Tokyo Olympic Team Dressage Final - Grand Prix Special

Masked medalists: Olympics in Covid times

Spain, Portugal, Sweden, the Netherlands, Denmark, the United States, Great Britain, and Germany contested the team final Grand Prix Special. With every single team member scoring over 80%, there was no question that Germany deserved the gold. Their team dominated the top five, as each rider showed they could softly guide their horse through the demanding Grand Prix Special. But the surprise of the night was Sabine Schut-Kery leading the US team to a silver medal with a first-time score over 80%, supported by a solid ride from Adrienne Lyle and a personal best from Steffen Peters. For bronze, Carl Hester pulled out a top score with En Vogue, but without an 80% score from Charlotte Dujardin and Gio, they could not keep ahead of the US.

It was exciting to have the high level of competition for silver and bronze and rewarding to see the gold go to three exceptional riders from Germany.

Germany

Jessica von Bredow-Werndl & Dalera

Jessica von Bredow-Werndl didn't have a fault-free test on Dalera, but it was lovely as always and more than good enough for a German gold. In the each trot extension, Dalera moved softly and fluidly, though they could have come more under behind. Von Bredow-Werndl really pushes the mare forward from extended trot to passage, making the transitions seem easy. The passage kept and easy rhythm and had a high degree of suspension. The collected walk stayed forward, but the transition to piaffe was a little unclear. The mare springs easily between diagonal pairs in piaffe. The haunches trailed at the beginning of the first canter half-pass, but von Bredow-Werndl quickly improved it. They had an uncharacteristic error in the ones on the diagonal, but the ones on the centerline were soft and fluid. Both pirouettes had good sit, but the first one was smaller. The final extended trot had the most power and the final centerline showed off the consistent quality of their piaffe and passage.

It was funny to not have Isabell Werth and Bella Rose (83.298%) last of the day, but with her teammate in the top spot, she had to be the last of this group. She rode to what was clearly her own choice, mostly Beethoven. Bella Rose gives the impression that she barely touches the ground. The trot half-passes seemed to float sideways with plenty of crossing. The extended trots remained limited behind, but opened nicely in the frame. In passage, the mare was so lofty, but occasionally needed to come more uphill from behind. The extended walk didn't show much freedom through the back, but it was relaxed. The piaffe out of the walk was incredible, with the forward transition getting Bella Rose to truly lower her haunches. She could not achieve the same degree of sit in the second piaffe. The twos has some swing, but jumped well forward from behind; the ones were shorter. The first pirouette started quite big; the second was smaller, but did not really sit. After the canter, Bella Rose showed slightly more freedom in her body in the final extended trot. The final centerline looked effortless.

As the first riders for Germany, Dorothee Schneider (GER - 80.608%) and Showtime showed that the team was ready to take the lead. While Showtime does not lengthen his neck at all in the extended trots, each stride has so much reach. In each step of passage, Schneider asks her horse softly to think up and forward with nudges on the bit to ask him to find the contact. The passage occasionally steps more up than under behind, but is very lofty. The horse cantered into the third extended trot, which was an unfortunate error. Showtime does not show a high degree of activity in piaffe and out of collected walk, he snatched his hindlegs a bit in response to Schneider's aids. The canter half-pass right had a bit more reach to the left than to the right. The twos jump nicely forward, but the ones were not quite so fluid. Schneider rode to pick up points in the extended canter, showing that she knew she could bring her horse back for the pirouettes. Showtime got a little low in front for a few steps early in the passage, but Schneider collected it up by X for the best piaffe of the test. 

United States

Sabine Schut-Kery & Sanceo

Sabine Schut-Kery and Sanceo had a lot of weight on their shoulders with Denmark and Great Britain so close in marks, though it was lifted somewhat by a slightly weaker ride from Dufour and a good day from Peters. Not that she needed help, producing a very well-deserved personal best score to lift the US from bronze position to silver. In the trot half-pass, Sanceo really pushed up and sideways. The second extended trot was a bit cautious. In each step of passage, Schut-Kery had her horse stepping up and forward correctly into contact. The third extension was bolder. The walk work was on the tense side and the first piaffe started quite early. The piaffe itself was so correct in its rhythm and balance. In the canter half-passes, the horse reaches well in front, but is a little tighter behind the saddle. The tempis didn't have the most power from behind, but appeared clean and easy. Both pirouettes were softly controlled, but on the big side. On the final centerline, the horse kept his hindlegs so well underneath himself through the piaffe and passage.

