Anky
van Grunsven (NED) won an unprecedented third Individual Dressage Gold Medal
today in Hong Kong, riding Salinero. Her score of 82.400 (the only score in the
eighties) in the Freestyle gave her a two day score of 78.681.
Two other
well known Dressage riders have won two Individual Gold Medals - Henri Saint
Cyr (SWE) won on Master Rufus, in Helsinki, in 1952, and on Juli in Stockholm,
in 1956. (He also finished fifth with Djimm in London, in 1948, and fourth, in
Rome, on Etoile, in 1960.) Nicole
Uphoff (GER) won on Rembrandt in Seoul, in 1988, and again on Rembrandt, in
Barcelona, in 1992. Today
Anky broke their records! She had won Individual Gold on Bonfire in Sydney
in 2000, and again in Athens/Markopoulo on Salinero, in 2004. Salinero made it
a grand slam for van Grunsven in 2008. (She had also been fourth
on Bonfire in Barcelona, in 1992 and second behind Isabell Werth (GER),
at Atlanta/Conyers again on Bonfire.) Isabell
Werth (GER) won the Silver today with Satchmo on a score of 78.100 and a two
day score of 76.650. (Editor's
Note: In the opinion of your reporter, Werth was given a gift of a score of 78.100
in the freestyle, as, once again, Satchmo had a major and protracted disobedience.
In a pirouette he ran backwards and then jumped forward bucking twice. As stated
yesterday, if this is good for the Individual Silver Medal, we'd all better start
looking for Dressage prospects at rodeos!)
The
Scores in black are the competitor's Freestyle scores. The scores in red and the
placings are their final scores and placings in the Individual 1.
Anky VAN GRUNSVEN (NED), SALINERO - 82.400 (78.687)
2.
Isabell WERTH (GER), SATCHMO - 78.100 (76.650)
3.
Heike KEMMER (GER), BONAPARTE - 75.950 (74.455)
4.
Steffen PETERS (USA), RAVEL - 76.500 (74.150)
5.
Hans Peter Minderhoud (NED), Nadine - 75.100
6. Alexandra KORELOVA (RUS), BALAGUR
- 73.850 (72.650)
7. Emma HINDLE (GBR),
LANCET - 74.250
8. Kyra KYRKLUND (FIN), MAX - 74.250
9. Bernadette PUJALS
(MEX), VINCENT - 72.350
10. Jan BRINK (SWE), BRIAR - 73.450
11. Andreas
HELGSTRAND (DEN), DON SCHUFRO - 72.550
12. Tinne SILFVEN (SWE), SOLOS CAREX
- 71.450
13. Courtney KING (USA), MYTHILUS
- 69.550 (70.175)
14. Ashley HOLZER ((CAN),
POP ART - 71.450
15. Nathalie ZU SAYN-WITTGENSTEIN( DEN), DIGBY - 69.100
*
* * FEI
Report on Individual Dressage Medals
Anky Van Grunsven
claimed her third consecutive individual Gold Medal at the equestrian stadium
in Hong Kong tonight (Tuesday). Lying second, but only 0.24% behind Germany's
 Isabell
Werth after Saturday's Grand Prix Special, the Dutch star came into her own
in the Freestyle to Music (Kur) which in recent years she has made all her own.
And as Salinero danced his way to victory, Werth had to settle for silver
with Satchmo, while fellow Team Gold Medallist, Heike Kemmer, claimed third with
Bonaparte. (Anky Van Grunsven (NED) is pictured at the right celebrating her
third Olympic Dressage Gold Medal. Photo
(c) Kit Houghton.) It
was a night filled with emotion, and the tension was palpable as Sweden's Jan
Brink and Briar laid down the standard with a lovely performance as the first
five-strong group showed their paces. "I'm very happy with my horse,"
the rider said after recording a score of 73.450% which, when combined with his
Grand Prix Special result, gave him an overall mark of 71.205%. "Briar is
a stallion so he suits powerful music. He can feel the music and you try to make
the music go according to the horse," he pointed out. FRIENDSHIP Brink
was quickly overtaken by Emma Hindle (GBR) as the second session got
underway however, the British rider earning a mark of 74.250% to complete with
a combined score of 72.345% with Lancet, who showed great coordination and rhythm,
particularly in passage, to the beat of the Bee Gees. And this was a colossal
achievement for the 33-year old rider who revealed tonight that her Olympic appearance
was little short of miraculous. "Two weeks before I came here I had
an operation for a tumour," she explained to the stunned assembled press.
