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The top 15 in the Grand Prix Special will move on to the Freestyle to Music on Tuesday night. The combined scores from the Grand Prix Special and the Freestyle to Music will decide the Individual Medals.

The USA placed two riders in the top eight - Steffen Peters and Ravel are fourth and Courtney King riding Mythilus stands eighth.

Isabell Werth (GER) won the Individual Gold in 1996 in Atlanta-Conyers riding Gigolo and won Silver in 1992 in Barcelona behind Nicole Uphoff (GER) on Gigolo and in 2000 in Sydney behind Anky Van Grunsven, also on Gigolo.

Anky Van Grunsven (NED) won Gold in 2000 Sydney on Bonfire and in Athens-Markopoulo on Salinero. She was fourth in 1992 in Barcelona on Bonfire.

Grand Prix Special - Top Fifteen:

1. Isabell WERTH (GER), Satchmo - 75.200
2. Anky VAN GRUNSVEN (NED), Salinero - 74.960
3. Heike KEMMER (GER), Bonaparte -72.960
4. Steffen PETERS (USA), Ravel - 71.800
5. Alexandra KORELOVA (RUS), Balagur - 71.400
6. Bernadette PUJALS (MEX) Vincent - 71.000
7. Hans Peter MINDERHOUD (NED), Nadine - 70.920
8. Courtney KING (USA), Mythilus - 70.800
9. Emma HINDLE (GBR), Lancet - 70.440
10. Kyra KYRKLUND (SWE), Max - 69.720
11. Tinne SILFVEN (SWE), Solos Carex - 69.240
12. Nathalie ZU SAYN-WITTGENSTEIN (DEN), Digby - 69.120
13. Jan BRINK (SWE), Briar - 68.960
14. Andreas HELGSTRAND (DEN), Donschufru - 68.800
15 .Ashley HOLZER (CAN), Pop Art - 68.760

Judges/Ground Jury
E - Gotthilf RIEXINGER
H - Jean-Michel ROUDIER
C - Minako FURUOKA
M - Gary ROCKWELL
B - Barnabas MANDI

Isabell Werth (GER) and Satchmo Experience a Moment of Panic during the Olympic
Grand Prix Special
(c) Dirk Caremans

Germany's Isabell Werth took another step closer to claiming the individual Olympic dressage Gold Medal when winning the Grand Prix Special at the equestrian stadium at Sha Tin in Hong Kong tonight (Saturday). But a moment of sheer drama during her test with Satchmo ensured that she holds only a slender lead over her great rival, The Netherlands' Anky Van Grunsven, going into Tuesday night's medal-decider, the Kur, which now promises to be a thriller.

Van Grunsven has a two-point lead over Germany's Heike Kemmer in third, while America's Steffen Peters lies fourth and tonight saw great performances from Russia's Alexandra Korelova and Mexico's Bernadette Pujals who, lying fifth and sixth respectively, can be guaranteed to please the crowds as the final moments of this Olympic contest are played out.

PANICKED

Werth held the lead going into tonight's top-25 competition; but, with the Dutch double-gold medallist snapping at her heels, and it all very nearly slipped from the German's grasp when her 14-year old gelding Satchmo, previously accumulating average scores in the 80's, suddenly panicked during piaffe and rushed backwards before his shocked rider managed to restore their equilibrium. (Editor's Note: If the above picture constitutes Gold Medal Winning Dressage, future Dressage prospects should be chosen from rodeos!!!) Dirk Caremans Photo

"He lost eight or nine percent there," the dismayed rider said afterwards; but, she couldn't explain what had happened. "He started the piaffe really good, I had no feeling that he was not going to do it so I was really surprised, because I could see no reason for it to happen," she said. But she forgave him for the costly moment after which she took less risks and completed with a lower score than might have been expected. "He's a bit of a genius and so sometimes little things disturb him," she said, trying to make sense of it all and adding, "And we have to remember that these are animals, so anything can happen!".

With the early movements executed to sensational effect, Werth looked like establishing a score in the 80's; but, in the end she had to settle for 75.200% which still gave her the edge over Van Grunsven on 74.960%. With such a narrow margin between the two super-stars, however, there is no room for error now, and the Dutch rider knows that she should be right in her own comfort-zone with Salinero on Tuesday. Her test tonight was perhaps a little cautious, and a break into canter while attempting to execute the transition from collected trot to half-pass early in the test cost her valuable marks. "It was a stupid thing and it never happened in training," Van Grunsven said. "Maybe sometimes you want to go so well and maybe you are a bit on the edge; but, my horse is very fit and fresh and I was trying to go for the best test and that's a positive," she pointed out.

