The U.S. gets silver with a bravura performance by Sabine Schut-Kery and Sanceo. It was the first time a civilian U.S. dressage team has taken that honor. (An army team did it in 1948). Read the live blog down to the bottom to find out how it all developed.
Here’s how it started at 4 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time: We’re watching the dressage competition where the Olympic medals happen, the Grand Prix Special at Baji Koen Equestrian Park in Tokyo.
Last weekend’s Grand Prix was an elimination round to whittle the 14 teams competing down to the eight nations eligible to contest the medals. It’s the U.S. vs. Europe: Germany (practically assured of gold barring some disaster), Great Britain, Denmark and the Netherlands, those are the most likely other team medal contenders; along with Sweden, Portugal and Spain as the supporting players. Spain, by the way, is taking advantage of the unique substitution provision of the new Olympic rules and putting in Divina Royal for the Special instead of Sorento, Jose Antonio Garcia Mena’s mount from the Grand Prix. The reason ostensibly was a veterinary concern. The switch to a fresher horse worked; Divina would be marked at 73.754 percent after her turn to go.
You’ll remember that there are three on a team, so no drop score. The riders are divided into three groups of eight. After the first two groups ride, there’s an hour break until 7:45 a.m. (so don’t think I’m quitting early when nothing new is posted during that time).The time is needed to organize the order of the last group of riders (which includes the USA’s top scorer, Sabine Schut-Kery on Sanceo). Riders in that group will be assigned start times based on the standing of their nation to that point in the competition.
For the first time, riders may choose the music that accompanies their ride in the Special, though they are not graded on how well they follow it. In the Grand Prix, the organizers selected the music. It often was quite appropriate–an Italian rider, for instance, heard “Mambo Italiano,” while the Irish rider got an Irish reel for her performance.
The U.S. riders with scheduled times are Adrienne Lyle (Salvino) at 4:40 a.m. and Steffen Peters (Suppenkasper) at 6:15 a.m. You don’t have to get up early; I’ll keep you posted so you can check what happened when you wake. Highlights will be on NBCSN at 1 p.m.
It’s 88 degrees that the weather people say feels likes 96 degrees, as the tail end of a tropical storm (the feared typhoon didn’t happen) has departed. Everyone tried to condition themselves and their horses for the expected hot and humid weather that is typical of Japan at this time of year.
We’re under way as Severo Jurado Lopez on Fendi T starts out. He’s from last-ranked Spain, but scores from the weekend’s Grand Prix only count for ranking purposes; scores are not cumulative.
The horse was really listening to his rider and mistakes were small; over-finishing one pirouette and a bobble starting the final piaffe on centerline. It was good enough for 70.152 percent.
4:10 a.m. EDT: Next up, Maria Caetano of Portugal on Fenix di Tineo, a Lusitano with a rather short-strided walk is making his Olympic debut. He has nice power in the extended trot. This honest guy with his massive neck was really trying and got a score of 68.693.
4:30 a.m. EDT: There were big expectations for Swedish rider Antonia Ramel, but Brother de Jeu scuttled hopes in the first piaffe when he reared. The rider tried to make up for that in the rest of the test but it wound up as a 67.447 percent.
4:30 a.m. EDT: The Netherlands’ Marlies van Baalen on the Totilas son Go Legend had 71.201 percent. This horse kept moving his lips and looked as if he were muttering. I just couldn’t hear what he said….
4:40 a.m. EDT: The USA’s first rider, Adrienne Lyle, and Salvino got the job done with 76.109 percent. The second part of the canter half-pass wasn’t as textbook as the first leg, but the stallion made up for it with the rest of his test. One of the top five horses inthe world in terms of piaffe scores on his record, that came through again in a sparkling, regular, textbook fashion and the final mark was a very credible 76.109 percent.
Oh that beautiful piaffe from Adrienne Lyle and Salvino.
This is the best test of the Special so far, and a good way for the U.S. to build on its medal hopes.
Adrienne’s time at the top was short,however; next to go, Carl Hester of Great Britain on En Vogue received a mark of 78.344 percent. What a test!
5 a.m. EDT: The canter half-passes floated, the one-tempis were wonderful, making up for having missed a one-tempi in the Grand Prix on the weekend. This test looked so natural, the horse’s head carriage was perfect, a reflection of En Vogue’s relaxation..
Carl is a master, and it’s interesting that he has been riding En Vogue only for a year. Charlotte Dujardin had been in the saddle, but swtiched off in favor of Carl, though she still owns a piece of the Olympic debutante.
Carl Hester was understandably pleased by his ride on En Vogue.
5:10 a.m. EDT: But then Carl was overtaken by the next rider, Dorothee Schneider of Germany on Showtime, marked at 80.213. The horse’s head was behind the vertical at times, most notably in the final piaffe on the centerline, and he kicked out slightly in one of his first piaffes.
Dorothee rode like she meant it and really went for it in the extended canter, a place where many riders tend to be cautious.
At the end of the first group of competitors, Germany leads (no surprise) by 2.2 percent on 2,652 points, followed by Britain with 2.577.5 and the U.S. third with 2504. After that, it’s Denmark (2441.5) and the Netherlands (2345.5), with Spain and Portugal following, Sweden brings up the rear, having lost its lead rider, Patrick Kittel, when his horse had an injury. These scores will keep changing as the second group of riders goes, but I won’t post more totals until the second section ends.
Germany’s lead-off pair, Dorothee Schneider and Showtime.
6 a.m. EDT: Sweden had a good effort to bring it out of the basement from Juliette Ramel and Buriel HK, marked at 75.714.
6:10 a.m. EDT: Hans Peter Minderhoud had a strong bid for the Netherlands with Dream Boy, earning 76.353 percent to give his nation a big helping hand.
