such class and elegance that once she left the arena, with a score of 91.732 on the board, it seemed impossible she could be beaten.

But the game is never over until its over, and the tension and emotions in the closing stages were extreme. Of four remaining combinations still left to take their turn, three of them were a real threat, and as she was trying to engage in a post-competition media interview Von Bredow-Werndl’s eyes were glued to the nearby screen, because, third-last to go, her compatriot Isabell Werth was in the ring.

Longtime legend

Werth is a longtime legend with more Championships and Olympic medals in her trophy cabin than any other equestrian athlete. Never the shrinking violet, she is not used to playing second fiddle to her own team-mates and with her much-loved mare Bella Rose she produced one of her typically spellbinding performances that kept onlookers glued to every move. However when her score of 89.675 was posted Von Bredow-Werndl burst into tears and fled back to the stables, overcome by the possibility that Olympic gold was now within reach.

Second-last to go was defending double Olympic champion Charlotte Dujardin from Great Britain, but not with the now-retired superstar Valegro with whom she dominated the sport in recent years but instead with a 10-year-old gelding who knows nothing about the world. 

Von Bredow-Werndl’s mare took team gold at the FEI World Equestrian Games in Tryon, USA in 2018 and individual bronze at the European Championships in Rotterdam, The Netherlands the following year. Werth’s mare is a veteran of two World Championships in which she medalled and also those Europeans where she also took gold. On the other hand Dujardin’s little chestnut, Gio, had previously only ever competed at one international show, at Hagen in Germany in April. Unaware of the level of exposure he was now getting however, the little chestnut gave his all for a score of 88.543 which put him in bronze medal position.

Only the last of the German riders, Dorothee Schneider, could change the podium places now and under normal circumstances she might well have ensured it was an all German one but it didn’t happen when her horse, Showtime, was right off form. 

Spectacular

Talking about the spectacular ride she enjoyed on Dalera tonight that earned the coveted gold, Von Bredow-Werndl said, “I felt from the very first second to the last the she was 100% with me - listening so well that I had to be careful not to do too much or too little!” She’s been riding the 14-year-old mare for many years now, but she’s had a new level of belief in their potential since producing a great performance at the 2019 European Championships.

“We didn’t have such a lucky start in the Grand Prix or the Special there, but in the Freestyle we showed that anything is possible and from then on I began believing the Olympic dream could come true”. Now it has…

Meanwhile silver medallist Werth was asked what it was like to no longer be the number one German rider, and replied with her usual usual wisdom. “If you follow the results of the last 30 years I have not always been number one, it has been up and down all the time and I’m happy today because Bella felt fantastic. This was a tough sporting competition and that’s what we all want to have and love to have. You can’t have ten winners, you can only have one, that is sport”, she pointed out.

Dujardin meantime, who in winning her sixth medal has overtaken rower, Dame Katherine Grainger, to become Great Britain’s most decorated female Olympian of all time, was delighted with her bronze. And she was thrilled with her little wonderhorse. 

“I was never going down without a fight but Pumpkin (Gio) has only done one other Freestyle in his life and for him to go out there with as little experience as he has is truly outstanding. We never did this floorplan before and he didn’t know what he was doing and I didn’t know what I was doing but we just went out to have a really good time and enjoy ourselves, and we did that. I’m really proud of him”, she said.

Facts and Figures:

Today’s Individual silver in the Freestyle has brought the total number of Olympic medals won by Germany’s Isabell Werth to 12. She has won 6 team golds, 1 individual gold and 5 individual silver medals, going all the way back to the Olympic Games in Barcelona in 1992.

Werth was the last German rider to take the Individual Olympic title, with Gigolo at the 1996 Games in Atlanta, USA.

An analysis of the scores over the four days of Dressage competition at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games shows the number of 10s awarded to the top three riders as follows:

Jessica von Bredow-Werndl/Dalera    -  81

Isabell Werth/Bella Rose                 -  66

Charlotte Dujardin/Gio                     -   8

Quotes:

Jessica von Bredow-Werndl GER (Gold): “I was so nervous when Isabell rode…when I heard her result I just had to cry…it was very emotional”.

Charlotte Dujardin GBR (Bronze): “My journey with Valegro was a life-changing experience and to find another Valegro is near enough impossible. But I’m incredibly proud to have another horse here at the Olympic Games that I bought as a 5-year-old, trained him up and took two medals here - it’s incredible to achieve that.