INSPIRED

Heike Kemmer, another member of the German Gold Medal winning team on Thursday night, produced an inspired test from the lovely Bonaparte to register 72.960% on the leaderboard. So soft in his rider's hands, the elegant, light-footed gelding floated through his movements and Kemmer was delighted with the result. "To do his best he must not be put under any pressure and tonight he was really forward and responsive," the rider said. And there had been a team meeting between this special partnership earlier in the day. "We talked together in the stables about how we would do things - he speaks German you see so he understands me very well!" This horse and rider certainly seem to have a sense of each other's needs, and Kemmer explained that she has to ride him lightly so that he can express himself - "A lot of the test comes from inside him, from his mind as well as his body - you cannot achieve anything by putting pressure on him," she pointed out. Kemmer had a little drama of her own later in the evening when it was discovered that she may have over-run the time-allowed to start her test but, as the post-competition press conference was winding down, it was confirmed by President of the Ground Jury, Minako Furuoka, that a check had been made and that she had had started her ride just in time.

Opening the action today was Australia's Hayley Beresford who, long before she ever arrived in Hong Kong this summer, had already climbed a mountain of Olympic proportions. The 30-year old rider was diagnosed with breast cancer three years ago; but, with typical toughness and determination, she hardly missed a day in the saddle throughout the intensive treatment that saw her win her battle back to good health. And having qualified in the top-25 through to tonight's competition she set the early standard when registering a score of 66.32 with her 11-year old stallion Relampago.

NO SUNRISE

For Imke Schellekens-Bartels, lying fifth individually with Sunrise, there was deep disappointment when the mare had to be withdrawn before tonight's competition.

"When I came out from the prize-giving on Thursday night I thought I could feel something strange in the way she was moving; but, then she seemed to be OK again. She was excited in the ring with all the noise and everything; but, I can't say I remember anything happening in there so I was surprised. Yesterday we looked at her again and there was still a problem. It is in her front leg, she is uneven in her movement; but, I'm hoping she will recover quickly," said the Dutch rider earlier today as she bravely held back the tears.

For Great Britain's Laura Bechtolsheimer tonight, unlike Thursday, was a night to remember although she felt she might have earned a better mark for the attractive test she produced with Mistral Hojris. Two nights ago, she fainted after coming out of the ring having become uncharacteristically confused during her test. "I warmed up in my top-hat and jacket and I think I just over-heated and I didn't know what I was doing when I was in the ring," Laura explained. Tonight she stayed much cooler, wearing cold bandages on her arms and only donning her top-hat and tails at the final moment. "My horse is naturally very extravagant and I thought he did a really nice test. I'm thrilled to come back into the ring and pull off a big performance - it was good for me and good for my horse too," she pointed out after earning a mark of 67.16.

Bechtolsheimer missed out on qualifying for the top-15 through to Tuesday's decider however and Emma Hindle will be the only Briton in the closing stages after slotting into ninth with Lancet tonight behind America's Courtney King and Mythilus in eighth and The Netherlands' Hans Peter Minderhoud and Nadine in seventh place.

FEARLESS

Mexico's Bernadette Pujals gave it everything she had with her handsome 16-year old stallion Vincent whose passage and piaffe were full of life, and the 40-year old Spanish-born rider asked for a fearless extended canter toward the end of her test. Her brave effort was rewarded with a mark of 71.000% and there was a poignant moment as she struggled with tears after leaving the ring because her mother died just 20 days ago. "It's difficult to say how I feel," she said quietly. (pictured at the l,eft Bernadette Pujals of Mexico and Vincent get ready to enter the arena for
their Grand Prix Special test. Photo (c) Dirk Caremans

Meanwhile Alexandra Korelova and the charming former police-horse Balagur - whose legion of fans will be cheering them on in the closing stages - earned their place amongst the elite with a mark of 71.400% and so lie just behind Steffen Peters and Ravel, who scored 71.800% today. "I had more horse today than I had in the Grand Prix and I have plenty of horse left for the Freestyle," the American said confidently afterward. But tonight some riders found they did not have the horse they expected, and team gold medallist Nadine Capellman (GER) was one of those. She misses out on the final-15 after collecting a mark of 67.240% with Elvis - "Its the worst score I have ever had with him," she said. "I had problems with the contact and we had a lot of mistakes, it was a bad day for us, what can I say," she added.