"I could only ride in walk when I arrived in Hong Kong and Lancet was brilliant
- usually he's difficult when you are getting on and off him; but, he seemed to
know I wasn't well and he just stood there for me for a change." She only
discovered the presence of two ovarian cysts during a team check-up and she had
to undergo surgery right away. But with extraordinary support from the British
team she still made her Olympic appearance - "I had lots of help with my
horse - people kept saying 'we believe in you, you can do it' - but it took a
huge effort from the team and a lot of physiotherapy and work in the gym to get
me going again," Hindle pointed out. "Everyone was so positive
and so kind, I'm really proud of my horse and proud of my friends. When you are
sick you find out who your real friends are, and many of my rivals turned into
my best friends," she said. One of her greatest supporters was Princess
Nathalie Zu Sayn-Wittgenstein who, last Saturday, helped Denmark to team bronze.
"She rode Lancet every day, she lives four hours away from me and she's a
really good friend," the rider pointed out, and one of Emma's other
great supports was her Irish groom Niamh Meehan, who stayed with her at
the hospital and who was there when the rider was informed that she had been selected
for the British team. The Netherlands' Hans Peter Minderhoud was
next to take up pole position with some lovely piaffe and passage from his 13-year
old mare Nadine but, last into the second session, Mexico's Bernadette Pujals
and Vincent relegated the Dutch partnership with an energetic display that was
bursting with expression but which faltered due to several mistakes. "I think
it was my nerves," Pujals said afterwards, "The music was all
over me and I was too hectic," but this is a partnership full of promise. ENTERTAINING As
the final session kicked off Russia's Alexandra Korelova and Balagur really
entertained the packed arena who sang their way through her Broadway score as
she rose to the top with her versatile grey; but, she felt she could have done
better. "Balagur is very clever," said the 31-year old from Nizniy Novgorod,
a large town in central Russia that lies 400km from Moscow. "He doesn't want
to be a police horse again, he knows that a Dressage life is better and more interesting
and he likes to work to music and he likes to do it well," she explained.
This was her second Olympic Games with the amazing 18-year old who has known more
career-changes than most throughout his interesting life. From Orlov Trotter breeding
stock, and by one of Russia's most famous trotter breeding sires, he showed little
interest in racing himself and so ended up for a year in a Russian circus before
being sold on to work as a police horse in Korelova's town where she spotted him.
She took a video of him and sent it to German trainer George Theodorescu
who said, "Buy him immediately!" and, although already 11-years of age,
he was capable of Grand Prix Dressage work within five months of purchase. Another
seven years later he has been to two Olympic Games. HEAT The
heat was turned up when Isabell Werth (GER) entered the ring with Satchmo,
the four-time Olympian making a wonderful entrance and producing fabulous passage
to quickly rack up some big scores. But then the 14-year old gelding suddenly
had a difficult moment when asked for his second piaffe in an almost perfect repetition
of the moment he experienced in the Special last Saturday. Werth knew she might
have trouble, long before she entered the arena.  "I
hadn't forgotten what happened the other day; but, if I wanted to win I had to
take the risk," she explained. "My horse is outstanding and my feelings
for him don't change because of the mistakes he made - I just have to work to
get his confidence back again," she pointed out. (The 2008 Olympic Dressage
medallists are pictured at the left: Isabell Werth (GER) / Satchmo, silver; Anky
van Grunsven (NED) / Salinero, gold; Heike Kemmer (GER) / Bonaparte. Photo
(c)
Kit Houghton) She still earned 78.100% for the perfection of many of
the other movements which included brilliant flying changes and her combined total
left her on 76.650% and well out in front. Team-mate Heike Kemmer
(GER) and Bonaparte kept their rhythm to the sound of the Beach Boys "Good
Vibrations" to score 75.950% which gave them an overall total of 74.555%
and put them in second place and they remained there despite a special ride from
America's Steffen Peters with the 10-year old stallion Ravel. Their ability
to synchronise movement to music was exceptional, and the big horse, whose transitions
were superb, seemed to feel the rhythm himself. However with a mark of 76.500%
and a total of 74.150% he would have to settle for third spot as the reigning
champion entered the ring. BIG ENTRANCE Anky Van Grunsven
made a big entrance and went into action right away to the romantic sound
of her "Dance of Devotion" theme, which was created by Wibi Soerjadi,
picking up big marks from the outset. Salinero was responsive and keen; but, the
Dutch rider didn't overdo it - she knew after Werth's uncomfortable moment that
a good ride rather than a risky one would be enough to earn her third Olympic
title, and so it did. Although she had to admit that her final halt didn't go
quite as planned. "I really like to ride to music and after I heard Isabell's
score I knew I needed to do a good test, but without risks. It went well except
for the last halt today - it just didn't happen; but, I thought,"Let's forget
about it, it doesn't matter!" she said afterwards scoring 82.400% which gave
her the winning total of 78.680%. "It was a horrible week for me here,"
she admitted, "I like Hong Kong and I like the people here but the pressure
on me was huge," she added. "In Athens I had nothing to lose so I was
more relaxed; but, this time I felt I have to have the Gold Medal to keep up the
standard and in the Grand Prix Salinero was tense," she pointed out. "In
the Special I tried more and then Isabell had her mistake; but today I was more
relaxed - I decided to do as good as I can and I tried to stay calm during the
warm-up. I decided that if I didn't feel safe in the ring I wouldn't do the changes
on a curve; but, here I am now - I have won a third Gold Medal and I am the most
spoiled person in the world because I have had two wonderful, wonderful horses!"