Coming here we really didn’t know what to expect. Gio is a horse with very little experience, that is only the second Freestyle he’s ever done. To come to each Olympics and medal team and individually every time - I did it twice with Valegro and to come with a new dance partner, very inexperienced and very young, and come away with two medals again - I couldn’t be prouder!”

Sabine Schut-Kery USA who finished fifth, when asked how it feels to have become an overnight sensation due to her performances with Sanceo: “It makes me a little bit like I want to crawl into a hole! I don’t really know what to do with it.”

Sabine Schut-Kery USA when asked about her horse’s performance tonight and her accompanying musical score: “Sometimes they have an extra little edge and maybe that wasn’t quite there tonight, and because I wasn’t as polished in the floorplan because I hadn’t ridden it I think I was not as fluid and I was in his way. He was not tired he was just a little more edgy the other two nights. 

About her music: “It was created by my husband Kristian Kery. The first song is from the movie The Last Samurai and I just love it because I think movie music is meant to bring certain emotion to you, so I love that style of music - it resembles Sanceo, a little bit dramatic but not too much!”

Results here  https://tokyo2020.live.fei.org/

TOKYO 2020 OLYMPIC GAMES - Dressage Day 3

Tonight’s victory for Germany in the Dressage team event at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games will go down in the history books. For the last 27 years the country that has long been the cradle of classical horsemanship has been all but unbeatable at this level of the sport, and despite the disruption and confusion of the last 18 months right across the globe they reigned supreme once again ahead of Team USA in silver and Great Britain in bronze.

There were mixed reviews for the new team format which separates athletes into groups and reduces team numbers to three, with all scores to count. But there was no denying the increased intensity and excitement it created in tonight’s deciding Grand Prix Special. While the Germans came out clear champions, the battle for silver and bronze was a thriller to the very end.

And a new star was born. Germany’s Jessica von Bredow-Werndl stole the show with the new Olympic Grand Prix Special score of 84.666 with the mare Dalera, and team-mate Isabell Werth posted 83.298 with a beautiful performance from her beloved Bella Rose after Dorothee Schneider and Showtime set out the German stall when putting 80.086 on the board. However a relatively unknown American produced the third-best score of today’s super-hot competition that decided the fate of the team medals.

Sabine Schut-Kery and Sancero have rocketed onto the world stage.

Set for silver

Great Britain looked set for silver in the early stages after Carl Hester and En Vogue posted 78.344, while it seemed Denmark and the USA were locked into a game of cat-and-mouse for the bronze. But the Americans couldn’t have been more rock solid, Adrienne Lyle’s 76.109 with Salvino giving them a firm basis on which to build before Steffen Peters and Sussenkasper backed that up with 77.766.

Cathrine Dufour and Bohemian were the last pair to go for Denmark, but 77.720 wouldn’t be enough to keep her country in the race, especially when America’s Schut-Kery followed with an incredible 81.596. That just knocked the Danes right out of contention and suddenly the British were under threat for their silver medal spot too. It would take a big score from Charlotte Dujardin and Gio to keep Britain out in front after Lottie Fry’s 76.894 with Everdale.

And although Dujardin’s inexperienced chestnut gelding did his best, his 79.544 just wouldn’t be enough.

Meanwhile last to go, von Bredow-Werndl strutted to a score of 84.666 to put the icing on the German cake. And that was despite a whoopsie in the one-tempis when her mare needed a toilet break. As von Bredow-Werndl said afterwards it was just another day at the office for the lovely, talented Dalera. “It didn’t feel difficult actually, for her it all seems to be easy!”

Dominant

 Werth was asked about her expectations coming to Tokyo in light of the long and dominant German record at Olympic Games. “We are long enough in this sport to know that one horse can make a difference, and one situation can make a difference, especially when you are only three on a team and you have no reserve. We came with a lot of self-confidence because we knew if we bring our performance in the arena like we can then it would be really hard to beat us, but you never know. One bad day or a sick horse or after such a long trip everything is possible”, she replied.

That’s one more gold medal for the German superwoman who, as former Eventing star/turned commentator Lucinda Green pointed out on Sunday night, is wearing riding boots that been around a while and seen a lot of action….

“I’ve had them since 1991 and I’ve worn them at every Championship since then - they are my lucky boots!”, the German superstar admitted. That’s 30 years of service, with many golden moments along the way, and Lady Luckyboots may well be about to make more history.

Today brought her Olympic gold medal tally to seven, and if Werth can add one more in tomorrow’s much-anticipated Freestyle for the Individual title then she will match the German record set by rower, Birgit Fischer, who has won 8 gold and 4 silver Olympic medals during her sparkling career.