Those left in the mix will be hoping for not just a good day, but a great day on Tuesday when the 2008 individual Olympic dressage champion will be crowned.

(Pictured at the right Russia's Alexandra Korelova and former police horse Balagur produced a lovely test and are in fifth position after the Grand Prix Special.
Photo (c) Dirk Caremans

Malina Gueorguiev
FEI Communication Department
Fédération Equestre Internationale
malina.gueorguiev@fei.org
t +41 21 310 47 47
f +41 21 310 47 60

August 16, 2008

US Dressage Riders Shine in Grand Prix Special; Peters and Ravel Fourth, King-Dye and Mythilus Eighth, Heading into Freestyle at 2008 Olympic Games

By Joanie Morris

Hong Kong, China – The dressage riders temporarily reclaimed the ring from the show jumpers tonight at Sha Tin and although Germany continued to rule… the Americans put in an impressive showing.

Two US riders were in the fold and Steffen Peters and Ravel (who is owned by Aikiko Yamazaki) were first of the pair in the ring. Their test was brilliant, with no mistakes, Peters did a masterful job in the piaffe and passage and guided the relatively inexperienced horse with ease.

“I couldn’t be happier,” said Peters after his ride which scored 71.80%. “All the trot work felt great, he was much more relaxed in the walk than he was the last time.”

The San Diego, CA based duo were ranked tenth individually in the team portion of the competition on Thursday; but, today everyone started with a clean slate. The 10-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding was undefeated in the US and was the convincing winner of the USEF Selection Trials prior to coming to theses Games, and he certainly did not disappoint his connections tonight.

“That was my expectation,” said Peters. “It’s just great. I feel like I had more horse tonight than in the Grand Prix, I’m beside myself. He was awesome.”

Peters is looking forward to the freestyle on Tuesday and is hoping for a duplicate performance to his winning effort at the Selection Trials in June. His music starts with The Rolling Stones’ Sympathy for the Devil, which has a very appropriate opening line for the new star.

“I’m hoping he does a freestyle like he did in San Juan Capistrano,” said Peters of his winning performance at the selection trials. “Then I’ll be happy.”

In a testament to the strength of the US team’s character, Peters dedicated his ride tonight to his fellow teammate Debbie McDonald. McDonald and Brentina did not make the individual final after an incredibly uncharacteristic performance in the team portion of the competition. Peters and McDonald have been teammates repeatedly and share medals from the 2006 World Equestrian Games.

“I dedicate this to Debbie and Brentina,” said Peters. “I feel so terrible about what happened to her, and I admire their performances so much.”

The second US pair was Olympic rookie combination Courtney King-Dye and Mythilus. They looked very comfortable in the ring for only their second time in the Olympic spotlight. King-Dye knew she had nothing to lose in the ring and she demonstrated lots of confidence during her test.

“Only the top three scores count,” said King-Dye of her score of 70.80%. “So why not go for it?”

The New Milford, CT pair performed beautiful extensions and very accurate canter work, their score suffered from the judge at E, Gotthilf Riexinger, who ranked them 13th, the other judges all had them in the top places.

“I think Mythilus was peaking before we came here,” said King-Dye. “Then I lost a little bit of time (with the trip). He still feels really fit.”

Mythilus, a 13-year-old Dutch Warmblood gelding owned by the Harmony Sport Horse Foundation, has been competing at this level for a year and developed into a world-class horse. They currently sit eighth in the world going into the freestyle. King-Dye designed new canter music for her freestyle which will debut here. The whole test is based around the song Sad Lisa by Cat Stevens.

Overall winner tonight was again German rider Isabell Werth and Satchmo, but their performance was not without incident. The 13-year-old Hanoverian stopped and resisted badly in the piaffe and was in danger of backing up into the side of the arena. Werth did a masterful job rescuing the test. Her scores had been up over 80; but, the pair settled for 75.2%

Reining Olympic Gold medalist from The Netherlands, Anky van Grunsven, rode Salinero to a score of 74.960% despite breaking twice to canter in the trot half-passes. Their score left them second going into the freestyle.

Another German combination: Heike Kemmer and Bonaparte slipped in front of Peters with a score of 72.40%.

The Individual medals for dressage will be decided on Tuesday, August 19, when the top 10 horses return to the ring for the Freestyle.

The show jumpers return to the ring for the next two evenings to battle it out for the Team medals, the US was the best of the group in last night’s First Individual Qualifier so they have the most advantageous draw, going last tomorrow night.