Steffen Peters had a beautiful ride on the supple and expressive Suppenkasper (77.776%) for a personal best in the Special. This horse really swings through his body in the trot work, producing a high degree of lateral reach in the half-passes. The one down side of the Special, though, is that with the number of angles from which the judges can see the passage, it is clear that the horse gets quite wide in front to keep its balance, even as it really springs up and forward from behind. The third extended trot was absolutely enormous as well as fluid. The transition from collected walk to passage was smooth, with Peters letting the horse travel a bit forward. In the second piaffe, the horse sat more honestly with the weight on its hind legs, rather than merely closing at the base. The canter half-pass right swept sideways; the one to the right was not as supple, but still very good. The tempis were clean, but could have jumped more forward. The final centerline was expressive and soft.

Adrienne Lyle (76.109%) and Salvino scored a bit better than the Grand Prix in a test that showed off the incredible scope of this stallion's passage. Lyle knows how to start her test with a square halt. The rhythm in the trot work and passage was not consistently secure, with the horse sometimes stuggling in the transitions to find the new tempo. The freedom in front in the extended trots that Salvino has is incredible, but the horse lacks that same ability to push himself both up and forward in passage. Lyle let Salvino creep forward into the first piaffe, but he sat better in that one than the second. In the changes of bend, the passage got quite irregular. The canter work could all have shown more of a moment of suspension, though it was soft and clean. In the pirouettes, the horse lowered his haunches, though it looks like Lyle had to work to control the balance. On the final centerline in passage, Salvino showed just how high he can lift his knees.

Great Britain

Charlotte Dujardin's Gio looks so energetic in a way that makes the athleticism required for Grand Prix seem easy, though there is still room for development. Gio moved with lots of expression in front, supported by lots of energy from behind in the first extended trot, but the two after passage got a little more hurried. The passage gives the real impression of springs being compressed and released in each step, though every now and then there was a rhythm error behind. The extended walk had a correct outline, but could have shown more relaxation. Gio started piaffe very early out of walk and did not really sit in either of the first two piaffes, That being said, the transitions were well-managed. They had lovely twos, but an expensive mistake in the ones on the diagonal. The extended canter really moved forward, but needed more reach. Dujardin let the pirouettes get a little bigger to keep the activity in the canter. Dujardin kept the passage springing and together to the last halt.

Carl Hester (78.344%) guided En Vogue so softly through this test, even in moments where the horse showed some tension or insecurity. The trot half-passes had beautifully supple bend and crossing, though the one to the left was slightly more fluid. In passage, the horse takes a moment to hind his balance from collected and extended trot, but when he does his hind legs get really engaged to carry the passage forward. Hester started the first piaffe quite early. The horse still needs to take weight more genuinely behind in the movement; at the moment he lowers his croup, but still puts his weight on his front legs. There was some tension in the preparation for the twos, but they were clean. The ones were dead straight. The extended canter was conservative, perhaps to contain the horse's energy to pick up top scores for the tiny pirouettes. En Vogue's balance in the piaffe and passage was a little uncertain.

Charlotte Fry rides Everdale (76.854%) with a high degree of energy to get the maximum expression from the stallion. In the extended trot, the horse stayed short in the neck without raising and stretching his back, though the expression the stallion produced was extraordinary. In passage, Everdale could push more forward as well as up. The stallion cantered a stride in the second extended trot. The first piaffe had super rhythm and activity, but got very short in the neck. Everdale jumped together behind in the transition from passage to canter. The canter half-passes traveled easily sideways in good bend. Both lines of changes were expressive and forward. Fry got the stallion to really stride out in extended canter, but it got slightly croup-high in collection. By the final centerline, the neck was quite short and the horse couldn't bring his hind legs really underneath himself, though he still really sprang off the ground.

Denmark

Catherine Dufour and Bohemian did not have the smoothest start to their test with a wobble out of the first halt and a rather tight first extended trot, and Bohemian seemed more tense than the Grand Prix. The trot half-passes had good bend and crossed well and the passage powered up and forward. But in the extended trots down the side, the horse's tension showed. Even with a loose curb, the horse curled his lips and braced a bit. The extended walk had clear stretch and overtrack, though the nose could have come more out. The transition to the first piaffe was prompt and clean. Dufour let the second piaffe creep forward, but its spring and activity was excellent. The transition up to canter was messy and through trot. In the twos, the haunches swung a bit, but the ones on the diagonal were straighter. The extended canter was tight and cautious. The horse swapped behind at the end of the first pirouette and did not continue straight down the centerline after the second. Bohemian really lowered his croup on the final centerline in piaffe and passage, but the movements showed some tension and the horse dropped a little behind the vertical. Still, Dufour did a super job guiding the anxious Bohemian through the work.