 Facts and Figures:

Germany first won team gold at the Olympic Games in Amsterdam (NED) in 1928, with a three-man team of Carl Freiherr von Langen (Draufganger), Hermann Linkenbach (Gimpel) and Eugen Freiherr von Lotzbeck (Caracalla).

Germany were the defending champions coming to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and two of tonights winning team members were in the side that reigned supreme at the Rio 2016 Games -. Dorothee Schneider riding the same horse, Showtime and Isabell Werth riding her other great mare Weihegold.

Quotes:

 Isabell Werth (GER) - “I expected higher scores but it is like it is. She (Bella Rose) was more tense on the first day, already in good shape but more tense and I had to deal a bit with her temperament. That’s on one hand her advantage, she’s 17 but also you could say she is 12. She wants to go and sometimes her temperament needs time to cope with the situation and the atmosphere. Today she was so relaxed and super.

I love this horse and I hope she loves me too. She is a gift!”

Charlotte Dujardin (GBR) - ‘I went in there to do best I could and I’m absolutely thrilled with Pumpkin (Gio) because that’s the second time he’s gone through that Grand Prix Special, we’ve had very little shows to compete in this year, he is only 10 years old and with not a lot of experience at all and the last few days he’s really tried his heart out and I can’t really ask for more than that. This might look like bronze but for me and my horse it feels like a gold medal”.

Carl Hester (GBR) - “The feeling I had before we came here was that it was going to be a very different and very difficult Olympics and wasn’t going to be any fun, but it’s been an amazing experience….Charlotte and I work together, the horses have brought up at home from an early age and we are excited about them.We’ll see how they travel back home and where we’ll go next. There’s a Europeans (Championship) in six weeks so we’ll see how they are when we get back and go from there”.

Steffen Peters (USA) after completing his test with Sussenkasper: “I’m more than delighted, I did exactly what i wanted for my team, it’s one thing to ride individually but when you pull a good score for your team it’s really special. I cried when I came out, gave Mopsie a big hug, and just thanked him from the bottom of my heart. He did it for me when it really counted. It’s an incredible feeling when an animal fights for you like that”.

Carl Hester (GBR) talking about his ride on En Vogue - “It was cool. He is very nervous and I’ve struggled with his nerves…if I ride him too forward he’s too tense and if I don’t give enough he makes a lot of mistakes. It’s the old cliche, he came here as a boy and he’s gone in there like a man tonight! He’s done everything I asked”.

Adrienne Lyle (USA) talking about her ride on Salvino - “I’m super-thrilled, I was really hoping we could pull that score off for the team today, we were a little conservative in the Grand Prix, it wasn’t our most great display so I really wanted to come out here and push for a bit more and despite the heat and humidity he was a really good boy, he delivered, no mistakes which is what you want for the team test, and now it’s up to the other team-mates to go out there and be just as strong!

I’ve been riding him for six years, he’s the most amazing horse, we’ve been to a World Games, to a World Cup, we’ve been all around the world together and he always digs deep when he has to. He’s always got my back!”

Results here

Germany’s Mathias Westendarp claimed the Individual Young Rider title, Great Britain’s Ava Vernon topped the Juniors and Hungary’s Gyula Szuhal Jr. was crowned Children’s champion at the FEI European Championships 2021 for Young Riders, Juniors and Children which drew to a close at Herdade da Comporta in Vilamoura (POR) yesterday.

But in the battle for the Team medals, Belgium secured an incredible hat-trick of wins in all three categories.

Juniors

The Junior Team title was the first to be confirmed when “the fantastic five” led by Rik Deraedt, who has been Chef d’Equipe for more than 10 years, claimed the honours for Belgium. Bart Jay Jr. Vandecasteele (Mac Jack Courtier), Aurelia Guisson (No Limit), Anthony Philippaerts (J’Adore ven het Schaeck), Tristan Guisson (Naturelle) and Evelyne Putters (Uith de Rotes) completed on a final score of 9.83. 

Silver medal spot went to Switzerland’s Linus Hanselman (Walk for Me), Noah Keller (Julia’s Diamond Princess), Geraldine Strauman (Silver Surfer), Thibault Keller (Badaboum One) and Gaetan Joliat (Verone de Hus Z) who finished with 14.98 on the board. And team bronze went to Great Britain’s Ava Vernon (Jolie Fleur), Amelie Gachoud (The Precious One), Claudia Moore (Hardesther), Oliver Fletcher (Hello William) and Lila Bremner (Memphis VD Vaart) whose final scoreline showed 16.56.

