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Wednesday, September 15 2021 / Published in Sidelines Spotlight

U.S. Dressage Team Wins Historic Silver in Tokyo

By George Williams

The road to Tokyo has been rough and tough. I think most of us recently have been a bit astounded at just how fragile our world can be. Who would have predicted when Tokyo was awarded the 2020 Olympics that a pandemic would sweep the world, delaying the summer Games for a year and changing the trajectories and paths of many athletes? Not only do you have to be a top athlete, one of the best in your country, but there is also a certain amount of luck involved in getting named to a team. This is especially true in equestrian sports where we are dependent on the health and well-being of our partners, the horses.

Perhaps it was the unbelievably bumpy road many of us survived over the past 16 months that made this year’s strokes of bad luck seem even more poignant. For those combinations peaking in 2020, the decision to postpone the Olympics quite possibly dashed their dreams. For those who needed extra time to develop, the postponement was a gift. In many ways, moving into 2020 preparation for an Olympic-level performance was fairly routine. 

To be prepared for a top performance in 2021 was clearly more difficult. Most CDIs worldwide were canceled for the final nine months of last year. The United States was unbelievably lucky to be able to have a vibrant Florida season this year. Just as CDIs were really starting up again in Europe, EHV-1 hit, affecting the plans of most, if not all European-based competitors across all disciplines. In other words, preparing for these Olympic Games was unlike any other in recent memory.

I personally know that getting to the point where one is named to a team includes a lot of highs and lows, moments of elation and moments of despair, hard work, determination, commitment, time, planning, goal setting, strategizing, stress, you name it, as well as more than just a pinch of luck. 

I think everyone knows it requires a great support group and all those that I know who make it are extremely appreciative, honored and humbled to represent their country on the international stage of equestrian sports. It seemed especially poignant that once athletes had been selected to represent their country, had gone through all of the COVID protocols and their horses were finally quarantined in Aachen before the long plane ride to Tokyo, several had to withdraw from the Olympics.

When I read the words that Patrick Kittel wrote on Facebook announcing he had to withdraw his horse, I was struck that although he, like Victoria Max-Theurer, Tanya Seymour and Nick Wagman, expressed his disappointment, they each showed good sportsmanship. They all took it in stride, remained positive and they put the well-being and health of their horses first.

My hopes and dreams were dashed in early 2004 when the horse I had the honor to compete suffered a lameness forcing us out of the Athens arena. To this day, I still remember riding a different horse in a Second Level dressage test in Ohio in front of Gary Rockwell, a future Rio Olympic judge, while in a different time zone Olympians were riding down the centerline in the Grand Prix test in Greece. That is one of the beauties of our sport. We can move on, adjust our focus, embrace new goals, still love our life with horses and enjoy the journey even if we never arrive.

It is moments like these that help us to fully appreciate how special it really is when everything works as we hoped. Thankfully the vast majority of Olympic athletes and their horses do have the opportunity to compete. Tokyo has been no exception; the quality of competition has been undeniably excellent. The new format has made it interesting and more exciting. The Grand Prix test is the qualifier that enables teams to move forward to the Grand Prix Special where the riders start with fresh scores and vie for the team medals. Using the Grand Prix test as an individual qualifier for the Freestyle, 24 riders move forward to compete for the coveted individual gold, silver and bronze medals.

I am ecstatic to report that with Sabine Schut-Kery’s magical Grand Prix Special ride on Sanceo, which gave them entré into the exclusive 80%+ club, the U.S. team showed the world that we are indeed a true force in international dressage. For U.S. dressage, perhaps the postponement of the Olympics was not such a bad thing after all. Congratulations to Adrienne Lyle, Sabine Schut-Kery and Steffen Peters on their historic silver!

Caption:

The U.S. Dressage Team brought home the silver medal at the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games. Left to right, Adrienne Lyle, Steffen Peters and Sabine Schut-Kery.

