Dressage Is Focus Of Olympic Equestrian Events This Weekend

By Abbie Branchflower

The arena is hushed as the horse and rider pair trots up the center line. In the middle of the arena they halt, saluting. What follows is described by many as “dancing on horseback.” Grand Prix Dressage is known for its elegance and showcasing the harmony and unity between horse and rider. The highest level of the sport, it is the second equestrian event of the 2012 Olympics.

First an Olympic event in 1900, according to Olympics.org, this year’s competition commenced with the Grand Prix event on August 2 and 3. The Grand Prix Special will take place on August 7 and the final dressage competition, the Individual Grand Prix Freestyle event, is on August 9.

As explained on the London 2012 website, in the Olympic dressage competition the horse and rider pair will execute a dressage test, a sequence of advanced training movements. They will perform in front of seven judges who evaluate them on the particular movements as well as their overall performance.

For the team event, three competitors compete for their country in the Grand Prix round. The seven highest scoring teams (including any who may have tied for seventh place) as well as the top 11 individuals who did not qualify with a team (including any ties for 11th place) go on to the Grand Prix Special Event. The same test is used to determine both team and individual standings.

After the Grand Prix Special event the scores are added to the scores of the teams from the first round of competition to determine the medals for the team competition.

The 18 highest scoring individuals in the Grand Prix Special then move on to the Grand Prix Freestyle. This last round of competition determines which individuals win medals. Often a crowd favorite, the Freestyle event is a dressage test done to music, each rider having prepared his or her own routine.

The United States will be represented by four riders in the Dressage Competition. Jan Ebling, Tina Konyot, and Steffen Peters will ride as both individuals and on the team, while Adrienne Lyle will ride as an individual. NBCOlympics.com has put together profiles on each rider.

Peters previously won team bronze in 1996 at the Atlanta Games on Udon, a horse he brought with him when he emigrated from Germany. In London, he will partner with Ravel, who he placed fourth individually with at the 2008 Beijing Games. Four years ago, the now 15- year-old bay gelding was virtually unknown in the competition world. Since then he has become something of a legend, according to a list of fun facts compiled by the United States Equestrian Federation.

During the California wildfires in the fall of 2007, Peters and his team transported 57 horses from their barn to a safe locale. They then slept outside of the horses’ stalls in case they had to move them again.

In a 2007 interview with NBCOlympics.com Peters told them: “You can’t help getting seriously attached to these horses…so at times like these, it doesn’t cross your mind not to sleep next to the stall.”

Rafalca, a 15 year old bay mare part-owned by Ann Romney, wife of presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, is quite possibly getting more attention than her rider these days. Thanks to Stephen Colbert, the mare is now quite famous and the US Dressage team is receiving unprecedented attention. According to NBC Olympics’ bio on Ebling, Rafalca’s rider is not offended by Colbert’s jokes; instead he laughs along and is glad of the attention for his sport. Ebling attributes a lot of his success with Rafalca to his long partnership with the mare.

Tina Konyot and her mount, Calecto V, are the final members of the team and competing in their first Olympics. As revealed on her NBC Olympics bio, Konyot is a fifth generation horse trainer, several members of her family are celebrated circus trainers. Calecto V is a 14-year-old dark brown stallion.

Adrienne Lyle’s mount, Wizard, is also dark brown. A 13-year-old gelding, he and Lyle won three Grand Prix competitions in a row in 2011. Lyle is relatively new to the competitive dressage world, having previously competed as an eventer. At age 27 she is considered a young competitor for the sport.

Even with such an impressive lineup, Team USA will have to be at the top of their game. Dr Richard D. Mitchell, Newtown resident and team veterinarian for the dressage team, recognizes this: “There is high pressure on all the riders and horses to be at their very best,” he stressed, “The competition is very strong; the British, Dutch and Germans are all very strong.”

Like the eventing competition, the dressage events will take place at Greenwich Park.