Ireland’s Tom Wachman and Fireball were leading the Individual rankings ahead of Britain’s Vernon and Alice Laine from France going into Saturday’s finale. But a fence down in the third round of competition proved costly for Wachman who had to settle for fifth place in the final analysis, behind Laine in fourth. 

It was a close-fought battle for the podium placings, with Vernon clinching gold on a score of 4.39 while Belgian siblings, Tristan and Aurelia Guisson, took silver and bronze on 4.4 and 4.6 respectively.

Young Riders

And then the Belgians won the Young Riders Team title. Thibeau Spits (Classic Touch), Emilie Conter (Balento CS), Maartje Verberckmoes (Guidam’s Willow the Second), Alexander Housen (Casillas van de Helle) and Thibeau Philippaerts (Khan vd Kattevennen Z) racked up a total of 21.35 for gold while Ireland’s Jack Ryan (BBS McGregor), Sean Monaghan (Dalvaro), Harry Allen (Guinness), Jason Foley (Clyde VA) and Kayleigh Soden (Ard Leaderman) took silver on 23.56.

Jodie Hall McAteer (Kimosa), Lily Attwood (Karibou Horta), Siena Charles (Ornellaia), Jack Whitaker (Scenletha) and Robert Murphy (Highcross Violet) clinched bronze for Great Britain on 28.72. Whitaker, son of British Jumping legend Michael Whitaker, was lying second in the Individual rankings going into the final day behind Germany’s Mathias Westendarp with his gelding Stalido in pole position while in bronze at this stage was Russia’s Igor Schibrik who produced some great jumping with his 10-year-old gelding Cornet’s Spirit.

However in Sunday’s Individual Final Schibrik slipped to fifth, and it was team gold medallist Emilie Conter from Belgium who stood on the third step of the podium while Whitaker held on to silver medal spot and Westendarp stood firm for the gold.

Children

The French side of Dan Eschmann (Valdiva Frivole), Margaux Chereau (Vidocq de Paline), Timothee Goffinet (Valserine du Bois), Lana Messina (Quactus du Leon) and Cassandre Roquain (Balzane des Roches) were top of the Children’s leaderboard after Friday’s second competition. However they dropped to equal-fourth with Ireland the following day which allowed the second-placed Belgians to rise to the top.

Estee Bomere (History van’t Ameldonk Z), Yari van den Branden (Gerard), Nikita van der Meerschen (Impressario), Seppe Wouters (Porthos Maestro) and Brent de Schrijver (LIV Good vd Kattevennen Z) won through on their total of four faults. Silver went to Italy’s Vittoria Callabro (Abete), Giovanni Vincoli (Qitana VDV), Angelica Francesca Pellicari (Vasco vd Jukschot Z), Nicolo Paolo Monari (Touch d Arrogance) and Maria Ilaria Grilli (Saetta del Terricio) who finished with eight.

And Great Britain took the bronze when Tabitha Kyle (Desterly), Emily Fisher (Heedestar), Madison Seedhouse (Emara Giguellerie Z), Noora von Bulow (Lucky Lisa) and Eve McCoy (Non Stop) posted a final tally of 11.

Exciting finish

The Children’s Individual Final was the most exciting finish of the week when coming down to a five-way jump-off to decide the medals. Finland’s Hugo Kogelnig riding Vermont 2 galloped home in a fast time of 30.72 seconds, but Hungary’s Gyula Szuhai Jr. riding Perthy Jackson snatched away the gold when crossing the line in 30.43. Switzerland’s Lou Puch and Vitalhorse Un Amour La Goula collected eight faults to slot into fifth place and there was the closest contest for bronze between Belgium’s Seppe Wouters and Czech Republic’s Anna Marie Vitek (Chacco’s Amke) who both had a single fence down and were separated by just over half a second on the clock, Vitek getting the medal-winning edge.

Jean Jacques Mathis, Belgian Chef D ́Equipe for the Pony and Children categories, was “happy and amazed by the rare, if not unique, result achieved” by his athletes. And he could be proud that many of the competitors on the Young Riders team were also coached by him earlier in their careers.

Rik Deraedt, Belgian Chef d ́Equipe for Juniors and Young Riders, talked about the great team spirit in the Belgian camp and the level of talent that shows so much promise for the future.

Results here