Equestrian News

NEWSFLASH!

NEWSFLASH!!
Athens, 1:00am EEST- - - Germany won show jumping’s Olympic Team Gold Medal this evening. And after an exciting jump off between the United States and Sweden, who were tied after the second round, the U.S. took Silver and Sweden took Bronze. Canada’s Ian Millar and Promise Me have advanced to Friday’s individual final, despite incurring 10 faults in the third and final qualifier. They ended up in 44th. place. All 45 finalists will start with a score of zero for the final. More later . . .

Diary from Athens - Showjumping Part I

There was a clear winner in this morning’s first round of the team competition and 2nd qualifier in show jumping. It was German course designer Olaf Petersen and the very challenging course he set that had fences crashing and horses’s shoes flying all around the stadium. American Peter Wylde, who went clear with Fein Cera the first day but had three down today, said it was one of the hardest Nation’s Cup courses he has ridden.

NEWSFLASH!!

NEWSFLASH!!
Athens, 1:00pm EEST- - - Canada’s Ian Millar and Promise Me moved up top 48th place individually after the second individual qualifier today at Markopoulo Equestrian Centre. They lowered two fences and had 3 time faults, but the entire field of 77 entries had considerable trouble with the course set by Germany’s Olaf Petersen. The top 45 individuals after this evening's round will advance to Friday's final. This morning was also the first of two rounds of the Nations’ Cup which will decide the team medals. Round 2 goes this evening, with Germany leading in the team standings with 4 faults, the Netherlands and the U.S. tied for second with 8 and Sweden at 12. Unfortunately this year’s World Cup winner Dileme De Cephe with French rider Bruno Broucosault is out of the competition. He had to be taken off the course by horse ambulance after appearing to put a foot wrong between fences early in the course. The ambulance had to be called a second time when the same thing appeared to happen to Who Knows Lilly of Argentina, ridden by Frederico Sztyrle. More later . . .

Canadian Olympic Dressage Team Improves World Standing

By way of its ninth place finish at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, the Canadian Dressage Team improved its world ranking, moving into ninth position.

Diary From Athens - Another Day

The wind blew up again today and caused some problems in the dressage arena, especially for Ulla Salzgeber and Rusty. His usual error-free performance was marred by late transitions and difficulties with the flying changes, along with a spook in one corner. Nevertheless I’m sure their score of 74.840% would be gladly accepted by most dressage riders.

Germany’s Ulla Salzgeber Clings to Narrow Lead in Individual Olympic Dressage

The race for individual medals in Olympic dressage is playing out according to predictions, in spite of questionable performances from the leaders and outstanding tests by their followers. Still in the lead is Ulla Salzgeber of Germany on Rusty, but the gap has been eaten up by defending Olympic champion Anky van Grunsven from The Netherlands on Salinero.

Salzgeber Loses Advantage with Grand Prix Speciale

German favourite Ulla Salzgeber lost her advantage further to the windy conditions brought on by the Meltemi. After several mistakes from her 16-year-old gelding Rusty, mainly in the flying changes, the German rider has now a slight advantage on 76.524 % finishing her Grand Prix Special on a score of 74.84%.

NEWSFLASH!!

NEWFLASH!!
Athens, 1:30pm EEST- - - It was Dutch rider Anky van Grunsven’s day today in the dressage arena at the Markopoulo Equestrian Centre. She earned the top score of 77.800 for a very correct Grand Prix Special performance with the 10-year-old Salinero. The leader going into today, Germany’s Ulla Salzgeber, ran into some trouble, which began in the warmup ring where the gusting wind continually blew down the letters around the ring. And then in their performance, Rusty had a slight spook in one corner and some uncharacteristic errors in the transitions. However her score of 74.840 keeps her at the top of the scoreboard. More later . .

Diary from Athens - A Hometown Hero in the Making

It’s quite obvious that show jumping is the equestrian discipline that attracts the most attention. Today, the first day of competition, there were a lot more photographers and journalists at Markopoulo Equestrian Centre than has been in the past few days, many of whom asked questions which indicated they were from the general sports press.

Eight-time Canadian Olympian Ian Millar Begins Competition in Athens

Eight-time Canadian Olympian Ian Millar of Perth, ON, competed in the opening round of show jumping events on Sunday, August 22, at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.