she said. Bronze medallist Heike Kemmer (GER) was happy with her
result. "My horse did a super job over the three tests and today he was very
fluent, I had a good connection to his mouth, his noseline was correct and we
were working together - I was very pleased" she said. Silver medallist
Isabell Werth (GER) said she had no clear explanation for what it is that
makes Satchmo sometimes object to certain movements; bu, she is determined to
work through and to bring him back to his best. "We have been nearly too
good for the last three years and it is a bit of a shame that this has happened
at the Olympic Games., I was hoping it wouldn't happen here; but, we have Team
Gold and it was very close between Anky and me - I really lost it in the
Special," she explained. However now it's a case of putting it behind her
and moving on - and the London Olympic Games in 2012 are another target. "I'm
going to work towards that, it's a new challenge and I think I'm the youngest
rider here, so I can go!" she said with a laugh, looking at her two rivals
on the podium. Will Anky be back in 2012? She doesn't really seem to think
so. "I think there is maybe two more years left for Salinero and that will
be it," she said tonight, "And all I want to do now is ask that Penfold
Park can be opened up for me tomorrow so that I can give Salinero a nice hack
out." As Olympic champion, the rider who has dominated her sport now for
many years will, no doubt, find those gates wide open. 
Dutch
fans (orange in front) and German fans (black red and yellow flag in rear) cheer
the winners. Photo (c) Kit Houghton.)
Contact
Malina Gueorguiev
FEI Communication Department
Fédération
Equestre Internationale
malina.gueorguiev@fei.org
t +41 21 310 47 47
f
+41 21 310 47 60
www.fei.org
The
Night the World met Ravel; Peters Delivers Stellar Fourth Place Performance at
2008 Olympic Games in Dressage
By Joanie Morris
Hong Kong, China – Coming into the Games,
Steffen Peters was pinned as the best individual medal hope for the US
in recent memory. Riding Akiko Yamazaki’s formerly undefeated 10-year-old
KWPN gelding Ravel, Peters put in a masterful performance in the horse’s
first effort outside the US.
Anky van Grunsven and Salinero won
on the strength of their freestyle (82.4%), winning her third consecutive Individual
Gold Medal for The Netherlands on a final score of 76.68%.
“There
was a tiny bit of tension in the two-tempis,” said Peters after scoring
76.5% in the freestyle (for a final score of 74.15%). “I had to risk it,
so fourth place at the Olympic Games is not so bad. My horse lived up to my expectations
one hundred percent.” The difference between fourth and bronze
medalist Heike Kemmer was .3%. (It was actually .305.) “Sometimes
you have dreams,” said Peters who lives in San Diego, CA. “Today
felt like a dream and I felt like I was in charge of it, it just wasn’t quite
enough for the Bronze. You have to go for it; but, you also have to be realistic.”
An Olympic veteran from 1996, Peters and Ravel shone to
music by the Talking Heads and the Rolling Stones’ Sympathy for the Devil.
The lyrics to the first line of that song are: “Please allow me to introduce
myself…” No further introductions will be necessary for
Ravel, he has made his presence known. “This is a great stepping
stone for Ravel,” said Peters. “I feel like there is a big future for
him.” The future also looks bright for Courtney King-Dye
and Mythilus, a 13-year-old KWPN gelding owned by Harmony Amateur Sports Foundation.
They performed their freestyle to the music of Cat Stevens. It was based around
one of King-Dye’s favorite songs, Sad Lisa - although new canter work
was composed since she last performed her freestyle at the USEF Selection Trials.
Her test gave a great overall impression; but, she had a couple
of costly mistakes that kept her score lower than expected. Her freestyle score
of 69.55% gave her a two-day final score of 70.175%. “I was
really happy,” said King-Dye after her test. “I had a mistake
in both the twos and the ones which were very expensive. I took some chances and
had some mistakes. It was a new Kur but I think it is a great one for the future.
I did the best I could and he was the best he could be on the day.”
King-Dye thinks that Mythilus may have lost a little bit his sparkle
after such and intense few weeks; but, she is excited about the horse’s future.
King-Dye was competing in her first Olympic Games, and although she will
not take a medal home, she learned more than she ever imagined. “I
loved coming here,” she said. “The team unity, being part of this team
was a fantastic experience. I learned so much as an athlete.” Isabell
Werth and Satchmo, who were leading coming into the freestyle ended up with
the Silver Medal after a major disobedience in the piaffe. Their final scorefor
the two days was 76.650%.
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