Ashley Holzer and Hansel are being considered for the U.S. Olympic dressage team after finishing fourth in the 3-star Grand Prix Special at Hagen, Germany, this month with a mark of 72 percent, behind second place Steffen Peters with Suppenkasper (72.660) and ahead of fifth-place Adrienne Lyle on Helix (71.979).
The Special will determine the team medals at the Paris Games this summer.
Although she was tenth, rather than in the top eight in the original rankings for the Games, and therefore not part of the official U.S. Equestrian Federation trip to Europe this spring, Ashley traveled abroad anyway with P.J. Rizvi’s horse. It paid off in her being added on Friday to the short list. The team will be announced on June 25. Hansel is a KWPN gelding (Blue Hors Don Olymbrio X Metall). His original name was In Design.
In the Hagen Grand Prix before the Special, Ashley, an Olympic veteran, was eighth with a score of 71.456 percent. Steffen, who has led the U.S. rankings all along, was third on 72.869 percent.
Ashley and Hansel were named to the U.S. team for the Rotterdam dressage Nations Cup next week, where she will compete alongside another short-listed rider, Katherine Bateson-Chandler and Haute Couture.
The others on the short list include Adrienne, who has Lars van de Hoenderheide in addition to Helix; Endel Otts with Zen Elite’s Bohemian; Marcus Orlob and Jane, the mare he began riding only this spring; Anna Buffini (Fiontini); and Anna Marek (Fire Fly).