The strength of Carina Cassøe Kruth and Heiline's Danciera (77.143%) is the rider's capacity to encourage and enable her mare to lift lightfootedly off the ground in every step of passage and every stride of extended trot, though occasionally the young horse still leans a little forward on her rider. But from the beginning of the test, the mare's tongue appeared every so slightly forward in the more forward moments of the trot work. For this reason, its rather surprising it scored almost the same as Steffen Peters' ride, even with the higher degree of expression. In the first piaffe, the mare snapped up her hindlegs instead of sitting; the second had a better balance. The springy one tempis on the diagonal had a small error behind early on and Cassøe Kruth rode eleven ones between the pirouettes. The first pirouette was sitting and tiny, while the second one got a bit bigger. The tongue appeared for a microsecond again in the final halt, just reflecting the tension the mare feels in doing the work required at this level.

Nanna Skogberg Merrald (74.201%) got the most out of the experienced Zack in this test. In the first half-pass, Merrald seemed to start in leg-yield for a few strides before establishing the bend. The extended trots are powerful, but the mouth comes quite open, distracting from the quality the horse shows. The compact Zack shines in passage, where he really pushes off the ground. The canter half-passes had good bend. The twos were excellent, as were the ones down the centerline. The extended canter showed very good ground-cover. The pirouettes were small and sitting, but the second one drifted off the centerline in the first stride. The final centerline showed more strong passage and good transitions.

Netherlands

Edward Gal benefitted from getting to show extravagant extension after extravagant extension from Total U.S. in the Special (79.894%). In passage, the horse really lifts each leg, though Gal has to really hold the young horse together and in balance with his seat and hands. The extended walk had incredible reach. Gal kept the collected walk going to G and got decent sit in the piaffe, though at his stage in development, the horse had to climb out of it. In the second piaffe, the horse snatched up its hind legs rather than sitting. The canter half-passes were super uphill. The two tempis looks quite straight and big, but the ones swung a bit and looked more labored. Like in the first piaffe, Total U.S. really sat in the first pirouette but then struggled to find a forward balance again. In the final centerline, the horse showed that with all his incredible talent, he is not quite secure in his fitness at this level, climbing a in front with the hindlegs a little behind and leaning a little on his front legs on piaffe.

Hans Peter Minderhoud showed Dream Boy (76.353%) lots of lift in the gaits, but the picture could have more a supple and easy balance and without the mouth always open. While in the extended trots, Dream Boy lifts his front end and flings his legs with less behind, he showed more potential to engage in passage, though not consistently. Dream Boy benefitted from stepping into piaffe out of walk, as it allowed him to sit more than in the second piaffe. The transition from piaffe to canter was smooth. All three lines of tempi changes were strong, really jumping uphill. The extended canter was bold, but the horse braced a bit in the collection before the change. The final centerline was springy, but the hindlegs trailed a little.

Marlies van Baalen (71.210%) really rides Go Legend from her seat, with her legs almost never touching his side, though this means to achieve passage she ends up driving him into a stronger containing hand and it would be nice to see the horse carry himself more. The trot extensions really lift in front, though the horse doesn't fully track up. The piaffe out of the collected walk took a couple steps to find its rhythm, but when it did, the horse really sat and also softened in the bridle. Go Legend's haunches really swung in the twos, though interestingly the horse still jumps well forward in each change. A couple of the ones were tight behind, both on the diagonal and on the centerline. The both pirouettes were small and maintained a good canter.

Spain

Jose Antonio Garcia Mena (73.754%) rode his reserve horse Divina Royal for the Special, since the rules allow teams to substitute for this test if needed. He presented the mare very tactfully with encouraging pats to release her tension. The passage is light off the ground, but the mare gets a little low in the bridle and open in the neck in it, with Garcia Mena having to encourage her up. The extended trots were enormously ground-covering. The mare was looking around in extended walk, so did not show the most honest stretch to the bit. Garcia Mena had a lovely collected walk to piaffe but gave just a little too much of a half halt and the mare (obediently) halted for a step before getting the message to spring into piaffe. In piaffe itself, the activity was very good. The twos were ground-covering, but the mare looked a little stressed by the effort of the ones. The pirouettes were sitting, but got slightly big. 

Beatrice Ferrer-Salat's Elegance () does not give the most supple impression, with little bend in the trot half-passes and somewhat hurried extended trots, but the picture is still harmonious. In the extensions, Ferrer-Salat held the horse together in balance, but it kept the neck shorter than it should have been. In passage, the mare really compresses in the frame to spring off the ground, though her front end could lift a little more. In piaffe, the mare started with more weight on her front legs, but Ferrer-Salat rebalanced her more on her hind end once she settled into the rhythm. The strike off into canter was uphill, but a little tense. The one-tempis were fluid. The first pirouette was small and active and sitting and the ones after were lovely, but the mare seemed to spook a little at the end of the second. The final piaffe was the best, though the transition out to passage had a double beat behind.

