While the elimination of Marcus Orlob’s ride, Jane, for a tiny cut on her fetlock was the biggest news as the Olympic dressage competition got under way in Paris (click here to read the story), the big picture of the discipline there was quite compelling.
In his seventh Olympics, Carl Hester headlined for the British team on Fame, earning 77.345 percent. He was chuffed, as the British say, meaning they are delighted.
“It’s a good score. The horse went really well. I haven’t competed for a few months, I’ve got some more tweaking to do,” said Carl, who is bent on qualifying for the Freestyle so he can ride to his new music, saying its character reflects his age, which is 57. By Sunday, he said, he’ll be ready to “step on the gas and go for it” with “one of the most fun horses of my career.”
He was third, not very far behind Denmark’s Nanna Skodborg Merrald on Zepter (78.028) and the Netherlands’ Dinja van Liere with Hermes (77.764).
Nanna Skodborg Merrald of Denmark and Zepter.
Nanna mused, “I think I had a really good solid test without big mistakes but also plenty of room for improvement. I think in my changes I couldn’t have done a lot better, but in piaffe-passage and the pirouettes there’s still room for asking for more.”
Cooling stations for horses were set up across the venue as temperatures soared well into the 90s, but despite the heat, there was a packed house for dressage, as there had been for eventing on Monday. Carl was glad to see it.
He believes that indicates, “There is hope equestrian can survive (in the Olympics. There are huge amount of people enjoying it. We have to show the positives of the sport.”
Carl well knows that horse sport is under fire, because he is the mentor of Charlotte Dujardin, who became the center of a viral scandal when a video emerged days before the Games of her using a longe whip to hit a horse repeatedly during a lesson at a private stable. As a result, Charlotte bowed out of the Games, where she was to have ridden on the British team. Her presence (if there were no scandal) would have given her country a chance of edging Germany for the gold medal. Without her, that outcome seems unlikely.
Carl Hester and Fame. (Photo Jon Stroud Media)
“I think now we’re probably looking at bronze, if it goes well,” Carl mused, noting reserve rider Becky Moody was thrown into the fray with 17.3-hand Jagerbomb in the absence of Charlotte. Becky did well, earning 74.938 percent, ahead of Sweden’s World Cup Champion Patrik Kittel on Showdown (74.317).
Becky called riding her own horse in the Olympics, “An amazing experience. What a horse! He is so special to me. I bred him, so we have done everything together.
“I think we both went in there a little nervous and apprehensive, but we helped each other out,” said the former Pony Clubber. She is now qualified for the Freestyle along with Patrik, Nanna, Dinja, Fredric Wandres of Germany and Daniel Bachmann Andersen of Denmark. Carl is first on the waiting list for the six extra places, with the rest of the field yet to ride on Wednesday.
“I’m just so proud of him,” said Becky.
“It’s an incredible venue and we’ve got an incredible team around us.”
Becky Moody of Great Britain with her homebred Jagerbomb. (Photo Jon Stroud Media)
Team spirit is important, as the margin is very close after day one of competition among Denmark (154.938), Britain (152.238) and Sweden (145.870). The Dutch are also a big threat. Only the top 10 teams among 15 nations (now 14, since the U.S. was eliminated, read the Orlob story) move on to compete for the medals in the Grand Prix Special on Saturday. But the scores are indicative of what’s ahead.
“We’ve got to fight for any medal now,” Carl noted, then mentioned that World Champion Lottie Fry is still to come for Britain on Wednesday in part two of the Grand Prix with Glamourdale, whose long stride just eats up the ground.
The FEI has suspended Charlotte and is investigating the situation depicted in the video. It is a real concern for many reasons, but also under the current situation of social license to operate, which seeks public approval for the sport. Dressage has come under criticism with several public instances of problem training practices, though none is higher profile than Charlotte.
Carl was unaware of the existence of the video — calling it “a huge shock” — before a lawyer made it public on behalf of a whistleblower. Carl has concern for Charlotte, Britain’s multi-gold medalist, who trains at his barn.
“I’ve known her for 17 years. She’s a mom, she’s got a small child and she’s paid very heavily for this in a way you just wouldn’t believe. I know she will have to accept what the FEI gives her, and she will. I hope she’s strong enough to come back from that,” he said.
Carl noted he had never before seen what she was doing on the video. At the same time, he mentioned she has apologized and “she’s surrounded by people trying to help her. She obviously accepts what she did, which she had to do, and I’m glad she’s done that. It’s four years ago,” he said of the date of the video, though it actually appears to be two-and-a-half years ago.
“People do make mistakes. What do we do, never forgive people for all the things that happen in life? it’s going to be a long road for her…and everyone in the horse world.”
“We’re all in shock,” commented Carl, who is on the board of the International Dressage Riders Club, which condemned the whipping. For his part, Carl emphasized, he has an open yard (stable) “where people can see horse welfare to be at its highest by the way I keep my horses.”
click here for team results. Click here for individual results.