Photo by FEI/Kai Försterling

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Tagged under: dressage, olympics, Tokyo Olympics

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Breeding season is underway at Iron Spring Farm! W Breeding season is underway at Iron Spring Farm! We're proud to offer exceptional modern Sporthorse stallions, with wonderful temperaments and quality gaits to North American breeders.
 
Among our stallions are Cum Laude and Kaiman. Cum Laude (Apache x Weltmeyer) is a winning FEI horse and sire of quality dressage horses, breed show champions, and offspring scoring 9.0s on gaits.
 
Kaiman (Dark Pleasure x Gribaldi) earned high scores at his stallion testing and in the young horse classes. He's also the sire of a Licensed Oldenburg stallion. Kaiman's first North American foal crop is arriving now and they are gorgeous!
 
If you're looking for top international bloodlines please check out our 2023 stallion collection, now available fresh, frozen, and by the dose.

Among our stallions are Cum Laude and Kaiman. Cum Laude (Apache x Weltmeyer) is a winning FEI horse and sire of quality dressage horses, breed show champions, and offspring scoring 9.0s on gaits.

Breeding season is underway at Iron Spring Farm! We're proud to offer exceptional modern Sporthorse stallions, with wonderful temperaments and quality gaits to North American breeders.

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❗️George Williams column❗️ The FEI World ❗️George Williams column❗️
The FEI World Cup Final in Omaha is coming up quickly. That means that it’s starting to heat 
up as the end of the qualifying period for both the Western European League (WEL) and the 
North American League (NAL) nears. I started to write this column before the Amsterdam CDI- W, and I was using the FEI Ranking List from January 15 as a reference. As I sit down to finish 
my column, I’m now looking at the results from Amsterdam. While the list of the top contenders 
for the WEL hasn’t changed, they’re definitely moving around on the ranking list. The WEL has 
three more legs, as they’re referred to: Neumünster February 16–19, Goteborg February 23–26, 
and ’s-Hertogenbosch March 9–12, and they could change things dramatically.
Looking at the top 12 athletes from the WEL as they were ranked on January 15, there are five 
from Germany, three from the Netherlands and one each from Great Britain, Denmark

➡️Read Georges's full column by clicking the link in our bio, and never miss an article by subscribing to Sidelines Magazine 🦄 

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Lisa Goldman-Smolen and Ivaro N strike gold in Gre Lisa Goldman-Smolen and Ivaro N strike gold in Great American $300,000 Grand Prix at HITS Ocala!! 🏆🥇

Crowds filled the stands at the HITS Ocala Grand Prix Ring on Sunday afternoon to watch the world’s top athletes compete in the Great American $300,000 Grand Prix. The day concluded with a thrilling five-horse jump-off featuring athletes 
representing four countries. In the end, it was Lisa Goldman-Smolen (USA) and Ivaro N who produced the only double clear effort of the day, claiming one of the biggest wins of her career. Scott Keach (AUS) and Noble De La Chapelle earned the second-place prize with the fastest 4-fault jump-off, while Aaron Vale (USA) and Obi Wan placed third as the day’s pathfinders.

“I'm still on cloud nine, I still can't believe it – I’ve used up all my luck for the year,” smiled Goldman-Smolen after her win. “I've been knocking on the door a long time in these bigger classes. I am so proud of my horse – he gave every ounce of effort.”

Sunday’s Great American $300,000 Grand Prix marked the conclusion of the 2023 HITS Ocala circuit. HITS CCO Joe Norick concluded, “We are so excited about the new HITS, with 2023 as the launch. New footing, many new arenas here, and a lot of our facilities across America are getting a lot of love and new footing. Our partnerships with Worldly Martin and others across America including our footing leader Bart Poles overseeing our operations – it really makes a big difference for us. Today is about Ocala and these three riders sitting next to me who supported us this entire winter. We want to be a proud destination for our exhibitors and our friends. We know we have to provide them a beautiful showplace to work from that's horseman friendly, and that's our go goal. 

Congratulations to all of the riders, horses, owners, and groom who participated in this prestigious class!!! 🎉
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It's #STUDSunday and today's featured stallion is. It's #STUDSunday and today's featured stallion is...

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