Defending champion Germany leads Paris Olympics qualifying for equestrian team dressage final

VERSAILLES, France (AP) — Led by Jessica von Bredow-Werndl and equestrian record holder Isabell Werth, defending champion Germany topped qualifying Wednesday for the Paris Olympics team dressage final.

Riding Dalera, the horse which also helped her win individual dressage gold at the Tokyo Games three years ago, Bredow-Werndl top-scored with 82.065 over two days of the dressage Grand Prix test at the Palace of Versailles.

Denmark’s Cathrine Dufour-Laudrup on Freestyle was next with 80.792, followed by the seven-time Olympic gold medalist Werth scoring 79.363 with her new horse, Wendy.

Six of Werth’s Olympic golds have been in team dressage — her first at the 1992 Games. Her 12 Olympic medals, all in dressage, are more than any equestrian.

Germany’s overall score was 237.546 with Denmark on 235.730 and Britain scoring 231.196. Sweden and host France were among the 10 teams qualifying for Saturday’s final.

Wednesday was the second day of qualifying for dressage’s team final and the individual final — which takes place Sunday and features 18 riders.

Three groups of 10 competed on each day — the 55-year-old Werth and Dufour-Laudrup were both in Group E on Wednesday — with the top two riders in each group advancing along with the next six highest scorers.

British rider Charlotte Fry was among them. She was delighted to set off first at 10 a.m. in cooler conditions, before temperatures hit 34 degrees Celsius (93 Fahrenheit) by the afternoon.

“It was definitely nice to ride at that time,” said Fry, who rode Glamourdale.

Music Tastes

The individual finalists get to perform to music of their choosing.

British rider Carl Hester, who first competed at the ‘92 Games in Barcelona, said the crowd shouldn’t expect something too modern from him.

“You’re trying to please the judges and you’re trying to get the crowd going,” said Hester, who rode on Tuesday. “I’m 57 now, so I don’t think it’s (going to be) poppy.”

Set Movements

Paris Olympics

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In dressage, horse and rider perform set movements over several minutes inside a ring. Scores are calculated on the exection of the technical parts, with fluidity of movement and how they transition between moves also factored in.

One of the most well-known movements is a slow-motion trotting technique called the piaffe. Each diagonal pair of legs is raised and returned to the ground alternately in a kind of springing motion, giving the image of a horse almost floating.

Training Controversy

The piaffe hit the headlines last week when three-time Olympic gold medalist Charlotte Dujardin withdrew from the Paris Games after a video emerged of her whipping a horse’s legs repeatedly during a coaching session.

Dujardin has been strongly criticized — including by Hester, who signed a letter by the the International Dressage Riders Club condemning her actions.

”(The video) was a huge shock to me. In the UK you don’t see that sort of stuff. I have never seen it,” Hester said Tuesday. “Charlotte’s made her statement, she’s apologized. I’ve known her for 17 years. She’s paying very heavily for this.”

Hester, who won bronze with Dujardin and Fry in team dressage at Tokyo, said equestrian is having a “difficult time.” However, despite the damaged image, Hester has been encouraged by the enthusiasm of the huge crowds in Versailles.

“There is hope that equestrian can survive,” he said. “A huge amount of people are enjoying it.”

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