In arguably the closest and most thrilling Olympic contest of all time, Germany clinched Dressage Team gold by the narrowest of margins ahead of Denmark in silver and Great Britain in bronze at the Paris 2024 Olympic equestrian venue in Versailles (FRA) today. The result brings Germany’s Olympic gold-medal count to a massive 15, and with 10 victories from the last 11 editions of the Games dating all the way back to Los Angeles in 1984, their record is nothing short of phenomenal.
However, it doesn’t get much closer than a winning margin of 0.121 percentage points. For Team Denmark, realising their dream of clinching the Olympic title for the very first time was only a whisper away when they were pinned back into silver medal spot ahead of Great Britain, who took the bronze just over three points further adrift. It was Olympic sport at its very best today, with the result completely unpredictable until the very last moment.
The victorious side of Frederic Wandres/Bluetooth OLD, Isabell Werth/Wendy and Jessica von Bredow-Werndl/TSF Dalera BB knew they had been in a mighty battle that might well not have gone in their favour.
“We did it! It was too exciting to be honest, and at the end the margin was so tiny!”, said von Bredow-Werndl who claimed double-gold with the same super mare in Tokyo three years ago.
As the most medalled athlete in all of equestrian sport, her team-mate Isabell Werth knows what tense competition is all about, but even this seven-time Olympian was near-breathless with the excitement of it all.
“That was a thriller today!”, she said. “At the end I didn't believe that we got it because it was so very close! Now nobody can ever say again that dressage is boring!”, she added with a huge laugh.
Three-way contest
As the 10 nations qualified for the Grand Prix Special took their turn in the arena, it quickly evolved into a three-way contest between the defending Olympic champions from Germany, the reigning world champions from Denmark and the reigning European champions from Britain, who all looked well set for a podium placing from the outset.
The British got off to a flying start when their new recruit Becky Moody, only called up at the very last moment, showed that despite never competing in a championship before her partnership with her home-bred 10-year-old gelding Jagerbomb is really something special. Putting 76.489% on the board for a harmonious test she topped the leaderboard after the first group of 10 combinations had competed, with Denmark’s Daniel Bachmann Andersen and Vayron next best on 75.973% and the first of the Germans, Frederic Wandres and Bluetooth OLD, close behind in 75.942%.
Carl Hester and Fame added 76.520% to the British tally, but then Nanna Skodborg Merrald and Zepter’s 78.480% moved the Danes well ahead only for Germany’s Werth to follow with a wonderful ride from her new horse Wendy that earned 79.894%.
Perfect match
This pair are the perfect match, and Werth has found a whole new dimension to her performances. “It's a very quick coming together of a new partnership, that's true, when you sit on a horse and you feel that is your horse then it just clicks!”, said the German, who has long been known as “The Queen” in her sport and who only teamed up with Wendy in January of this year.
“This is a really perfect match between us and I think we both feel really confident and that makes it so easy. She's so uncomplicated!”, Werth enthused about the big mare.
“She's really tall when you stand next to her, she's 1.85cms and everything is much easier on her, you can sit and just have fun! She's everything in a perfect construction, and it's wonderful to have her in time for the Olympics!”, she added.
It would all come down to the final three to decide the medal-placings, and when reigning individual world champions, Charlotte Fry and the stallion Glamourdale, posted 79.483% for a great test then the British were assured of at least the bronze. However, the penultimate partnership of Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour and Freestyle then threw down the biggest score of the day to leave the gold-medal race still wide open. Their softness and balance, the unhurried and majestic movement of the mare and the harmony between horse and athlete earned 81.216% to move Denmark onto a total score of 232.492, which piled the pressure on the German anchor partnership.
Wrap it up
As von Bredow-Werndl entered the arena with Dalera it seemed more than possible that they would score over 80% to wrap it up for another clear German win. But there were mistakes, and when 79.954% went up on the board it was so very, very close. The margin of victory was little more than a hair’s breadth.
“It was more than a hiccup!”, von Bredow-Werndl said of her expensive error. “It was a misunderstanding in the transition to the passage that cost too many points for two movements that count double! But luckily we connected again and we brought it home!”, she said.
And asked if she knew before she went into the arena what she had to score in order to keep her country in gold medal spot, she replied, “no, and it was good that I didn’t!”
Close competition is what makes great sport, and today’s Olympic contest was just that.
Wandres’ contribution with Bluetooth OLD was significant. As he pointed out himself, it is his pure consistency that earned his place here in Paris. “I don't need to lie. I'm not the one which is looking for 80% in the Special but that’s okay, because whether it is 30 degrees or raining cats (and dogs!) I'm riding my best and getting the scores that are expected of me always”, he said.
The Danes could have been disappointed, but they knew that if von Bredow-Werndl and Dalera hadn’t run into problems in their test they would have finished further behind, so they were realistic about today’s result and more than pleased. Denmark has only once before earned an Olympic Dressage team medal and that was bronze in Beijing in 2008. The camaraderie in their team has been clear to see at these Games, and that closeness and comfort is paying off in spades.
Supported
“We've known each other since we were small kids, and we've supported each other in each other's career so far. We are the youngest team of all here and we came in as world champions. We've already done so much great together, but we have so much more to come ahead of us, and we are so hungry to do even more. We are very happy!”, Bachmann Andersen said.
The British have enjoyed a great run at these Games, taking team gold in both Eventing and Jumping and now bronze in team Dressage. Like Germany’s Werth, Carl Hester is also competing at his seventh Olympic Games and reflecting on how the Dressage team competition played out over the last few days, he said he knew it was going to be close-run affair for the medal placings.
“Looking at the scores all year you could see how everybody has been shifting around and you could see how Isabell has been improving, which she's just proved now, and the Danes have been so very consistent and very strong. For me it’s great to see Becky Moody being the newest star to hit the Olympics, she has been amazing - so it’s all very exciting!”, the British veteran said.
The German celebrations from today’s epic contest will barely have faded before tomorrow’s much-anticipated Grand Prix Freestyle finale which will decide the individual medals. With such super-star quality on show in Paris this week and so many partnerships, some well-established and others just blossoming, taking to the stage one more time, it’s going to be like “Strictly Come Prancing” - with plenty more surprises possible when the action gets underway at 10.00am Paris time.