The dressage leg of the Olympic eventing competition has been decided. Michael Jung leads after a commanding performance (78.86 per cent) on Chipmunk by Contendro I-Heraldik xx, registered with the Hanoverian Association, thereby propelling the German team up to second place.
The best Holsteiner at present – in fifth place – is Vitali , a son of Contender-Heraldik xx bred by Günther Fielmann (Schierensee), who is representing New Zealand with his rider Tim Price and, with the team, is in third place ahead of the cross-country stage. The pair scored 74.39 per cent. Hot on their heels (74.24 per cent) in sixth place is the second-best Holsteiner – namely London by Landos-Quinar, bred by Ocke Riewerts (Alkersum). Together with the British rider Laura Collett, the five-star winner is part of the leading team from Great Britain. With 71.69 per cent, Louise Romeike, a Swedish rider based in Schleswig-Holstein, ranks ninth with her Holsteiner Cato (ZG Judith and Sönke Schmidt, Naumburg), who is by Contendro I and Heraldik xx. Diachello by Diarado-Chello I (Thomas Visser, Dentlein am Forst) and New Zealander Jesse Campell narrowly missed the 70 per cent mark with a score of 69.92 per cent. The pair, who currently lead the team standings, achieved an impressive 15th place with their dressage round.
The next major challenge is already awaiting the riders and horses: the cross-country. “I think it will be very difficult to beat the time or ride really fast, because the course is very compact – only 4,420 metres long, but with a great many jumps. The direct routes through the combinations are very realistic; you need very rideable horses that have good flow, but which mustn’t pull too much either. It’s going to be very exciting. In terms of difficulty, there’s more jumping than we’d previously thought,” said German national coach Hans Melzer in his initial assessment of the course.
On Sunday, 1 August, at 7.45 am local time, the first rider-horse pair will set off on the challenging cross-country course. From 00.40 German time, ZDF will broadcast the cross-country event via live stream.

Photo: Vitali by Contender and Tim Price (c) Stefan Lafrentz