Severo Jurado Lopez and Fendi T were quite strong starters for the day, though the horse could show a bit better self-carriage. The trot work for this test looked slightly overridden in the rhythm, which also pushed the horse a little short in the bridle. The passage sprang well forward in each step, though was occasionally slightly unevenly engaged behind. The extended trots had good overtrack, but lacked the necessary extension of the frame. By contrast, the extended walk had good stretch. Jurado Lopex had to work quite hard to maintain the piaffe rhythm. The twos and ones were both powerful and forward. The first pirouette was excellent as were the nine one-tempis after, but the second pirouette lacked the same balance. Jurado Lopez looked like he had to work to get the final centerline, but kept it going. 

Sweden

Therese Nilshagen had a super ride on Dante Weltino (75.988%), taking some real risks their stronger movements, picking up points to make up for weaker elements, like the transitions between piaffe and passage. Dante Weltino's superb trot extensions really shine in this test. The stallion powers lightly forward by reaching way underneath himself. In passage, the right hind leg is often slightly more active. But overall the movement has a good moment of suspension and travels easily forward. Dante Weltino really anticipated the piaffe out of collected walk and Nilshagen gave the reins way forward to keep out too much tension. In the canter half-passes, the horse bends well, but does not cross over much behind. Nilshagen really rode forward boldly in the one tempis and it paid off. The extended canter showed the maximum reach in the stride and opening of the frame and still came back softly. The pirouettes got a little bit, but the horse stayed sitting.

Juliette Ramel (75.714%) looked like she had her hot gelding Buriel softer and more settled in the Special. Buriel showed a super uphill passage that pushed both forward and off the ground. The bend in the trot half-passes was limited. The extended trots powered down the long sides, again staying well uphill. The extended walk was clean, but could have showed more stretch. The piaffe out of collected walk was springy off the hind legs, but in the second, the horse struggled a little to find the same rhythm and degree of sit. Ramel struggled to get the twos started, with a little confusion in the set-up. The ones swung slightly in front, but jumped well uphill. The first pirouette was tiny and sitting but turned ever-so-slightly too quickly but really sat; the second got a little bigger. The final centerline was super energetic with seamless transitions in and out of piaffe.

Antonia Ramel (67.447%) has a hot horse to manage in Brother de Jeu and they had a slightly rough day today. In the trot-half passes, the horse stays well uphill with lots of suspension, but interestingly they don't have the same reach in front in passage. Though the horse shows lots of power in the passage and extended trots. The transitions back could have been a bit softer, as could the contact in general. Out of the collected walk, the horse was a little behind his rider's aids and reared in the first piaffe. The second was still a little on edge. The tempi changes were strong, with the ones straighter than the twos. The final line was clean, but Ramel looked frustrated after her test with having a big error for the team final.

Portugal

Rodrigo Torres's Fogoso showed quite a lot of freedom and suspension in his trot, though he did not step quite underneath himself in the trot half-passes or passage. The half-pass right was stronger than the one to the left, though both showed good bend and crossing. The extended walk was a little tense. The transition into the first piaffe was prompt and easy. While Fogoso did not really bring his hind legs underneath himself in piaffe, he still correctly sprang off of them and lifted his front end. The two tempis started beautifully uphill, but lost some of that energy towards the end of the line. The canter in the pirouettes loses some activity and the first pirouette stayed smaller than the first. The final piaffe was excellent, as were the transitions in and out.

João Miguel Torrao  makes a very nice picture with Equador, but today's test had a number of expensive mistakes. (68.298%). In extended trot, the Lusitano is very flashy in front but struggled to simultaneously bring the hind legs under. In passage, the horse really lifts his limbs to give the impression of a moment of suspension, though the horse doesn't have the same power to spring off the ground as the top warmbloods. Before the third extended trot, the horse cantered and his rider struggled to get him thinking again about trot. From collected walk, Equador sprang directly into piaffe and the transitions between piaffe and passage were consistently good. Unfortunately the horse cantered in the last line of passage, anticipating the transition way too early. At the start of the twos, the horse's energy got croup high and he started in ones. The ones showed lots of freedom in the shoulder. The pirouettes were magnificently controlled, with the horse almost hovering in levade at the highest moment of the canter.

The Grand Prix Special seemed a good test for Maria Caetano (POR) and Fenix de Tineo as the picture in the many transitions was easy and smooth, but they did not score as well as in the Grand Prix. The extended trots are not huge, but the horse stays uphill and strides out well. The trot-half passes had fluid crossing. In passage, the hindlegs could come more under, but the horse lifts himself well in front. The first piaffe traveled too much forward, but had a nice outline. In the twos, the horse swung his haunches. The diagonal line of ones was straighter, but the horse got quick and missed some changes. The pirouettes were sitting and well-controlled.