Dutch take the lead in team competition in Olympics dressage
Tokyo, Jul 24 (EFE).- The Netherlands moved out to an early lead in the team category Saturday as the Tokyo 2020 Olympics Equestrian Dressage got under way.
On the individual side, Germany’s Jessica von Bredow-Werndl went to the top of the standings by setting a personal best.
Three of the six groups were in action and the Dutch garnered 5006.0 points, ahead of Denmark (4966.0) and Great Britain (4901.5), on the strength of fine individual performances by Edward Gal and Hans Peter Minderhoud.
Gal was second in Group B with black stallion Total US, while Minderhoud claimed the third spot in Group C with Dream Boy.
Britain’s Charlotte Fry (Everdale) became the first to book her spot in the next round, finishing atop Group A with a score of 77.096.
Only two riders managed to post scores of better than 80 percent.
Danish competitor Cathrine Dufour (Bohemian) claimed the top spot in Group B with a mark of 81.056.
“It was important for me to give him a really great feeling in the ring today,” Dufour said in comments cited by the International Equestrian Federation (FEI), the sport’s governing body.
“I didn’t want to push too much because I wanted him to be comfortable in there. And even though there’s no audience there’s a vibe in the arena and they can feel it!,” she said.
The other athlete to break through the 80 percent threshold was Von Bredow-Werndl, who posted a mark of 84.379 with TSF Dalera to go top of Group C.
Sabine Schut-Kery (Sanceo) of the United States was second with 78.416.
The opening heats for Groups D, E and F are set for Sunday. EFE
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