Three Riders Win US Olympic Dressage Team Spots
June 30, 2008
Following an exciting day at the final U.S. Olympic Dressage trials, the top riders earning spots on the Olympic Team are:
- Steffen Peters and Ravel
- Debbie McDonald on Brentina
- Courtney King-Dye on Harmony’s Mythilus
The alternate is Leslie Morse and her stallion Kingston. Courtney’s other mount, Idocus, and Steffen’s Lombardi placed fourth and fifth respectively, and will also go along for the trip to Hong Kong as back-up mounts. Michael Barisone and Neruda, who placed seventh, may also get to make the trip to the Beijing Olympics (all equestrian events are being held in Hong Kong, however).
The riders for the Olympic dressage team will be made official after they are approved by both the United States Equestrian Federation selection committee and the US Olympic Committee.
The USEF is responsible for developing and administering the Olympic selection criteria. Their selections must ultimately be approved by the US Olympic Committee. There are also a handful of committees within the USEF that oversee Olympic selection, allowing for a system of checks and balances to ensure that the best human and horse athletes are chosen.
Short lists for the show jumping and eventing Olympic teams must be named by June 30; final selections are required by July 15. The USEF expects to name the final riders in these two events in early July.
Over the next month, I will profile each of the US Olympic riders and their horses, as well as some of the top competitors from other countries.
July 1, 2008 Update:
The USEF has officially approved the nominations for the 2008 Olympic Dressage Team. Here’s their press release:
USEF Names Nominated Entry for the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team in Dressage
Release: July 01 2008 By Joanie Morris Lexington, KY – The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF) has approved the following nominated entry for the Dressage Team for the 2008 Olympic Games in Hong Kong. Final entries will be made to the USOC on July 15, 2008.
The following riders are ranked based on their performance after the USEF Selection Trials for Dressage:
Name/Age/Hometown/Horse/Age/Breed/Sex/Owner
1. Steffen Peters/44/San Diego, CA/Ravel/10/Dutch Warmblood/G/Akiko Yamazaki
2. Debbie McDonald/54/Hailey, ID/Brentina/17/Hanoverian/M/Peggy and Parry Thomas
3. Courtney King-Dye/31/New Milford, CT/Harmony’s Mythilus/14/Dutch Warmblood/G/Harmony Amateur Sports Foundation
4. Courtney King-Dye/31/New Milford, CT/Idocus/18/Dutch Warmblood/S/Christine McCarthy
5. Steffen Peters/44/San Diego, CA/Lombardi 11/16/Holsteiner/G/Akiko Yamazaki
6. Leslie Morse/46/Beverly Hills, CA/Kingston/16/Dutch Warmblood/S/Leslie Morse and Laura Petroff
7. Michael Barisone/44/Califon, NJ/Neruda/13/Dutch Warmblood/G/Jane Suwalsky
8. Sue Blinks/48/Encinitas, CA/Mark/14/Dutch Warmblood/G/Leatherdale Farms and Louise Leatherdale
9. Lisa Wilcox/41/West Palm Beach, FL/Naomi/13/Dutch Warmblood/M/Janet Bell
10. George Williams/42/Delaware, OH/Rocher/17/Westphalian/M/Joann and Charles Smith
11. Kristina Harrison-Naness/36/Burbank, CA/Rociero XV/13/Pura Raza Espanol/S/Margaret Carrera
Because of where Peters and King-Dye are ranked with their second horses, Lombardi and Idocus can be used as substitute horses for those riders if needed. Leslie Morse has been named as the alternate rider and will travel with the team to Hong Kong.
The top five riders and the top seven horses will fly to Aachen, Germany on July 10 where they will enter quarantine on July 17.
Additional Coverage:
Posted in 2008 Olympics, Horse Events, Olympic Dressage
June 30th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
That’s exciting. Hope they all do well.
July 1st, 2008 at 9:04 am
I think we have a shot at the medals this year!!!!!! Anky and Isabella are so into going after each other that I think an American can sneak up on them and get an individual goald as well. I cannot wait!
July 10th, 2008 at 4:23 am
…at first, I wondered if this was the same Ravel that nearly won AGA Horse of the Year under Todd Minikus, considering that they have the same name and look almost exactly alike! But then, this horse is too young (it wasn’t even born that year) and it’s also Dutch whereas that one was Hanoverian. Would’ve been interesting to see him still going strong and doing dressage though.
Something worth noting though is that former grand prix showjumper Mont Cenis (who competed at FEI level under Patty Stovel) is still around, and doing dressage rather well