DressageDaily: First Olympic Dressage Scores are Shockingly Low!

Wilcox on Relevant First Scores are In!! Wilcox Scores below her Leve!! Will she be the drop score for Team U.S.A??

Lisa Wilcox - Relevent - 68.792
Karen Tebar - Falada M - 67.958%
Ricky MacMillan - Crisp - 65.917%
Fritz Gaulhofer - Werther's Wels - 63.667
Alexandra Sourlas - Gregory - 62.917

Olympic Press Release: Germany Seeks Further Gold

Ten nations entered in the Team final are laying the foundation for the first Olympic Dressage medal to be given at Markopoulo Olympic Equestrian Centre.

Germany will be trying to add to a Team Dressage gold medal tally that since 1976 has been broken only once (at the 1980 Moscow Olympics) . Heike KEMMER, ranked third in the world, goes out first for the German team, riding BONAPARTE. Olympic newcomer Hubertus SCHMIDT and WANSUELA SUERT follow.

The USA opens with Lisa WILCOX, riding the Oldenburg stallion RELEVANT, who had his first outing after a six-month break only one month ago at Lingen, Germany. Guenter SEIDEL rides second with ARAGON, trying to at least equal the bronze medal won at the Sydney 2000 Games.

The defending Dutch silver medallists are keeping their aces up their sleeves, leaving it to the two Olympic newcomers Imke SCHELLENS-BARTELS and Marlies VAN BAALEN to open the competition. Both young ladies can rely on experienced family advice as their mothers have competed in Olympic Dressage events.

Medal hopes lie also with Spanish Team after their bronze success at the World Equestrian Games two years ago. Ignacio RAMBLA and the most experienced Rafael SOTO with his grey stallion INVASOR face the task of scoring on the first day.

Great Britain, European Championship bronze medallists last year, are relying on Carl HESTER and Emma HINDLE.

The start list for the Team medal competition shows that most Team chiefs are following the Dutch tactic of sending their strongest hopes out on the second day.

Among the individual competitors on the first day of competition Ricky MacMILLAN for Australia can be expected to be among the higher scores as well as Heike HOLSTEIN for Ireland. Both are riding German bred horses.

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