6:15 a.m.: And speaking of helping hands, a marvelous test from the USA’s Steffen Peters on Suppenkasper brought a mark of 77.766 for one of the best efforts I have ever seen from this combination. They put the U.S. into the lead, but Denmark, Britain and Germany are yet to go in this round.
You could sense the wavelength they were on, with Steffen getting everything out of “Mopsie,” who was kind and expressive, with spring in his step. His pirouettes were spot-on and well-defined, and going down the centerline at the end he was really sitting for his piaffe.
Steffen Peters knows he nailed it with Suppenkasper. (Photo courtesy of U.S. Equestrian)
“I pushed him a little bit more,” said Steffen.
“There was so much at stake today. So I risked it in the extensions more, rode the passage shorter and higher, canter extension went even more than the day before, pirouettes a little bit tighter, at least in my mind. He did exactly what I asked him to do. I appreciate that the judges saw this test was better than the Grand Prix.”
Steffen’s emphasis is on the team; he sees the individual medal as 5 percent and the team medal as 95 percent.
“It means so much that I can put in a good performance for my team, especially when you have people like Sabine and Adrienne, who are just family and fight so hard. We showed up tonight.”
6:25 a.m. EDT: With errors in the one-tempi’s, Denmark’s Carina Cassoe Kruth on Heilene’s Dancer wasn’t able to move her country ahead of the U.S. in the team standings.
6:35 a.m. EDT: Charlotte Fry of Great Britain and Everdale boosted their team over the U.S., while Isabell Werth and Bella Rose, marked at a magnificent 83.200 percent, increased Germany’s lead as the last rider in the group. Hard to believe that Isabell isn’t the German anchor, but her Grand Prix wasn’t the highest score for her country, so Jessica von Bredow-Werndl with TSF Dalera will ride anchor.
Isabel Werth and Bella Rose.
Isabell was smart not to give it all in the Grand Prix, because it only counted for qualifying eight of the 14 teams for the Special. Points aren’t cumulative, so the medals rest only on Special totals Since Tokyo is so hot, and horses have only so much to give, riders have to plan when to push most for when it counts most..
7 a.m EDT: At the end of the second rotation, Germany was on 5392 points, followed by Britain (5106) and the U.S. (5062.5), holding onto a hope for the bronze medal. Denmark follows on 4983, with the very strong Cathrine Dufour on Bohemian as anchor, which means U.S. anchor Sabine Schut-Kery with Sanceo has her work cut out for her if the U.S. is to stay in bronze position.
8:05 a.m. EDT: Rodrigo Torres of Portugal and the gray Lusitano Fogoso (great and appropriate name) impressed despite some little mistakes with a score of 74.726 percent and 9’s for piaffe. Portugal is vying with Spain and Sweden to move up from the lower ranks of the team standings and not finish in the basement.
8:15 a.m. EDT: Therese Nilshagen and Dante Weltino Old had a little break in the passage, but lovely movement by this horse and the rider’s capability resulted in a score of 75.988 percent. That puts Sweden ahead of Portugal, which will finish last in the eight-team line-up.. No shame in that; making the medal round is an achievement in itself.
8:27 a.m. EDT: Spanish national champion Beatriz Ferrer-Salat scored 74.894 on Elegance, which kept Spain ahead of eighth-place Portugal, but behind Sweden, which is sixth.
8:36 a.m. EDT: Edward Gal of the Netherlands and the 9-year-old Total US by Totilas were working on 80 percent plus, with a 10 for passage and lots of 9s. But a quick miss on a lead and then a double step and a brief stop on the centerline going home brought them down to 79.894. Remember, though, it was the horse’s first international Grand Prix Special and his fourth international test. The Dutch now stand fifth, unlikely to move up with Denmark’s Cathrine Dufour and Bohemian on deck.
8:47 a.m. EDT: Cathrine Dufour and Bohemian have so many strong points, with 9s and 10s for piaffe out of the walk, but there were a few trot steps into the canter, a low score for the first pirouette and a walk into the final halt left her with a score of 77.720 percent. That puts the U.S. in reach of bronze if Sabine Schut-Kery and Sanceo can do their ultimate. They need a minimum of 75.2 percent to clinch bronze.
8:56 a.m. EDT: And she did it! Sabine and Sanceo got 81.596 percent to clinch bronze for the U.S. Now we’ll see what happens with Britain’s Charlotte Dujardin and Gio (“Pumpkin”.). They need a score of at least 80.4 percent to keep silver for their country.
Sabine Schut-Kery and Sanceo.
9:07 a.m. EDT: Charlotte fell short. She and Gio got 79.544 after a mistake in the one-tempi’s that netted 4s and 4.5’s. So the U.S. got silver. What an exciting result for the team and Debbie McDonald, in her first Olympics as head coach (technical advisor).
And Gio is a young horse who lived up to expectations and beyond, considering his lack of experience at age 10, what with the Covid lockdown and suspension of European shows for EHV earlier this season.
It’s a remarkable success story for the U.S. to reach such heights, and a tribute to Debbie and a special group of riders. The only other Olympic silver earned in dressage by the U.S. was in 1948 in London, but that was the army team before the advent of the civilian U.S. Equestrian Team.
Last to go, Jessica von Bredow-Werndl of Germany and TSF Dalera scored 84.666 percent, despite a mistake in the beginning of the one-tempi’s. That was put in the shade by a beautifully wrought test to cement Germany’s gold medal position, the 14th time it has taken that honor in the Olympics.
We’ll see all the team members tomorrow as they go for the individual medals. The freestyle starts at 4:30 a.m. EDT, so follow along on my live blog or check it when you get up. And remember, this website was the first to report the U.S. silver, so count on it for breaking news.
